Love at first site - choosing a (web design) partner

Staying together for the Users

Choosing a web partner for your business is a difficult process; get it right and you will forge a relationship that will breed understanding, partnership, success, a great user experience for your audience, and a wealth of ideas and innovation you thought not previously possible.

Get it wrong and your experience will be a frustrating one characterised by misunderstanding, the dilution of your core sales message, and wasted investment.

Whether you choose Deep Blue Sky as your web partner or not taking some key steps before you start your journey will save time, effort, and money.

Know Thyself

Most businesses will now have a website of some description – from a brochure website to a full blown interactive experience connecting with their customer base on every conceivable level.   The inherent pressure to get a business online can cause some basic questions to be left unanswered. Ask and answer these and you’ll be off to a great start in your web project:

• What do I want to achieve?
• Who are my audience?
• What do I want the users experience to be?
• What is the core message I want to send?
• What action do I want the user to take? Buy? Call? Subscribe? Email?

If you do not know the answers to these questions then you will not be able to communicate your goals effectively leading to a muddled brief and an ineffective end product.

A Bass-line of Ability

There are a few things that you have every right to expect from a web partner as an absolute minimum. Ask for examples and question effectively and if you’re unhappy move on to the next candidate.

• A Grand Design  - Can they produce effective, practical designs that will enhance your brand and your users’ experience?   Some designers can fall into the trap of doing too much or producing clever designs that showcase their talent and know how, but fail in the ultimate objective of winning you business.
  
• Delivering the Goods - Make sure that you set a workable deadline for your project. This will ensure that your project will not get lost in the daily grind of running your business. Ask for examples of when they have achieved these core competencies for their clients.
• The Technical Stuff - Can they deliver a strong development platform on which your websites runs? Will you have the ability to update it yourself and keep your content current? Again, ask for examples and get them to demonstrate an ability to deliver a website that delivers value to your business.
• A Sound System - At its core web design and development is delivering a tool to help you achieve your business objectives. This process should be flexible but solid with ample space for feedback and focussed and relevant change.   A good web partner will have sound project management systems and processes in place to ensure effective and timely delivery.

It's Love, Actually...

At base a good relationship comes through understanding.   You will be able to trust a well chosen web partner to tell you when something is possible and sometimes more importantly, when it is not.  Make sure that they have taken the time to understand your business and understand your motivation and objectives.

If this happens they will be able to suggest changes, additions and ideas that you hadn’t have thought which can transform the success of a project.

Trust your gut – will you be able to work with them?  Will you get on with them?   If not, move on to the next one.  Like speed dating - but a lot more heart-breaking.

The Good Client

The customer is always right….except when they’re wrong but won’t admit it.  If you have a good relationship with your web partner you will trust them when they disagree with you.  It’s usually for a good reason and it will be based on knowledge and experience.   Give them the ability to do their job through a clear brief, a reasonable deadline, and stationary goal posts and they will deliver something exceptional, rather than satisfactory.

The Happily Ever After

Take on board these simple steps and your online life will be plain sailing and lead to a long, enduring, and successful working relationship based on integrity, innovation and partnership.

Love your web partner, and they’ll love you right back.