Questions To Ask When Reviewing A Web Design

Web designers are quite often forced to undergo a review process for their creations – whether this is a review that they conduct themselves or one that is undertaken by the client, this process is an important one. Knowing what questions people are likely to ask can help you to come up with better designs right from the beginning.

But what questions do clients, bosses and web developers (whom designers must work closely with) generally ask when it comes to reviewing a web design (in no particular order)?

• What is memorable about this design?

Being memorable is one of the main aims of an effective web design – after all, if potential customers don’t quickly recognise you or your website in the future, how can you expect them to buy from you?

• Who needs to know or see that?

Asking this question is generally because the reviewer has noticed something that they don’t feel is necessary on the page. As the web designer, you obviously have your reasons for including and excluding certain elements – explain these reasons here and ascertain whether they are relevant or not.

• What is the simpler version of this web design

Sometimes a website looks overly busy and complicated, prompting people to ask whether there is a simpler version that may work a bit better. Perhaps you can have design a simpler version from the get go, allowing you to bring it up when the question is asked.

• What would happen if we got rid of this element?

Occasionally, you will come across an image or an element of a requested web design that you don’t feel fits in with the overall aesthetic or feeling of the website – if you think this, chances are others will too, so create a design that has that image or element removed to see if it looks any better.

• How can we make this more obvious?

If you feel that buttons or information is not overly obvious to website visitors, start considering how you can make these things more obvious without compromising the design. Do you change the font colour or put it in a coloured box?

• Is that element or information worth scrolling?

A lot of web designers know that many visitors loathe having to scroll down pages and pages in order to get the information they are after so, when making visitors scroll, it is important to ask yourself whether the elements or information below are worth their time or whether they can be included somewhere else.

While these are by no means the only questions that are asked about web design, they are the most common and the most likely to help in creating better designs. By asking yourself these questions first, you will be prepared for whatever your client, boss or web developer throws at you.