- Ensure they’re “apples to apples”
Don’t be taken in by folks who want to up-sell you or give you something other than
what you asked for. Put together a site project brief that describes the key elements, must-
haves, etc. Think of a project brief as though it were a set list for your next gig. With a set
list, the whole band plays the same songs at the same time. You avoid the bassist playing
Purple Haze, while the singer’s crooning out Crazy Train.
- Have a project agreement/contract
- Reduce costs by providing as much content, assets (graphics, images, etc.) as possible
- If possible, include audience/fan research
- Provide content digitally as possible
- Keep on top of progress but don’t micro-manage
The more material and information you can provide to your designer, the less timethey’ll have into the site and that means a lower cost, in most cases. One other word to
the wise. If you don’t understand something, ask. Many designers and developers get
hung up with trade jargon–all those technical terms and alphabet soup such as ASP, PHP,
FTP, Javascript and so on. The designer probably isn’t trying to confuse you. They just
use these terms all the time and tend to forget that they can make a layperson’s head hurt.
If at all possible, have a content management system (CMS) included in your site. A
CMS is a backend tool that will allow you to maintain the site with relative ease once it’s
live. There are several open source options when it comes to CMS and your designer may
have one that they use often.