Giving feedback to your web designer can be a daunting experience, especially if you do not feel comfortable with the designer you are working with. So before I go even further, the number one and most important thing is that you find a designer you are happy and comfortable working with and that you would feel comfortable giving feedback to!
Start at the beginning
Work through the design proof that your designer sent to you. Go through it step by step and jot down what you love, like and don’t like about your design. Making notes for yourself to refer to will help you provide appropriate feedback when you reply.
Be specific
Comments like “I’ll love it when I see it” or “Could you make it pinker” aren’t very helpful and not specific enough to properly guide your designer make the edits you need. By telling your designer exactly what you love and what you really don’t like will help them make the edits you want to see. Don’t be afraid to tell them exactly what you don’t like about something and give details why no matter how nitty gritty you feel like they are. You are paying for the service and your designer will value thorough feedback from you.
Be descriptive
This may seem like a repeat of the be specific point but provide as much detail as possible. Each point will need to be described in as much detail as possible. Here is an example:
I don’t like the header because:
- the logo is too large – I would prefer it to be quite a bit smaller (about 15% page width) and centered
- the menu is too busy – please place the following items as a drop down menu under the about tab
- please change the menu color from dark blue to black and make the menu hover color green. I would also like a line to appear under the item that is hovered over.
- I love the font that you have used and would like this same font used as the drop down menu font.
Your designer will adore you if you provide feedback like this! It is specific, descriptive yet to the point!
Understand why your designer has done something
Us designers can be funny lots and we often do things because of a technical reason or because it can only be done in a certain way. They may not always explain to you why they do it and you are well within your rights to ask why they have done something. If you still are unhappy with how something has been done after their explanation, you can always ask them whether there is another way to do it or if another theme would be best suited to your designs.
Remember, less is more
We all want all the bells and whistles on our blog but remember less is more and often simpler is so much better and your designer will know that. They will advise you whether your site is becoming too complicated and whether this will become confusing to your audience.
You should always have a clear understanding of how your designer operates before working with them. Do they work with you for a set amount of time and provide unlimited edits within this time or do they provide 2 edits and a final proof – each designer works differently. But, ultimately, the more feedback you provide from the first proof, will make your designer’s life much easier and the whole design process go much smoother.
