Like any other business, we like to learn and analyze and write case studies that benefit other clients. When it comes to outsourcing web design, we have outlined a step-by-step guide to help make your website project as easy as it can be.

Why you need to Outsource your Website Design

Cost Advantage of outsourcing: You need a website and you can’t afford somebody local. We as business owners make decisions all the time, the one’s that can increase or decrease our costs, and web design is something that everyone needs. www keeps on evolving. It’s something we can’t do without, and it isn’t something you can do on your own, as you don’t have the time, or the skills needed to catch up to the latest must have’s or don’t do’s and all those fancy jargon that technology throws at us.

How to make website design a stress free affair

Writing Clear instructions and relaying your ideas go a long way: The better and more detailed you are in doing so, it saves you a headache and lot of time in the long run, doing revisions. Imagine, I send you an email “attached my logo file, create a design based on this and wow me”. Failure to relay what exactly you want to your virtual assistant, often results in designs that are complete opposite of what you had in mind, and you swear off never to outsource ever again. To avoid such frustration we have laid out simple steps to help you in the process.

So here’s how you can make your next website project stress free, the one that saves you time and money.

Step 1: The layout or the Framework

You need to have a basic idea on what you want your website to look like and the functionality. Most often, we lay too much importance on the looks that the functional part is left out.

1. How do you want your website to “look” like: Let’s talk about design purely: Example sites act as a very good point of reference for your virtual assistant.
   • You can select about 3-5 different websites and pick what you like most about them.
     from reference site 1 abcdotcom, I like the blog layout, registration forms are great on xyzdotcom and would like to have something similar.
   • Pick the colors, if you more techy, you can send the pantone shade numbers, if not there are software’s like colorloversdotcom to help you choose the perfect palette. Or you can just say lets keep it blue and grey like this sample website colors.
   • If you already have a website and a business and would like to retain few elements of your original design for branding purposes, please mention that. This can be true for a winery website, architecture firm, law firms and many other industries.
2. Functionality: There is no point having a pretty website that does not have the functions you want. Say you want a shopping cart function on your website, you need to decide first hand which shopping cart platform has the features you like the most. There are numerous open source-shopping carts each one more promising than the other, but you need to identify what fits your needs. Second example can be, having users register of sign up as members to your website, or you want users to post listings or make reservations, or any other functionality you want to have, needs to be clearly mentioned to your web design assistant at the initial stages.

Step 2: Managing the Project

Once your assistant knows the goals and understands your ideas based on your project design needs and functionality described above, your virtual worker can suggest you the best possible designs and solutions to achieve those. To keep the process streamlined and for best results, follow the simple steps below:

• Mockups: Ask your assistant to make mockups before he starts coding. so that everyone is on the same page.
• Edits and feedback: Positive criticism and timely feedback is very necessary. if there is something you don’t like, before you jump the gun, ask your assistant, why he or she chose to have it that certain way. You can send screenshots, ppt, or write simple steps to make the edits or changes to the mockups designed.
• Managing your project on daily basis: You can use certain online tools that are mostly free like basecamp, balsamiq, and so many other project management tools and engage in discussions, upload files, provide feedback, or you can do this simply via email. Follow the method that works best for you.

• Set timelines: Your virtual assistant should be accountable for delivering the project in the defined timelines as long as they are realistic. Creating accountability is important to manage your projects. Especially if you have multiple projects going on at same time.
• Share files and folders: We always advocate of using time in best ways possible. Web design often involves sharing large files and can be time consuming and tedious. Thanks to technology now you can do so with a click. Online software’s like google drive, docs, dropbox, you send it, boxit and so many other software’s can help you share and manage all your files smoothly.

• Dealing with issues: If you come across something you don’t like. don’t say “ I don’t like it, or Really? is this the best you can do?” without giving out clear details on what you want to change, or how would you rather have it done. Lack of sending out clear instructions, can prove futile for both parties and will frustrate you and your virtual assistant. The most important way to make this virtual relation work is to be specific, positive and be open to discussion in good times and bad.
• Testing your final Product: Testing out the features before making your project live is crucial. After Functionalities like logins, forms, listings, shopping cart, sign up forms, social media links etc, its time to sit back and wait for the results to show.

Conclusion: The world of outsourcing and working with someone based half way across the world can be confusing when you first start out. As you get a few projects older, you realize how did you ever ran your business or manage your daily tasks without your virtual assistants. Outsourcing is your secret weapon, that gives you leverage of time and cost over your competitors and your virtual assistants become a part of your team.