The short answer
Be specific about where and what, say why, give an example if you have one, mark what matters most, and send everything as one list from one person. Describe the problem you see, then suggest a fix if you have one. The fewer the rounds, the sooner it ships, and the better the result tends to be.
Specific beats vague
"I do not like it" is honest, but it gives us nothing to act on. We do not know what you do not like, so we guess, and guesses are often wrong. Specific feedback names the place, describes what you see and says what is wrong with it for your business.
A useful test is whether someone who was not in the room could act on your comment. If they could, it is specific. If they would have to ask a follow-up question, add the answer to the comment. Nielsen Norman Group notes that missing guidelines are a common cause of subjective, unactionable feedback, and recommends setting expectations about what kind of feedback is wanted, such as user goals, brand tone, content or visual look and feel.
Before and after: real examples
The left column is feedback we often receive. The right column is the same thought, rewritten so it can be acted on first time.
| Vague | Specific |
|---|---|
| The homepage feels off. | The homepage headline is about us, but customers come asking about price. Can the headline mention fixed-price kitchen remodels instead? |
| Make the logo bigger. | On my phone the logo is about half the width of the screen and looks small next to the menu button. Can it be about two thirds of the width? |
| This text is too long. | The paragraph under "Our process" has five sentences. Can it be cut to two, keeping the part about free quotes? |
| It does not sound like us. | We never say "solutions". We say "we fix". Could you rewrite the intro in plain words, like the example I pasted below? |
| The colors are wrong. | The orange button is hard to read on the grey background. Could it be darker, or the text white? |
| Can you make it pop? | Please make the "Book now" button the most noticeable thing on the page. At the moment the phone number looks bigger. |
Describe the problem, then suggest the fix
You do not have to be a designer. You are the expert on your customers, and the problem as you see it is the most valuable thing you can tell us. If you also have a solution in mind, share it, but lead with the problem. A designer or writer may have a better answer than the one you thought of, but they can only find it if they know the real problem.
"Make the button red" might fix the problem, or it might create a clash with the rest of the page. "I cannot find the booking button quickly" gives us the goal, and we can solve it in the way that fits the design.
Use examples
An example is worth a paragraph. If you like how another site handles something, send the link and say which part you like: the layout, the tone, the way the pricing is shown. Say what you do not like as well. Examples do two things. They show us your taste, which is hard to describe, and they stop us debating words like "clean" or "modern" that mean different things to different people.
Copy examples work the same way. Paste a sentence you like, or one that sounds like you, and tell us why. A voice note works well for tone: ten seconds of you saying it aloud often teaches us more than a page of adjectives.
Say what matters most
Not all comments are equal. A wrong phone number is serious. A slightly different shade of blue is a preference. If we treat them the same, we may spend time on the minor items and delay the important ones. Mark each comment as must fix, should fix or nice to have.
Nielsen Norman Group suggests sorting feedback into three groups: items to act on, items to discuss or persuade about, and items needing clarification. If you disagree with something we did, say so openly, and we will explain our reasoning. Sometimes we will agree, and sometimes we will give you the reason it works the way it does.
- Must fix: wrong facts, broken things, anything that could mislead a customer.
- Should fix: things that make the page harder to use or less clear.
- Nice to have: preferences that can wait for a later round or a later update.
One voice, one list
The biggest feedback problem we see is several people sending separate comments. They conflict, and the person who sent theirs last often undoes the person who sent theirs first. Nominate one person to collect comments, settle disagreements and send a single numbered list. If you cannot settle one, tell us which two options are in play and who decides.
This also helps your own team, because the decision is made once instead of being rediscovered by each person. Approve work before launch has a checklist for the review itself.
Example: From five emails to one list
A retailer's owner, her manager and her designer cousin each emailed notes on a new product page. Three of the comments contradicted each other: one wanted the price larger, one wanted it smaller, one wanted it removed. We asked for one list. The owner met with the other two for ten minutes, decided to keep the price at the current size and moved it above the button. The following round had eleven numbered comments, nine fixed on the first pass and two clarified.
The cost of too many rounds
Each round has a cost beyond the changes themselves. The person has to switch back into the project, make the changes, get them checked by a second person, send a new preview and wait for your review. The more rounds, the more time the project takes, and the more the early decisions get second-guessed. Often the later rounds are about taste rather than problems.
The remedy is to be thorough in the first round: review everything in one session, on desktop and phone, and send everything at once. Drip-feeding comments across days costs more than one complete list. If a new thought comes later, hold it for the next round unless it is a real error. If you are reviewing for the first time, how a project runs shows where review fits.
A feedback template you can copy
- 1Page or section: where is the comment?
- 2What I see: describe it as it appears on your screen, with the device.
- 3Why it is a problem: for customers, for the business, for accuracy.
- 4What I would like: your idea, if you have one.
- 5Priority: must fix, should fix or nice to have.
- 6Example: a link or pasted sentence, if it helps.
When to ask us
Ask your project manager if you are unsure whether something is a bug, a design choice or a preference, or if you cannot say what is wrong but something feels off. A call or a short screen recording can help. Send feedback in one numbered list, using the template above, with screenshots shared by link. For changes after launch, use the support form. See who to contact for the right route.
