What is Involved in a Website Launch, Part 3

I began this series talking about the purpose of your website, followed by the content and main actions. Today I want to write about my favorite topic, design.

You might have a picture stuck in your head of what you want your website to look like. I have found this picture is difficult to extricate and put into words. [sidenote @holycowgal and I are working on a moodboard tool for this purpose, if you are interested, please join our launch list!]

I think communicating your vision to your designer is one of the most important steps you can take in the design process. The other, is to trust your designer as he or she refines your vision according to design principles, usability and relevance for your target market.

We like to use a design questionnaire, interview process, and other tools to get to the heart of design preferences and styles. As a website owner, you can add to this process by having a few websites and/or logo examples in mind that demonstrate what you like and what you don’t like so much. It’s important to know what folks in your industry are doing design wise and be able to stand above or apart from their efforts.

Here are a few places you can go for design inspiration:

• Logospire.com
• CSS Beauty
• Smashing Magazine
• AIGA Design Inspiration

After you settle on a design style, your designer will likely apply the design elements to the wireframe you produced in an earlier step of the process. This can be the most exciting time in the entire project because you will see your website vision spring to life, hooray!

Your main role as the website owner is to trust your designer! With all the clipart and fonts and self-publishing and scrapbooking tools we have these days, everyone becomes a designer. That’s okay, but when it comes to your website, certain principles of design need to be at work, and your designer can help you so much here if you will let go.

Try to set your personal preferences aside and focus on your prospects needs and interests and what will make for the best possible experience for them in visiting your website.

Here are some questions to help you think through your design preferences.

• What furniture and decorating style would apply to you, modern, classic, contemporary, vintage, etc.
• Do you have examples of websites you like?
• Would your prospects and clients relate to this style?
• Do you prefer photos or illustrations? What would your prospects like?
• What design elements are your competitors using?

I could write for days on the subject of design, and I’m sure I have missed some important points here, but I’m going to stop now and ask what are your thoughts about the website design process?

Next up, What is Involved in a Website Launch, Part 4, 18 Ways to Promote Your Website.