What Information Does a Web Designer Need to Build Your Website?

Posted on September 26, 2019August 17, 2020 by Andy under Website Basics

Wondering what type of information you need to share with a web designer who will build your website? Allow us to guide you through this process so you can have an effective and high-performing website.

Type of Information Equals Type of Website

The type of information that you need to share with your web designer will depend on the type of website you want to have.

If you want an official website for your business, you need to provide them with your business logo, office address, contact information, and list of products or services at the very least. If you want an e-commerce site, you need to share your product SKUs, descriptions, prices, images, and shipping options, to name a few. If you’re setting up a personal blog, it will be best to share with them the range of topics you blog about and your audience.

Your website can be anything from a static HTML page, interactive site with multimedia content, responsive site with a click-to-call feature, and so on. But there are essential bits of information that can be found across the board. Let’s find out what they are in the next section.

The Essentials

Regardless of the type of website you want, there are critical pieces of information that you absolutely must share with your web designer. These are:

Your unique value proposition or unique selling proposition (UVP or USP). Both terms mean the same thing. Your UVP or USP states why your customers should trust you, how you make their lives better and what makes you different from your competitors.
Your target market. This is a non-negotiable if you want to deliver a positive user experience to your end-users. The more detailed this information is (i.e, demographics, devices used, motivations, behaviours, pain points), the higher your chances of having a website that your visitors will enjoy using.
Your goals for your website. Whether you’re eyeing your website to be the online sales and marketing arm of your business or a way to deepen your customer engagement, you need to share with them why you want a website, and what its ultimate purpose is.
Your logo, address, and contact information. These are tangible proof of your identity and are linked to your credibility and professionalism. You risk losing over 40% of your website visitors if you don’t provide your contact details, so make sure you have accurate contact information on your website.
Your company description or history. More than 50% of website visitors check the About Us page of websites. Make sure this large chunk of visitors won’t be disappointed.
Your brand personality. This will ensure that your website stays consistent with your brand guidelines.
Your photos. It is your responsibility to provide your web designer with high-quality images of your products and services. Depending on your brand’s personality or organisation’s culture, you may also include photos of your staff, clients, and office. Consider hiring a professional photographer if you don’t have high-resolution photos.
Your pegs. Providing images or visual examples of how you want your site to look like will help your web design craft studies that will generate the same positive reaction from you.
Your success metrics or KPIs for traffic, engagement, or sales. This will help you measure and objectively assess if the design is delivering results.

All the information above will help your web designer come up with the most suitable custom-made website tailored for your business.

Make It Engaging

While the following data are not as critical as the ones listed above, we recommend that you still share these with your web designer so you can have a more engaging website.

Your company’s core values, vision and mission. Some visitors also want to know if their values and advocacies align with yours. This may be combined with your About Us page, or appear on a separate page.
Customer reviews or testimonials. Using social proof can help drive more of the similar desired actions (for example, purchases) on your site.
Careers. You may also create a separate page on your website where job applicants can view your current job openings. This is an efficient way to attract candidates and maximise your website’s potential.

It’s All in the Details

The best way to help your web designer understand your vision for your website is to provide them with as much detail as possible. Giving them a detailed project brief during your initial meeting will help them assess whether they have the resources to build your website the way you want it.

Withholding necessary information will slow down the design process and compromise the quality of your relationship with your designer. Instead of letting them do the guesswork, just give them all the facts to avoid misunderstandings, reduce delays, and minimise your costs.

Trust is the Key

The idea of sharing information to a third party – such as when you outsource an agency instead of hiring an in-house designer – may sound risky to some business owners. To minimise your risk, we recommend choosing established agencies with a proven track record and positive reviews from their previous clients.

Remember that any successful partnership begins with trust. Make sure you choose a web designer that you feel comfortable sharing all your pertinent business data with. Trust us – you’ll be glad you did.

Our Brisbane based web designers are ready to start building your website. Contact us now.