At Truly, we love our website wizards, however, they can get on our nerves. So, to ensure that they know their place, (being far below the content team…) we thought we’d give people some tips on how they can easily upset a web designer, all you need to do is say some of the stuff below. If you’re nicer than we are you could always take these as some things to avoid, but that’s your call.
‘Can You Make The Logo Bigger?’
This is a very common request that has probably made every single web designer want to cry at some point. Yep, it’s very important to have brand recognition, but what they will hear is ‘the logo’s more important than the website’.
A little change can be fine, but the logo size and placement is something that is carefully chosen as it needs to be clear, recognisable and balanced with the rest of the site. Have a look at other popular websites and the size of their logos, they’re easily recognisable but not oversized.
‘Just Find The Photos On Google’
Having your images is the ideal situation (our photographers can sort this for you), but if you can’t get them for whatever reason then yes, stock photos will have to do.
The problem with saying to find them on Google is that these aren’t likely to be high enough quality. What’s more, coming up on a search engine does not mean that they are free to use without a licence. If you don’t acquire your images properly you’re at risk of having to pay a large settlement to stop the owner from taking you to court.
You can always find images online and share them with your web designer to give them an idea of what you want, otherwise, you could ask them which libraries they use and make your selections from there.
‘I’ll Write The Content Once I Have Seen The Design’
Ok, we get that you want to get the design stage moving along and don’t want to be the one holding it up. However, your content needs to fit the design, if it doesn’t, whether it’s too long or too short, your web designer is going to be stuck redesigning everything when your content arrives.
You could write to the design to ensure that it fits, but that can be a bit tricky and places restrictions on your content.
Of course, if you don’t want to write your copy or you just don’t have the time, we can always take that over for you. Plus we can write it in a way that boosts your SEO.
‘Make It Look Like [XYZ Successful Website]’
Firstly, just copying another website is a breach of copyright and you don’t want to risk that. No decent agency will agree to do this for you as it’s just a waste and a HUGE unnecessary risk.
Secondly, mimicking another website isn’t going to bring you the same success as they have. You want to go with a bespoke site which will showcase your style and highlight your USPs. Well, unless the aim is to make your web designer cry, that’s up to you.
Can You Do It Quicker?
This one applies to pretty much anyone in any job, not just your web designer, but for some reason, they seem to get this request a lot.
The time frame that you’re given isn’t just based on how long it will take to do your website, they’re going to have lots of other stuff going on for different clients and that’s before you factor in last-minute urgent updates or changes.
Asking for things quicker means they will have to either postpone other work, skip over important stages like user testing or pay staff to work overtime – and if it comes to that you will have to be prepared to pay more!
You need to be clear about your deadline and accept that the timeframe you’re given is how long it will take to do the job properly. It’s also important to keep in mind that if you come up with very few ideas of what you are looking for and then request lots of changes as it progresses, the process will take longer. Any good agency will give you a sensible, not a rushed time estimate, and take into consideration the extra time that will be needed for alterations.
Go Forth And Annoy!
There you are, you’re sorted with some easy and effective ways to make your web designer weep!
If you’re ready to get started on a website overhaul/total new build then fill out this contact form or call us on 01926 814547, we’re looking forward to seeing you put these techniques to use with Aaron, Toby and the rest of the team. You can use the same contact details if you’re interested in any of our other services.
Don’t forget to follow us on TikTok, Instagram and Facebook, you may get to see the result of these handy tips and tricks.