Collecting Content – Get rid of this pain point!

One of the reasons customers might be dragging their feet on providing content is that they don’t understand the web design process and/or don’t know exactly what they should provide. This is especially relevant if this is a brand-new website instead of a website redesign.

Ensure that you are walking them through your process and why it is important to have the basic structure of their content in mind when creating the design (and why plunking text in at the end isn’t the ideal procedure). Although this information should all be laid out in the design proposal, get them to consider the following areas in the context of the content:

• Goals: What are the primary objectives of the website?
• Target Audience: Who is this site for and what are their demographics? Why would a user visit your site and what should they take away?
• Text and images: What text and images will meet the above goals and will speak to the described audience? As well, what exists already and what needs to be created?

By adding a section clearly stating that content is the customer’s responsibility, you may be able to bypass the content collection headache. Make sure that you state any and all sections that must be provided by the customer and consider including some negative repercussions.

You can charge a fee if content is not delivered on the agreed upon date; add this to your invoice and reference the proposal/contract. If a client is aware that they are being charged for their tardiness, it may inspire them to put pen to paper a bit more quickly.

Alternatively, you could simply state that if content is not delivered on the agreed upon date, you will proceed with the design as previously discussed and the delivery date will not change. So, they will be receiving your finalized website design by a certain date and your payment is due at that time, however, it is up to them to ensure the content is included. If you decide to go this route, ensure you have set due dates for each individual piece of content and the client has signed off on these. As well, send plenty of reminders and follow the rest of the schedule to a T, providing preview links to show clients why this content is needed.

Consider including a few different sections for content collection to ensure that you have a clear picture of what they want from the website, as well as all the content you need.

• Logos, Images, Text: Ask for finalized logos, images, and text in the format you require.

Tip: emphasize the importance of quality images. As a designer, you know that this can make or break a site so passing this tip on to your customers can ensure you get appropriate photos.

• Company Info: Get all of the basic information you need – contact info, all business names, social media profiles, etc. – that you might need for various areas throughout the website
• Audience: Ask some audience-specific questions to help guide your design.
• Design: Get specific examples and links to designs they like (or don’t like).
• Text Content: Get customers to commit to specific pages by requiring text for each of them, as well as any other requests (e.g. images). List page-specific questions to provide some additional text or context if needed.
• Features: Requested features are likely included in the proposal/contract but asking customers to commit to them in your questionnaire can help guide your design.