So you’re starting the process of building a website for your business and you’re working with a developer. And now you’re wondering what you can do to keep the process running smoothly.
If this is you, that’s great! Having clients that are concerned about keeping the build running smoothly makes things a lot easier.
There are a few client-related items that can hold up websites being built. It’s super frustrating when I’m as ready as I can be, but can’t move forward because I’m waiting for the client to get me something or do something.
So if you don’t want to be this client, here are some things to keep in mind to keep everything running on time.
Have a plan before you start
The single biggest thing you can do to help all of this run smoothly is to have a plan for the website before you even start to look for a developer.
As the famous Benjamin Franklin quote goes, “failing to plan is planning to fail.” And it very much holds true with building a website. Without a plan, it’s going to take the developer a lot longer to figure out what you truly need this website to be and create their plan to build it for you. And that costs you time and money.
What should your plan look like? Well, there’s no one way to really do this; just whatever works for you. I like to start out with the basics. Write down where your business is currently at, where you want it to be in the future and where you see this website fitting into all of that. And then of course add in your wants and needs for the website.
Now of course, your plan might not be 100 percent complete when you bring the web developer on board, especially if this is your first big website. And that’s okay. Sometimes you haven’t quite thought through everything that’s needed in a website. Or maybe something you want just isn’t going to be possible. You can fill in those smaller gaps as you go along.
But definitely have a plan that broadly outlines what you want and need this website to do and how it’s going to help your business achieve the goals you’ve set for it. Your developer will thank you.
Tell the Story of Your Small Business With a Website
Every small business has a story. And every small business needs a website to help tell it. A website allows people to find you online, serves as a home base for any marketing effort and can help you tell the story of your business. So if you’re ready to give your business its first website or are ready to take your site to the next level, let’s get started on making that happen.
Let’s Get Started on Telling Your Story With a WebsiteBe timely and responsive
Also, please make sure that you are responsive to messages from the designer and/or developer and that you are timely with your end of things, particularly payment.
Nothing bogs down a website build more than not being able to get in touch with the client. If I need something from you but you don’t respond, I can’t work on the website. That doesn’t help anybody in the process.
Along those same lines, make sure you’re paying the developer on time with your agreed-to deadlines. If you don’t pay, the developer won’t work. And that means your website is going to take longer to create and not helping your business grow.
And if you do need more time for something, let them know as soon as you can. I have no problem changing something in the process if I know about it ahead of time.
Communication: it helps avoid so many problems.
Know where your content is coming from and be on time with it
Finally, please make sure that if you’re responsible for the content that you get it in on time.
In my experience, content has held a good number of websites. The client has either been slow to respond, slow to get the content together or doesn’t know where it’s coming from. And that is absolutely frustrating.
A designer can use filler text and images to get a rough idea going for the design, and a developer can use dummy text to code the website, but oh boy is it so much better if we can use actual content so that we can truly get an idea of how everything is going to look and fit together.
Plus, you know, we can’t take the site live until we get all of the content into the website. So delays here, again, slow down the process and cost you time and likely money and potential customers.
So if you’re looking for ways to make sure you’re not holding up the website build, keep these things in mind. Delays will likely happen; it’s just a part of the business unfortunately. But keeping up with these three things will help you avoid any major delays.
