We get it. Really, we do! Your project means the world to you, and your website is an important part of that.
You’ve spent countless hours, sleepless nights, and so many dollars up to that point that you’ve lost count. How does anybody, expect you to just completely entrust it to the care of somebody whose existence you had no idea of a mere few hours ago?
Plus, am I getting my money’s worth? You ask yourself. This idea of mine is going to change the world; the least the website should do is “pop” out at visitors and leave them breathless. Right?
Absolutely!
We totally agree. We agree that your website should be done in such a way that gives your business, project, or endeavor the surest chance of survival. And that’s why you should let us do our jobs.
Yes, you read that right.
Sometimes success requires taking a step back; this is as true in the world of web design, as it is anywhere else. The thing is, as much as you want your website to look great and deliver the required ROI, so does your web designer. And any web designer worth their salt knows fully well that a great website requires elements a lot more subtle than merely making it “Pop”.
Here’s what we mean.
In many ways, design is both an art and a science. It takes some experience to realize the subtle truth that making everything stand out on a web page is a sure way of making sure that nothing stands out in the end. Neither the killer logo, nor the great background design, and definitely not your content—which is the heart and soul of your digital endeavors in the first place.
It’s often more beneficial—and more professional looking—to emphasize only the important parts, the parts most crucial to the success of your website.
Along the same lines, it’s crucial to understand that sometimes less is actually more; meaning “whitespace” is not “wasted space” as you might think. Good web designers are experts at ignoring the itch to keep adding to the design, and are ready to acknowledge that people do scroll down in real life. Clutter could very well turn your visitors away due to navigation issues, as well as violations of plain aesthetics—cluttered sites are usually ugly sites.
So does this mean you should refrain from giving any feedback?
Not at all! The last thing any designer wants is a client who will not offer any feedback to help inform if things are on the right track or not. Rather than keeping quiet, you would help push the process further along by giving constructive feedback and your reasons behind these choices.
After all, while your designer probably understands more about design than you do, the project remains yours and you have a better mental picture of what you want to present to the world.
See anything you don’t like? Ask your designer for the reasons behind the choice, so that you become an integral part of the process.
Moving ideas back and forth in this manner will build trust between you and your web designer which, when you really think about it, was the real problem in the first place.
