The process of creating a website will go smoothly if you are well prepared before hiring a website designer. A few important items that you can have on hand before the design process starts, follow: 

The purpose of your website: Are you going to use it as an online brochure and send people to it or do you want it to bring people to you? Are you going to use it to sell your products, such as books, workshops, classes, etc? A visitor with the intent of buying something will want a different style of website than the visitor who is looking for information.

Target market: Every successful website is designed with the typical end user in mind. For example, a website for a funeral company wouldn't use the same colors, fonts, layout, or technology that a website for skateboards would use.

Create a customer profile of your ideal customer or client listing everything you know about them, such as age, income bracket, lifestyle, special interest, and region that could shape the design of your website. Any information that you can give the web designer about your target market will help them design a website that will appeal to your visitors.

If your business is personal, such as coaching, it must reflect you as much as possible. Spend some time surfing the net, looking at Other People's websites. Pick a minimum of 3 that you like and 3 that you don't like and make notes about what you like and don't like about them.

Features you want on your website: Whether you want shopping cart, flash, Email form for contacting you or refer-a-friend form. Let the designer know whether you need updates and maintenance after the website goes live. If they don't do maintenance then ask if they can refer you to someone else.

Content of the pages: In addition to a home page and a page about you, what other pages you envision? This is important information for your website designer to have before they give an estimate on the cost of your website design.

Print material such as letterheads and envelopes: It's advisable to let your website designer know early enough if you need print items. It is because images on the web are of a much lower resolution than print images. An image of higher resolution can be made into one of lower resolution, but the inverse is not easy. If you are going to have a graphic designer do your logo, run it by your website designer before it's final. Some images are not easily transferable from print to web.

Understanding the designer: Don't be afraid to ask questions. If you don't understand the answers, say so. If the designer can't give you answers that you understand then they may not be the designer for you. The creation of a website is not a process done by one person alone. It is a co-creation between you and the designer or design team. Your website is a reflection of you and it is your responsibility and right to participate in the process of its creation.

Testing: Your designer should test your site before it is completed. Will it look good in Internet Explorer as well as Netscape browsers? It should be able to be viewed in all resolutions. Without extensive testing, your site may not look good to a large number of your customers.