Getting a custom designed website for your business is better than just grabbing a ready-made template because you’ll get a design that matches the look of your business. It will also stand out from your competitors and help build your brand. Sometimes site owners are in a hurry to establish an online presence and therefore don’t give much thought to their website’s appearance. Only later on they realize they should have invested more time and money at the beginning rather than getting a redesign down the road.
Ask for several mock up layouts before deciding on a design
When communicating with your web designer ask them to create several mock up designs. These are usually image designs that can easily be altered to accommodate the needs of the client.
Example
You may prefer the colors or header banner from one design that would look better on one of the other samples. The designer can easily interchange elements between the mock up layouts to create your perfect layout.
How many mock up layouts should be created?
A minimum of three layouts is a good number however often the designer will create variations of each design ie different color backgrounds, navigation elements, font size, etc. This provides more choices.
How do you know what’s a good design?
Future site owners often have a difficult time deciding what type of design to have for their business website. One of the easiest and fastest ways to stimulate ideas is to enter your main keyword phrase in the search engines to view related websites online. Providing examples of designs you’ve seen online will help your designer create a website you’ll fall in love with.
View web designer’s portfolio
Visit the portfolio of your web designer. Most have a web page devoted to designs they have done for past clients. This will give you some idea of the types designs you can expect. Of course you can’t copy the exact custom design from another customer but you can ask to create something similar.
View template websites
You can visit large template sites online (e.g. templatemonster.com) and search by:
- Products
- Category
- Style
- Author
- Price range
Sometimes it’s easier and less expensive to purchase a template then get it customized by a web designer rather than starting your design from scratch.
Conclusion
Creating mock up layouts is a fast and easy way to create a prototype of your future website. It offers greater design flexibility than a template because you can adjust the elements within the design so they’ll integrate with your business brand.
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