Tips and Tricks for designing your web pages

 

Designing a website for your first client.

You’ve designed websites for yourself, your friends and family, now you have your first Client.  This guide will help you get the correct information from your Client so that you don’t make the same mistakes that so many other new designers have made in the past.

Meeting the Client.
Getting the information you need to design the website.
Quoting a price.

  1. Meeting with the Client.

Okay, so you have your very first Client.  This is a bit different from designing your Uncle’s website isn’t it?

I would suggest you go and meet with your Client at his/her office.  I prefer doing that because I get to see what kind of environment he/she works in.  It will give you the first ‘feel’ that you need for the website.  I like to think of the website as an extension of the Client’s business.

Be Prepared.

Let the Client tell you what he expects from his website.  Write down his ideas.  This is where a note pad comes in handy, I always have one with me.

Even though the basic laws of web page layout remain the same for most websites, you will still need to hear what the message is that the client wants to get across to his clients or customers.

Ask your client for his business card and company letterhead.  If he has any brochures then ask for one of those too.  All of this helps you to see what the company’s ‘personality’ is.  Find out if he wants the same type of style to come across on his website.  This is important, as some clients do want a total breakaway from the style of their written material.  However, this is not common.

Tip:

If you have a digital camera, you might like to take a few photographs of the office or building.  This is a great idea as you can incorporate the images into the website.

  1. Getting the information you need to design the website.

Some Clients are fantastic and will hand you pages of information that you need to create the website.  If possible try and get the information from them in digital format.  That will save you having to retype everything.

Then there are the Clients whom you have to milk for information.  They want a website but don’t know what information to give to you.

You already know what the basic layout of the website is going to be.  Here is a list of the pages you need as a guideline.

Home
The Home page will give a brief overview of what the company specialises in.

Product
This can be just one page describing the product or you can have separate pages for each product.  For example, if your client is a shoe manufacturer or store, you might create links like these:

 

It all depends on what categories your client has.

About Us / Company Profile
You can use this page for all the company’s information, Management, Staff, when the company was formed, how they developed etc.  It all depends on what your client wants on that page.

Contact
Use the page for the Company’s address, contact numbers, email addresses, business hours and anything else that the customer would need.  This would also be the ideal place for a form.

 

Now you can start gathering the necessary information from your client.

Here is the guideline which I use.  You can make your own list of questions.

Please describe what your company does?

Could you please tell me about the history of the company?

(If your client does not tell you much then the following questions might help)
How long has the company been doing business?
How did the company start?
How many people worked there when they opened?
How many people work for the company now?
To what do you attribute the company’s success?

Whose names would you like listed on the website?
Could you provide me with all the contact persons and their details?

The aim here is not to waste the Client’s or your own time, and believe me if you are unprepared this can happen.

The last thing you want to do is to sit down at the computer trying to create a website when you don’t have all the information that you need.

Tip:
Planning your entire website on paper first makes your work a lot easier when you finally sit down at the computer.

Plan each page, the links, layout and number of graphics you will place. Once you have planned the site, it is much easier to get it all

 

 

 

Portfolio Index
WEB DESIGN
GRAPHICS
FLASH ANIMATIONS
FREE GRAPHICS

   
  HOME | INFO | VIDEO | CONTACT | TIPS |  FREE GRAPHICS
 
www.veebee.co.za