3 ways a freelance designer can freshen up your website

Are you tired of your website — frustrated by its limited capabilities and stale design? Perhaps the problems are easy to identify, but the thought of solving them creates a sense of crippling anxiety.

You know that great design combined with intuitive functionality is the key to gaining more customers, but even a truly great in-house design team can suffer from designer’s block every now and then.

You may just need a little push to figure out what changes will truly surprise and delight your customers. But you don’t have to invest in state-of-the-art technology or shell out the big bucks for a new full-time designer. What you need is an external voice — but not a permanent one.

That’s where a freelancer comes in handy. Freelancers can be incredible assets when redesigning your website. And your in-house design team members will be happy to have an extra person to help them while they concentrate on other tasks for the company. In fact, if your in-house team is any good, it already knows that the site needs work and will be more than willing to hear some fresh creativity.

Here are three tangible, powerful results freelancers bring to the table:

1. The customer connection

By definition, your design team works for the company, so teammates obviously know how your website works. The end user, on the other hand, might get lost looking for your “About” page. Bringing in an outside expert will allow you to communicate your vision to someone who can carry it out in a way that will engage and captivate your users.

Great design experts are emotionally connected to the experience of the end user. Their goal is simple: to forge a connection. Successful designers know that a great website is not only about the graphics, but also the customer usability. That usability is actually what gives the company a competitive edge.

Freelancers are able to see projects with a fresh set of eyes and build websites with people in mind. This ease of use affects viewers’ emotional state, creating a sense of enchantment with your company and the products or services you’re selling.

2. Community engagement

As an entrepreneur, you may be an expert at engaging in interpersonal conversations or selling your product face-to-face, but communicating with people through a website is a whole different skill.

Freelance designers, however, are equipped with the aptitude and tools to engage website readers. They understand blogs and video chat and how to screen-grab people browsing on your site. Your in-house team may be too busy working on other design projects for the company to keep up with the latest information.

Because technology changes so rapidly, freelancers have to adapt and stay up-to-date on new tools and trends. As experts in their field, they have seen and touched hundreds of websites, and they can put this knowledge to work to understand the behavior of people visiting your site.

3. The marriage of form and function

Varying levels of expertise among your staff can make it difficult to know what your site is capable of and understand how it fits into your overall business strategy. You may also be unaware of the tools available to enhance your website and how they work together.

A well designed website has the power to boost your credibility simply by how the various components connect with each other. Effective creatives know that design isn’t just an art; it’s also a science.

Great design is a combination of the product, marketing, and usability. Freelancers have the unique ability to engage each of these components with intention and then weave them together — while also taking advantage of beautiful form and efficient function. If your website’s design is feeling worn out, the answer could be hiring a freelancer to give you a fresh take on what your customers might love.

So what are you waiting for?