What makes feedback useful
- 1Name the placeSay the page and the part of the page. "The thing on the left" can be five different things.
- 2Say what's wrongDescribe what you see, not only how it feels. "Hard to read" is something a designer can fix; "weird" isn't.
- 3Say what you'd like insteadA suggestion, a reason or an example of a site you like. The goal matters more than the exact fix.
- 4Add the device for anything brokenPhone or laptop, and the browser. Most "it's broken" comments are about one screen size.
Examples, before and after
Layout and design
- Vague
“The top looks weird.”
Clear“Home page, the big photo at the top: the headline sits on the brightest part of the photo and is hard to read. Could the text go on the darker left side?”
- Vague
“Can it pop more?”
Clear“Services page, the three boxes: they all look the same, so nothing stands out. Could the middle one (our main service) be a stronger color?”
- Vague
“It feels cluttered.”
Clear“About page, under ‘Our team’: there are six blocks of text in a row before the photos. Could we cut it to two short paragraphs and move the photos up?”
Text and content
- Vague
“The wording isn't right.”
Clear“Contact page, the line under the heading: ‘Reach out to our team’ should be ‘Book a free 20-minute call’. That's what we want people to do.”
- Vague
“Some info is wrong.”
Clear“Footer, opening hours: Saturday should be 9am to 1pm, not closed.”
- Vague
“Can we add more about us?”
Clear“About page: we'd like a short section on how we started. Text attached. Is this inside what we agreed, or extra?”
Images
- Vague
“I don't like that picture.”
Clear“Home page, the second photo (the office desk): it's a stock photo and looks generic. Could we use the photo of our shop front instead? Attached.”
- Vague
“The logo looks off.”
Clear“Header, on every page: the logo looks blurry on my laptop. Can you use the sharper file we sent on May 2?”
Mobile
- Vague
“It's broken on my phone.”
Clear“Pricing page, on my iPhone in Safari: the third price column is cut off on the right, and I can't scroll to see it.”
- Vague
“The menu is annoying on mobile.”
Clear“Any page, on my Android phone: the menu covers the whole screen and there's no obvious way to close it. Could it have an X in the top corner?”
Bugs and forms
- Vague
“The form doesn't work.”
Clear“Contact page: I filled in every field and clicked Send. Nothing happened, and no message came through. Chrome on Windows, today at about 2pm.”
- Vague
“A link is broken.”
Clear“Blog page, the third post (‘Spring checklist’): clicking ‘Read more’ goes to a page that says Not found.”
- Vague
“It's slow.”
Clear“Gallery page: on my office wifi, the photos took about ten seconds to appear. The other pages are fine.”
Six questions to check a comment
Copy these into your review email, or send them to the client with the staging link. For the full email, see the website feedback email template.
Before you send a comment, check it answers these: 1. Which page is it on? (Copy the address, or name the page.) 2. Which part of the page? (The heading, the second photo, the blue button under the prices.) 3. What's wrong, or what would you like instead? 4. Why? (What should a visitor think or do here?) 5. If something looks broken: which device and browser were you using? 6. Is this a change to what we agreed, or something new?
Or skip the rewriting
With Scopepin on the site, the client clicks on the exact thing and types. The page, the element, the browser and the screen size come with every comment, along with a snapshot of what they saw. They don’t log in or install anything.
And when a comment is really a new request, like the "more about us" example above, only you see it flagged: the AI suggests it looks outside the agreed scope, you confirm, and it can go on a priced change request.
Questions
What is good website feedback?
Feedback someone can act on without asking a question: the page, the part of the page, what's wrong and what you'd like instead. The examples above all follow that pattern.
How do I give feedback on a website design?
Go through it page by page as a visitor would. For each point, name the place, say what's wrong and what you'd like instead, and why. Send everything in one list, by the date agreed.
Who is this page for?
Clients reviewing a website a designer or agency built for them, and the agencies who want to send them something useful. If you want feedback from your site's visitors, you need a survey or a feedback form instead.
Should I send all my feedback at once?
Yes, as one list for each review round. Feedback spread over a week of messages is how points get missed, and it can turn one round into several.
Can clients do this without writing it all out?
With Scopepin on the site, they click the part of the page they mean and type. The page, browser and screen size come with the comment, so points 1, 2 and 5 answer themselves. Clients don't need an account.
No more “which button?” emails.
Free for one project, with unlimited clients and reviewers.