Small Business Tech Tips

You’ve finally found and hired your ideal website designer – now what? If you thought your work was done, then think again. Finding the perfect website designer for your business is only half the battle. Now you must make sure that you are taking full advantage of what he or she has to offer. This does not just happen magically; you’ll need to communicate well and work together like a well oiled machine – failing to do so may prove to make even the very best web developers not worth your while.

Give your developer a good handle on your business

I am not suggesting that you must share extensive business plans with this person on a regular basis; however he should have a good grasp on your short and long-term business objectives. Also, make sure he understands your company’s background and culture. Your core values and overall messaging should both be consistent with your web work. Give your designer good insight into your company so that he can match the tone of your website to your business as closely as possible.

Set the record straight Be very forward with what you expect from this person. Develop a process that you are both comfortable with for getting and also keeping things being updated quickly and smoothly. Discuss all important angles such as: How often you expect content to be refreshed, how many hours of work per week do you expect the person to produce for you, how you will be billed (hourly, project-based, etc.)

Set up regularly scheduled meetings

You must have weekly or bi-weekly checkins — even if this means having a quick, 20 minute phone session consistently carved into your workweek. Being in regular contact with each other will help you make the most of your developer; it will give you the opportunity to proactively nip any potential issues in the bud. You may be surprised how much good a “this is working…and this is not working” chat session can do to keep you on top of everything.

Speak up!

Tell him what you like- Many people tend to “feel bad” about being upfront when they don’t like things. Well guess what, you absolutely should not! You’re paying for it. Moreover, most web developers would be more than happy to be pointed in the right direction. If you do not like the style of a particular page, the graphics being used or anything else, don’t be shy – say something. Your web designer is not a mind reader. Guide him towards your likes and dislikes so that he is more likely to present you with the most idea options when creating something new for you By developing and maintaining clear communication lines, you will set the stage for maintaining a happy relationship with your web person.

If you have any questions regarding this post or would like assistance regarding this topic, please email sspino@everonit.com

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Tags: business planning, small business, web developer, web development, web development strategies, website designer, website strategies

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 24th, 2008 at 9:39 am and is filed under Small Business Internet Marketing Tips, Small Business Website Strategies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.