How to Tell Your Website Designer That You Are Not Trying For a Design Award

<p>More and more consumers are letting their fingers do the walking across a computer keyboard rather than the Yellow Pages. This means that even if you have a brick-and-mortar business you need a website.</p><p>Businesses that hire a web designer often choose based on a recommendation or the designer's portfolio. Yet how many businesses know which elements their website should have in order to be optimized for both people and search engines?</p><p>One basic problem is that many website designers are just that - designers. Even if they do the coding besides the design, they are often focused primarily on the design.</p><p>The reason this is a problem is because good design is not necessarily good marketing.</p><p>If you doubt this, think about the billboards you've seen with beautiful lettering - that you can't read as you drive by.</p><p>This leads to actually two questions. The first is: How do you learn what an effective marketing website needs? You should read everything you can about website usability issues and marketing-effective websites.</p><p>The more you know, the more confident you'll be telling your designer "nice, but no thanks" about some design element that interferes with the usability of the site. (One example: Reverse type blocks - white type on a dark background - that are very difficult to read. And you do want your website copy read, don't you?)</p><p>The second question is: How do you tell your designer that you are not trying for your website to win a design award - you want it to win the hearts and/or the pocketbooks of your target markets.</p><p>It's a good idea to be upfront when choosing a web designer. You can ask: "Are you comfortable that I may turn down your design elements in favor of simpler elements that make it easier for people to navigate my site?"</p><p>Take as a warning a response such as "Don't worry - you'll love what I do for you." That may indicate an unwillingness to be attuned to the fact that you want to actually sell products or services from your website - not just provide a lovely artistic experience.</p><p>Yes, it's true that type size, for example, can look different on different web browsers. Your web designer may insist that the type size on his/her screen is quite large. If it is not large on your screen, it isn't large enough. The design will just have to be adjusted to accommodate larger-size type. Again, if people can't read what your website copy says, what's the point?</p><p>You should tell your designer politely rather than cruelly what you would like. In other words, there's no need to say: "I don't like that - it doesn't work well." Instead you can say: "That's a lovely design element although I don't think it will work for my target market. Could we try something a little less flashy?"</p><p>Bottom line: It's your website - you're paying for it - and you're the one who wants to sell your products or services from it. Therefore, it's a good idea to be firm with your web designer about what you want that makes it easier for your target markets to say yes to you - regardless of whether your website will win a design award.</p><p>Phyllis Zimbler Miller (@ZimblerMiller on Twitter) has an M.B.A. from The Wharton School and is an <a target="_new" href="http://www.millermosaicllc.com/internet-business/" rel="nofollow">Internet business consultant</a> whose company website has lots more useful advice like this. Get her free report on "The Top 3 Internet Marketing Elements" to optimize your own Internet marketing experience - get your report now from <a target="_new" href="http://www.calltoactionwebsites.com/" rel="nofollow">http://www.CalltoActionWebsites.com</a></p>