Website Design Kick-Off Meetings

After signing on with a web design company to build your website, you will need to get the ball rolling with a kick-off meeting. This meeting is the first step in a series of meetings for website development.

The kick-0ff meeting is typically held so that representatives of the website and the agency can meet face-to-face and start discussions about different aspects of the project.

But Why?

It is important to have a kick-off meeting for the web design project for various reasons. First and foremost, this meeting ensures that you and your web design company are on the same page before proceeding with your website development. The web design company will be able to explain its design process as well as outline its expectations for the rest of the project. This is the first opportunity for the web designers to get to know your company well and make observations that will guide the website project.

The Questionnaire

The web design company that you signed with will usually provide you with a questionnaire, and “intake form,” before the kick-off meeting. Your answers to the intake form will serve as a foundation for what will be discussed during the meeting. They will also serve as the basis for additional discussions on how to go about your website project.

The intake form will outline the values associated with your brand, your target audience, and the details of your expected customers.  For example:

• Who is your ideal customer?
• Are they usually female, male, or a mix?
• What is their average age?
• Do they usually have kids?
• What type of websites do they visit and buy from?
• What do they do for fun?
• What is their average education level?

Knowing these details will allow the agency to plan the design and user experience of your website around comparable websites that you see as efficient and appealing.

Web Design Expectations

During the kick-off meeting, you should will inform your web design company about what you want to include on your website and information about your organization, and you should convey a strong sense of the direction you want to go.

Topics of Conversation

The discussion in the meeting generally covers the client and the needs of their project. Topics can include some or all of the following:

• The members of the two teams and the responsibility of each.
• The design and development process.
• The background and business of the client’s company.
• The target audience and their anticipated needs.
• Brainstorming about the structure and functionality of the website, available resources, and the content that needs to be created.
• The client’s objectives in the website.
• Review of the design.
• A plan of action.

The kick-off meeting is expected to settle everything that will be needed in the website design process. It follows the old saying that “slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.” Even though it takes a while up front, a well-planned and executed meeting will pave the way to an attractive, functional website in the end.