There’s a moment in every website project when the designer sends over the first design and asks for your thoughts. It’s exciting, and slightly daunting. You know whether you like it, but turning that feeling into feedback a designer can act on is harder than it sounds. Good design feedback is a skill, and it’s easy to learn.
Then, later, comes sign-off: the point where you confirm the design is right and the build can go ahead, or the site is ready to launch. Get these two moments right and the project runs smoothly. Get them wrong and you end up in endless revision rounds, or live with things you wish you’d questioned.
Before you look, remind yourself of the brief
Reread your brief before opening the design. What was the site meant to achieve? Who is it for? What did you say mattered most? Judge the design against those goals first, and your personal taste second.
It’s easy to react to colours and images, because they’re the first thing you see. It’s more useful to ask whether a new visitor would understand what you do, find what they need, and know how to get in touch.
How to give design feedback that helps
Describe the problem, not the fix
“Make the button bigger and red” is a solution. “I didn’t notice the button at first” is a problem. Designers are generally better at solving problems than following instructions, and the fix they come up with may work better than the one you had in mind.
Be specific
“It doesn’t feel right” gives a designer nothing to work with. Try to say which part, and why. “The top section feels corporate, and our customers are mostly families” is something they can act on.
Say what you like, too
Positive design feedback isn’t just politeness. It tells the designer what to keep while they change other things.
Consolidate feedback into one list
If several people are reviewing, collect their comments, resolve contradictions internally, and send one clear list. Five separate emails with conflicting opinions is the quickest way to slow a project down.
Good design feedback describes what a visitor will experience and why it matters. It leaves the designer room to find the best fix.
Keep the review group small
It’s tempting to show designs to everyone for their opinion. Resist it. Too many reviewers leads to design by committee, where every strong idea gets sanded down until nothing stands out. Pick one decision maker and a small group of people whose input genuinely matters, such as someone who deals with customers daily.
If someone senior needs to approve the final design, involve them early. Late surprises from a director who hasn’t seen anything until the last round are a common cause of delays.
What to check before you sign off a design
- Does it meet the goals in the brief?
- Have you seen the mobile version as well as desktop?
- Are the key pages covered, not just the homepage?
- Is the text readable, with enough contrast?
- Are calls to action clear on every page?
- Is dummy text still standing in for real content? If so, is the real content on its way?
- Are you happy with the photography approach, and do you have the images to deliver it?
Signing off a design usually means changes after that point cost extra time or money, so it’s worth taking an extra day to check properly.
Signing off the finished website
Before approving a site for launch, test it rather than just looking at it. Click every link in the menu. Fill in every form and check the email arrives. Read every page for typos and out-of-date information. Try it on at least one phone and one laptop. Check that your contact details, opening hours and prices are correct.
Ask your designer for a list of what’s been tested, and what you’re expected to check yourself. It avoids gaps where each side assumes the other has done it.
Your next step
If a design review is coming up, put an hour in the diary, reread the brief, and write your design feedback in one document using the approach above. If you’re earlier in the process, agree with your designer up front how many rounds of changes are included and who has final say.
A clear review process is part of how we run every website design and development project. For brand-led projects where the look matters as much as the build, see our brand identity work.
