Unless the designer or agency you decided to work with has a discovery program or research team, most designers know nothing about your company or industry. Here are a few items you should prepare upfront before the designer gets started. These items will help the design process go smoothly and prevent endless frustrating corrections later on.
1. A company logo
Typically, logos are ai or eps files suitable for printed items but not online—jpeg or png of a current logo with at least a 72PPI for best screen quality. If you only have the print version that is okay, your designer should be able to covert it, but do NOT just pull the image off Google. Removing your logo off Google usually results in a blurry pixilated image. If you do not have a logo yet, designers suggest that you go to a designer before continuing to a website.
2. High-quality photos
If you want generic photos of your industry, your designer has excess to high-quality stock images that may or may not be included in your project bill, make sure to ask about this upfront. These photos can range from free to $249.99 per license for photos. For more price references, popular stock photo websites are Adobe Stock, Unsplash, Shutterstock, iStock, Rawpixel, and Pexels. If your product or service is unique or extremely niche, you want to have a photographer to take photos that accurately capture your business. Make sure you mention this is for web applications. The images should be at least about 1024 pixels wide with 72PPI (96PPI for Windows-based PC). Properly label each photo, so the designer doesn't have to guess what it is.
3. Text with correct grammar and spelling
Usually, if there is an obvious spelling/grammar mistake, the designer will correct it, but they are mostly looking at the text as a graphic itself. They are trying to relate it to appearance, such as font choices or how it will fit into space. Also, spelling and grammar correction software can't pick up jargon, certain abbreviations, or creative company names. For example, Fiverr is a website for freelance designers, used to be corrected as fever or fiber in Microsoft word. If you can afford it, hire an editor or a copywriter. They can make sure your text is correct and reads coherently.
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