In this new sequence, I’ll show you how to manage your relationship with a website designer or consultant.
When you set up your web presence you have three options:
- Do it yourself. If you understand the basics, eg html and css, it isn’t difficult to do it yourself, with packages such as WordPress. If you have time and patience, the big advantage is you are not paying someone. However, no-one knows everything and you will inevitably find you need help with something!
- If you know what your site will do for you but want to save time, then hire a designer. You need to manage this relationship. Some designers have a lot of experience and can deliver to a clear remit with minimal oversight. Third sector, designers can lack experience, working for next to nothing; they understand how things work but not necessarily how to design a web presence that does the job. Someone with limited experience may be able to help but will need supervision. To supervise effectively you need to understand what’s involved.
- If you are not sure what you need or what your web presence can do for your organisation, you need a consultant.
The many online guides for people who set up their own websites cover option 1. This sequence is going to equip you with the basic technical knowledge you need for options 2 and 3. Third sector organisations may find with professional help they can do a lot of the work in-house. So, this information may help with option 1 as well!
Which do You Need?
If you employ an experienced designer or consultant they guide you through the steps. It is helpful to have some understanding of their role. If a website designer has technical knowledge only, the initiative is with you to guide creation of your web presence.
My sequence about consultancy will help you understand more about the role of the consultant and consultor. These new Thursday posts will introduce you to the technical knowledge you need to guide an inexperienced designer or work more productively with an experienced designer or consultant.
Design is a species of consultancy. Not all designers necessarily see it that way. In conversation you will find your ideas change and develop but you may find you need to steer the design process to do what you need. Equally not all consultants are necessarily brilliant at all aspects of technique. They can help you work out what is and is not possible online and help with design details.
The Difference
It is not always clear-cut but consultants help you solve problems – this is what I want to do in real life, how can my web presence help? – whereas designers find the best solution to an agreed plan. So a consultant might help you work out what you need from a WordPress theme, a designer will find the best theme and adapt it to meet your needs. Sometimes the same person does both.
You need to understand your designer or consultant’s offer, their strengths and weaknesses and manage your relationship accordingly.
So, for this sequence I shall assume you know what you want. There may be some choices to make and you will change your mind as your web presence develops but you are crystal clear about your requirements. This is probably never true in real life but the assumption will enable me to focus on the technical issues. I’ll deal with other issues elsewhere.
What have you found to be most problematic about your relationships with web designers or consultants? What are the marks of a good relationship?
