As a web site designer, one of your primary goals is to help your client “sell” its products or services. We learn this from the first day of our graphic design education journey. Through the use of colors, photos, fonts and more, you work to create a portal into the persona of the company. Whether it is ice cream, health care, medication, shoes or washing machines, your design gives an impression. This is your goal. But what happens when your vision does not match your client’s?

It has happened to even the best web designers. You meet with your client, ask all the right questions, develop an outline, and work countless hours to produce the product you think will best meet their expectations. You are finally done. You email the test link and await the response. A few hours later your email box gives you that all too familiar signal that a message has arrived and you read, “This is not exactly what we had in mind. Please give us a call to discuss.”

What is the best way to be sure you and your client are on the same page and save yourself the time and energy of developing a product that may get shot down?

• Ask for one or two samples of web sites the client has seen that they like and ask why. Sometimes people have a difficult time conveying creative concepts verbally. Even if it only gives you insight into the type of navigation tools they prefer, knowing in advance has the potential to save you time and money.
• Ask for one or two samples of web sites they do not like and ask why. You may get insight into color palettes the client despises or photo layouts to avoid.

While you certainly cannot totally avoid edits and redesigns, asking for samples of likes and dislikes is a good way to put a dent in your time spent doing revisions.

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