10 Problems People Have With Their Web Designer and How to Avoid Them

Expectation vs Reality – an anti-climatic tale as old as time. Knowing what you are getting will hopefully guarantee you satisfaction with your web designer. 

Read the common misconceptions I get too often during the web design process. 

1. Thinking your web designer is going to write your content for you. Repeat after me: “designers are not copywriters.” Now this may be included in some designers packages but I would hesitate a guess that they have outsourced the writing element to the copywriter otherwise, the copy may be subpar. It is such a skill writing engaging copy and I understand you would rather not do it – so hire a copywriter! It’s an investment that will pay back in volumes. 

2. Expecting time extensions. The time during the project is the time to provide detailed feedback to your designer not to get your content together. In an ideal world ALL content should be supplied before the project starts. I understand you are busy but so are we. You have to understand timing in projects matter to our end profit on the project. I don’t say that to sound like all I care about is the money, I want it to be clear that this is a business and keeping to timelines should be acknowledged. 

3. Not happy your site isn’t ranking #1 on Google – as soon as you go live. Let me say, you may never get there. Some web designers may offer SEO services but I don’t as it is a journey. I have worked with SEO specialists before and they say at a minimum it can take 3 months to see any improvement to ranking. The way Google changes their standards is a full time job in of itself. SEO is something that you should definitely work on for a successful online business but it is not something that I offer. 

4. Confused why your low-res, watermarked screenshot images are being rejected. Images are everything in web design and not something to skimp out on. I get it – you might not be a model and not enjoy being in front of the camera but it make such a difference to the overall design. If you don’t have professional images the next best thing is to source royalty-free images. Unsplash is a great resource and one I visit all the time for placeholder images. 

5. Not knowing your login information and expecting your web designer to get it – somehow! Not knowing the difference between hosting and domain providers is forgivable – it’s not your wheelhouse! I get it, I do. There may be some detective work on your end to get access to these registries, this is not something that anybody can do for you. As you know when you reset your password the new password link arrives in your inbox. 

6. Not allowing time for feedback or appreciation during the project. It is best to assume that life is going to throw up challenges, especially when you have other things going on. Have you ever said, “I don’t have time for this!!”? Me too. Project timelines make the difference between earning money and working for no profit. When projects overlap designers get stressed and you don’t get the best work – it’s really that simple. Prioritising time to provide detailed feedback and appreciation – just say thank you, even if it feels like there are a lot of changes. Those two words matter, believe me. At the end you will have a designer that wants to work with you again and you having a website to proudly direct people too. You might like this article on ‘How to Give Feedback to Your Designer – Design Talk for the Non-Creatives’

7. Expecting changes after you go live. Once you approve to go live, that is it for the changes. Unless you have agreed otherwise or are on website support with the designer you really shouldn’t be asking for major changes. Changes you can ask for are any responsive issues, overlapping elements or an obvious oversight but expecting your designer to make layout changes at this stage of the game will come at a cost.

8. Expecting the mobile version to look exactly like the desktop version. There is a reason why the mobile website looks different. It is being shown on a portrait rectangle instead of a landscape rectangle. Because of this elements will be stacked, sections will be different and some functionality won’t work. It’s not due to laziness, it is down to technical limitations across mobile devices and still allowing your content to be legible. 

9. Thinking your web designer is responsible for your email issues. It’s not our job to see why your emails aren’t delivering. It just isn’t. Completely understand how annoying emails not delivering or arriving is, you should reach out to your email host to decipher what is happening not your web designer. I will always try and help and direct you there!

10. Wanting your web designer to redo changes, technically termed flip-flopping.

I get you want to see what it looks like this way and that way, but please trust that we show you what is best at the beginning. We have tried different ways and more times than not it didn’t work. Happy to make those changes so you can see if doesn’t work but to only have to revert it back the way it was is tiresome and wasted time in the project.

Boy, was this therapeutic to write down! I started with 5 issues which quickly grew to 10 – these things happen ALL the time. These common grievances are affected both client and designer. 

Although what is offered in the web design project is clearly outlined in the agreement and contract that is to be read, accepted and signed prior to the web design to begin, you betcha one of the above issues happen every web build.

If this post reaches one person who is seeking a web designer to build their website I will be happy. Please know what you are buying before you buy it – designers don’t like a discontent client anymore than you might feel underwhelmed.