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Last Updated: Sep 3rd, 2006 - 22:48:07 |
Hiring a Design Firm to Redesign Your Site
Eventually every site needs a new look. Web sites rot if they're neglected. The content stales, the graphics start to look goofy, and the navigational structure becomes muddied with new additions. Contracting with a good Web-design firm can bring new eyes to the creative process and more hands to keyboards to get the project done quickly.
You're not off the hook, though. No one picks a plastic surgeon at random in the phone book, plops down in his office, and says, "Well, do whatever you think is best - I just want a new me."
Selecting the right shop for the job can be tricky. Since you're the one who knows what you want to achieve with the Web site, it's up to you to steer the design firm you hire down the right path. To do this properly, you need to start by shaping and articulating your goals.
Defining the Project
First of all, you have to figure out what you're doing before you can ask someone else to do it for you. How big is the redesign? What aspects of your current site do you want to change? Are there any elements that fall under the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" rule?
Technological pieces like commerce or community tools may require specific expertise. A search engine, database, and even certain multimedia elements should be considered special services. Even if you don't understand the nature of these elements yourself, the geeks in charge of your current Web site probably have opinions about this stuff, so make sure you consult them as you go. Whether you listen to them is, of course, your call.
Do you plan to generate a lot of new content, or are you interested in rearranging the stuff you've got? If you need new copy written, do you plan on doing it in-house or hiring a freelancer? Or will you leave it up to the design firm?
Take the time to meet with everyone who has a stake in the Web site. Find out what they want from a new one. While you're at it, encourage them to gripe about the current site. Ask people to describe their favorite and most hated sites. Have everyone take a look at sites of the competition and then discuss what works and what doesn't.
Once you have everyone's input, use it to shape - as diplomatically and inclusively as possible - a unified set of goals and sub-goals. Make sure these goals address all the questions listed above.
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Toronto web design we can help ( 416 894 7217)
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