It is very rare for a web design (or any design for that matter) to be perfect on the first attempt (we have achieved it a few times, but most of the time design is a process between the designer and the client). That is why we and many web designers offer one round of edits free per page to make sure we can get a design you the client are happy with.
Communicate effectively
To avoid multiple rounds of edits, it is important for the client to make sure they first of all have a very clear idea of what they want their site to look like, what they want it to accomplish and how they want it to function. Second, the client must communicate these in a way that can be understand by the designer.
Constructive feedback
Designers have thick skins and do not take requests for edits personally, instead they want to work with you to produce a design you are happy with. So it's better to be honest about something if you don't like it, but also explain why you don't think a design is working for you. Constructive feedback is a lot more helpful than just "it's not what I was thinking" or "I hate it". Explain to your designer, what you like and what you don't like and why that is. Include as many details and examples as possible so your designer can understand exactly what you are looking for.
Sending feedback
At TP digital, we do not accept site feedback or editing requests via the phone. Instead we ask for a written, marked up format of the changes requested. This is to ensure greater accuracy and also so we can share them with our team/team member working on your site changes.
We prefer to receive changes either using the great Wix Get Feedback function, that is available on the Get Feedback link we send to clients when asking them to review a site, or via email. The Get Feedback tool is great as it allows clients to quickly pinpoint which part of the site or area of the screen they want changed, mark it and then provide a comment/feedback. We then receive these in our dashboard and we have tools to mark them off when they are done.
Another tool similar to this is called Markup Hero - a free screenshot and annotation tool made to increase productivity and improve communication. It allows you to screenshot the page you want changes on and then annotate it ready for you to send direct to your designer.
Summary: Things to remember when providing feedback
It may be obvious to you what you mean in your feedback, but make sure your feedback is as clear as possible
Visual feedback in form of drawings attached to emails or markup tools like those mentioned above, make editing much quicker as its easier to identify exactly where changes need to be made (drawings help us greatly and don't worry we are not expecting some masterpiece, even a quick doodle can make it clearer for us what you want changed and where).
Make sure you clear your cache and refresh your browser if you are having problems viewing latest changes.
If you are using a Word document for text changes, make sure you allow track changes so your designer can quickly and easily see your latest round of changes and not waste hours checking through long documents for the latest edit requests.
When edits are not made as you requested, explain in further detail to your designer exactly how you wish them to be made, there may have been a misunderstanding in communication of your edits.
Factor in editing time in your website build schedule - sometimes what can seem to be small edits can actually take a lot longer to implement due to various factors from making the functionality work as you envisioned, to making sure it is accessible to all.
Don't forget to check the mobile version of the site and send any edits to your designer if there is something you are not happy with.
If your designer is also setting up your SEO make sure you ask for details of the on-page SEO setup so you can check it against the keywords you are using for your marketing and advertising. Then feedback any changes to them before the site is published and Google crawls it.
