I freelance and one of things I come across a lot is that even though there are some really great designers, their coding skills lack big time. It is common for me to fix some of the WordPress issues where something was hard- coded when there could have either been a widget or a theme option put in place. This post is mostly directed toward those who do use the freelance boards to post their projects.
Simple things like that help a client with how they can manage their website, especially if they are not as web savvy. A lot of times these websites are for business owners who are not wanting a long manual on how to use their website. They want it to be easy enough that your directions are few and pretty much written for dummies.
Of course there are reason why people might run into a design fail:
- Choosing a bad or not as knowledgeable designer/ coder.
- Wanted to go the cheap route.
- Not making it clear with the designer on what is needed for the site.
- Language barrier. (A lot of freelancers online are from all over the world and sometimes communication does become a problem.)
- Unwilling to learn a little, even if it only takes 5 minutes
- Rushing a design project to be completed.
It is important to gather the information together on what you want on your website before seeking out a designer or looking for a theme. It might take surfing sites to get an idea of a look or a general mock-up. Your site is important as it is your virtual business card to the world.
While you might be impressed with a portfolio, always have questions:
- What does the designer propose to do in order to complete your site?
- Does the designer have a better or more effective method in designing the site?
- How user-friendly will the site be for both visitor and administrator?
Some designers may say that something is not able to be done, but that means one thing: they do not know how to do it. If you just google what you need, you might be able to find someone who can complete your project. There are few things that cannot be designed into a website. Your best bet is to find a designer that even if they cannot complete one element, that they are resourceful enough to refer to someone who can. Reliable designers that have a good reputation online often have knowledge of “who is who” and what they can do.
Have you had a design fail in the past? How did it happen? What did you learn from it and what advice can you give to others?
When hiring/outsourcing to a designer (or coder for that matter), it is really important to provide as much graphical information as possible on how you want certain sections to look visually. While it takes more time to create the graphics, it will take much more time if the designer new to re-create something over and over again until it fits your ideas.
A lot of my clients give me creative reign. The few who do not are usually already armed with a PSD for me to splice…lol.
However, I have found having them point out a few websites they like, the colors, and the feel they want to portray with their website has made is easier for me to design. I often nail live design proofs the 1st time. And even when I do not, it is usually a minor edit here or there.
I think it has to do much with communication between the client and a highly capable/ talented designer. 🙂
Nile,
I have designed my own sites before blogs where created. I have had lots of issue being that your limited with not your imagination but if you go the free way. You can only do a little that will be comparable with the final outcome.
I was blessed being love to research and have a gift for it. I love to see hundreds of designed sites not blogs. You get a feel of what had to be coded to create the end results. There are allot of those sites that over add images with useless pitch ads. The more they load all that junk the slowing it will take for readers to see the whole site.
I just wish people would keep it simple and take your advice in seeing all that is out here and most times going the less expensive route is not good based on the final product one visualized.
Its all in the imagination of the product. Then get the codes to create that picture you see.
Nile, your one of our greatest coaches and designers and many more years to grow. We all learn from seeing others works and yours is priceless.
Thanks for giving up some hope in a dark place. People can get taken advantage of they do not have people like yourself. That is why you support is priceless. Thanks
Thanks for this tips. Designing or coding my site has been a very big challenging. I have spent a lot of money to those that present themselves as expert on the field but after the long run i discovered that they are a pain on my back. Now, i have decided to learn it to avoid spending money uselessly. I am proud that am getting something out of it. Thanks for this tips.
In the past I’ve had a few design flaws in a few parts of my website. What I learnt is that a user-friendly site is of paramount importance. This goes for nav bars and general content placement. Keeping it simple seems to work well. Gone are the days of cluttered and design. I’ve also learnt the importance of a well optimised site. This is part of the design as well. The way Google views your site is important but should not be placed ahead of the way your customer views your site.
This is so true. But sometimes the customer demands you to follow his guidelines, not the ones you know. This leads to tension between you and him. Just make sure that you give him to understand that you are doing this for a reason and if he wants a successful site, he needs to listen to you.
