What redesigning an entire website taught me

I never used to ask my clients the right questions.

When I started this business, my biggest learning experience and the one that hit me straight in the gut, was having to redesign an entire site from scratch. The one and only time it happened but it really had an impact. It made me feel like a failure, question myself, and had me wondering how I could even call myself a web designer.

But I did it. I rebuilt the whole thing, top to bottom. And I learned two lessons that have shaped every project since.

Lesson one: be confident in your why

Know why you made the decisions you made, and say it out loud.

At the time I was brand new and genuinely nervous. I knew why I had designed the layout the way I did. I understood the logic. But I was not confident enough to explain it to the client. So when they pushed back, I had nothing to offer. No explanation. No rationale. Just silence.

We could have met in the middle. We probably would have, if I had spoken up. Instead, I said nothing, they were unhappy, and the whole thing had to be done again.

The lesson you could take from this whether you are a business owner or a service provider is the same. If you believe in your approach, explain it. Not defensively, not arrogantly, but clearly. Educate the people you work with about your process. Show them why your decisions are in their best interest. That conversation is the difference between a successful project and a frustrating one.

What this looks like in our process now

When I build a site, I explain my decisions. Why the navigation is structured a certain way. Why certain content lives where it does. Why a specific layout choice serves the user better than the alternative. Clients who understand the why are more confident in the outcome. And they are better at giving useful feedback.

Lesson two: ask the right questions upfront

Not every client is the right fit. Not every product or service is the right solution for every person who walks in the door. The kindest thing you can do for yourself and for them, is figure that out before the project begins.

Ask the questions that tell you whether what you do actually solves their problem. Will it make their life easier? Save them time? Save them money? Does it fit their audience, their budget, their goals?

My mistake

In that project, I did not pay enough attention to who the client’s audience actually was. It was a site for primarily older adults, and I designed it like it was for 25-year-old outdoor enthusiasts. The whole site was aimed at the wrong people. I was so excited about the project and so caught up in the creative that I designed for what I wanted, not for who was actually going to use it.

The moment I saw the finished product, I knew I had missed the mark entirely. It was my fault, and I owned it.

The redemption part

The same clients came back a few years later for a new site. And that one was a success for both of us. They are still my clients to this day, one of the OGs.

I tell this story a lot, in project meetings and in conversations with other designers, because it is a good reminder that the mistakes that sting the most are also the ones that teach you the most. And because any client who gives you a second chance deserves to have you show up differently.

Spend the time educating your clients on what you do, and why, through your website, your marketing, your conversations. And trust yourself.

If you are ready to work with a designer who will actually tell you why, let’s talk.