5 Risks of Indecisiveness in Web Design
A business owner’s website is often the first interaction any consumer has with a brand. So, you obviously want to make sure that your website is as close to perfect as it can be when web development is finished. While professional designers understand the need for perfection, going back and forth on decisions of critical elements like sitemaps and content needs could drastically harm the success of your website and leave a bitter taste in your mouth as a site owner. Let’s examine the 5 risks of indecisiveness as a web development client, and what you and your web design team can do to mitigate the risks of disappointment.
1. Too Many Sitemap Changes Could Mix Up Creators
Your website’s sitemap should be the first thing set in stone with the development team. The sitemap is a list of all essential site pages. It’s a guide for structure and content. Once you approve a sitemap, expect the design and development team to hit the ground running on the design and content creation process. These processes are extremely important and sometimes complex parts of your website project. Continuous changes in the creative stage send mixed signals to the creators of your project. Mixed signals between design team and client, with an ever-changing sitemap, can lead to:
- Too much or too little content creation
- The wrong pages entering development
- Inconsistency in content and creative tone
- Frustrations because the website runs the risk of falling behind its launch schedule (more on that later)
2. Indecisiveness Costs You Money
When clients sign on for design projects, they typically pay a fixed amount for the work. If there are changes made throughout the project that either take away or add to initial expectations for the site, the results can mean money lost or more money spent than originally planned. Beyond the initial contract plans for the site, development teams can charge extra for any work outside of that scope. If the client continually makes changes due to indecisiveness late in the production phase, they should expect to pay their development team for the unplanned work.
3. Your Site’s Launch Could Be Delayed
Web design projects can take between a few weeks to several months to complete. Your team’s designers and developers are scheduled resources, and your project’s timeline depends on “sticking to the plan”. That means having a concrete vision for your website. Analysis paralysis is understandable with website design and development, but too many changes can drag out the development process. That’s because creatives have to scrap what they’ve already prepared and start fresh on new ideas, or they may have other commitments scheduled that conflict with the unplanned work.
4. Incohesive Design
The site’s final product should have well thought out layouts that provide a great user experience. Repeated design changes hinder that effort. From drastically different colors throughout the site to jarring font sizes, a lack of cohesiveness can harm the user experience. Search engines don’t like that!
5. Inconsistencies in the Final Content
Similar to the visual lack of cohesiveness of a site, too many significant changes can create inconsistencies in a site’s content. Content writers typically send a draft into development after client approval. They rarely have to look back. When clients swap out pages or major chunks of content, there could be major inconsistencies in the site’s final content flow. Even worse, references could appear to pages that no longer exist or certain pages could emphasize services that the client decided weren’t necessary during the hours leading up to launch. While it’s typically the development team’s responsibility to catch and correct these inconsistencies, unplanned changes may cause developers to have to rush to meet deadlines. Making as few changes as possible beyond the site revision stage can help prevent anything from falling through the cracks.
How Can You Stop Indecisiveness in its Tracks?
As with all things design and development related, communication and planning ahead are essential. Before you have your initial meeting with your development team, it’s important to have an idea of the following aspects of your site:
- The number of pages your site requires
- The style of menu you’d prefer
- A palate of colors that are major contenders for the final site colors
- The services you really want highlighted in your site’s content
Going into a project with these decisions already made and semi-concrete can help your design team create a solid pathway to your site’s success. Yes, there may be some creative changes along the road, but as long as you ask for these changes during the site review process, your project should remain on schedule and within budget.
Big D Creative Helps You Make Decisions That Fulfill Your Design Goals
Creating your business’s first website? Work with a web design and development team that helps you set the right goals for success. Big D Creative has created beautiful, user-friendly, and SEO-focused websites for thousands of clients across all industries. We’d love to meet you! Reach out to us today to request a free quote. You’ll learn more about our process and how we can help your dream site become a reality.