Don't design for the owner, design for the customer.
There is nothing more harmful to business, in my opinion, than for a designer to build a website for the owner as a machine, rather than using some insight and designing with the customers in mind. Sure, the website owner may get exactly what they want, but if that site doesn't demand to their market, the site is doomed and you will now have a client who is angry at you for designing a website that doesn't work!
In a perfect world, the business owner knows their market inside out. They know what will appeal to their customers, they know how to sell to them, and they know how to close. But this is not a perfect world and several business owners have little understanding of what builds their market tick. So, must a web designer make the call? Not at all... but a good designer must do their research and find out more about the market so as to guide the business owner in matters of design. A good designer knows, in broad terms, what will and won't work on any given website. A successful business owner knows, in broad terms, what will work for them. It's just a matter of the two parties working together to nail their market without being diverted by the 'designs I like' scenario. It is very rare that a business owner will be the same demographic as their customers.
Stick to what you know will work.
If there is a specific element in a design that you know works, use it! As an example, several business owners are scared of using elements such as a strong call to action ('Call Us Today! Buy Now! Save Money Today!') But hey, it works well, so why be afraid to use it? We don't suggest that our clients SCREAM it out from a rooftop... that would be as irritating as those clearance sale ads where the voiceover shouts out the message over and over again. What we suggest is to NOT be afraid to try the methods that have proven successful time and time again.
Industry leaders know what you don't.
The leaders of any industry have already done their homework. They know what will work and what won't. They have probably invested a lot of time and money into these methods, possibly through experienced marketing people, more often than not through trial and error. Why not save yourself the effort (and dollars) and copy what they are doing? This doesn't mean you copy them to the letter. You simply take their concept, and improve upon it. That's evolution for you. Its how the world turns, learns and grows. Then when YOU become the industry leader, you can be the poor sucker who has to spend money into discovering how to stay ahead of the pack! Lucky you! |