I’ve had a go at designing my own sites, learning by trial and error and I’ve used a couple of professional web designers to come up with something I could only dream of. What I’ve learnt is to keep everything:- simple, uncluttered and laid out well. Anything repetitive or redundant gets left out.
I have free blog theme installed on my blog and its seems that its time to buy a premium theme now.
Thanks Nile, nice post…
i’m fresh (newbie) in the designing field. i dont know weather my design is good or not, i’ve designed a blog for my friend and wanted to check if the design is Good or Not!
How can i get reviewed?
What’s great about focusing on having a great design for your blog affects how great your site will be. But we can’t blame people who want to lower the cost for that.. well, thanks a lot for this tips. This is what web owners should really look up to.
Most small business owners aren’t aware of what goes into building a site and therefore don’t have enough knowledge to know what to look for or what to ask for and sometimes just go for the cheapest price without the full understanding of what “cheap” is really costing them.
I really don’t have much of these type of problems because of the fact that I know some coding my self. Having said that, I know that hard coding something in your site can be a recipe for disaster especially if you plan on selling the site in the future. IF you have the money, you should really try and shop for the best your money can afford. Otherwise, you are gonna get what you pay for.
Which means that if you don’t pay (and don’t have the necessary designs skills) it is better to wait than to create a failed blog. The morale is very important for creating a successful blog so try to avoid small or big setbacks.
Web Design’s definitely a key thing to lift up a site. I’ve seen some sites with effective designs. So i hired the same person and got a design for my site. I love it now
Despite I would agree with everything written above, I have to confess that I have a different view at “Unwilling to learn a little, even if it only takes 5 minutes”.
Learning, even only the basics, about web design, for someone who has zero knowledge for programming, may sounds like greek. It is impossible to make him understand what is going on.
Nice post Nile, it’s certainly not easy to find a good web designer with affordable prices so many times people try to find a cheap one on freelance sites, even though there are many good web designers there from all over the world who can do an amazing work with very cheap rates there are much more who are a waste of money and time so it’s always important to make a research before you hire one…
Language barrier just kills it especially when they have grammatical errors which is the most crucial part of trying to make a coder understand instructions that needs certain detail.
Very helpful advice Nile people often do not have an idea of what there needs when 1st asked and you offer somethings they should thing about which hopefully will keep them on track.
Website design is very important. Whether you are selling a product or a service. Success will depend on the design of the website. Very useful post. Thanks a lot. I will comeback to your site for more useful posts.
I think to design a site quality content is required, if quality content is available, design site with styles and care user’s needs.
thnx for the tips …..they are really helpful………
as i’m new to blogging………..
Great article and love the tips. Very helpful. I love the design of my blog but it does have it’s flaws. I don’t really know how to fix some of the issues and am still working on them.I don’t have a whole lot of coding knowledge. Thanks for the advice.
Hi Nile…..
I think there are so many reasons behind the success and failure of website design and some of the obvious have been mentioned here. But user friendliness and easy interaction are the prime factors of website design. Believe that some has not more knowledge who wants to design their website by hiring designer but few common sense of pre-research should be. There are many designers in the market who make big claim but not necessary you always go with that claim. I agree with you if one wants expected website design then the job of gathering the information before seeking out a designer must be conducted. Thanks.
A large part of the web design we do consists of correcting mistakes or things the customer wasn’t happy with first time around.
I think it’s important when taking on a project for someone to follow up during all the main steps so if they aren’t happy with what you’re doing you can sort it as quickly as possible.
Agree with Hadley opinion, you have to be first clear your client doubts and do… what they wants? I.e., clients are always important to run your business, so be first in serving with best web services.
Thanks Nile, it’s a nice post…
Yup I agree with you. A better website design and structure can easily help you to get more visitors easily…… So one must always choose premium and reliable design for his website or blog.
hello
nile
thnx for the tips …..……they are going to help me alot
i hope to be a big programmer in the world i like web design and this tips are very useful to be have a big freelancer and they are help me a lot and i will work a bout them
Thank you