7 Steps to Finding a Great Web Designer
I see this a lot in the web design business, that is expected. So I thought I’d write a little something on what makes a good web designer.
1. First any most importantly are they a registered business.
I get it a lot with new customers, where they had unfinished design work or the web designer just disappeared. This can happen and there isn’t much you can do as it was a gamble going that route . You could try and attempt the legal approach, however that’s going to then cost you more and it always runs the possibility of failing. Make a good choice and pick a registered business. Its a little peace of mind for you because your web designer has a reputation to continue. This is your insurance policy.
2. Are they local.
This ties a little into the above. If they’re local you can guarantee the laws in place will further harden the web designer into completing his work. Outsourcing your web designer to foreign countries is possible but runs a even higher risk of abandonment. It also has language barriers, long distance charges, no personal consultation and working with odd time zone differences is going to be a headache. Try and keep your expenses local by supporting your local businesses.
3. Always take a look at the portfolio.
This always is the first thing people want to see, and we expect that. But keep in mind some web companies are using canned websites, which are websites built by other designers and resold. That’s perfectly fine, but make sure they’re able to provide changes and customizations if need be. When exploring their experiences, try to find differences in features, things that look out of the box and original.
4. Pricing.
This is typically your final steps or your first if you have a tight budget. We typically see pricing all over the place. Students tend to be undercutting everything, while big web corps are packed with high priced designs and reoccurring fees. All we can really suggest is that you be cautious with unknown fees. I’ve seen it too many times where new clients were paying for some made up fees or services. Having multiple quotes is a good start to get yourself familiar with competitive pricing. If you’re on a tight budget, consider doing some of the task yourself like registering domains and doing a little of the web work prior, such as writing the content, buying pictures, picking a color palette and so on. This can save a lot of time and a good web designer will reduce his price if you provide those.
5. Expansion capabilities.
We always hope your business will succeed as this means more business for the web designer as your website should be growing as well. So ensure that your web designer is working with a frame work and has the skill sets to expand with your needs.
6. Make a judgment on their willingness to learn about your business.
A web designer who doesn’t seem all that interested in your business, how it started and so on doesn’t sound very passionate about their business and yours. I would conclude that they run a high risk of unsatisfied clientele, poor reviews and high risk of abandonment to your deadline. We at CCM take a lot of time to learn about your business as it fascinates us. The more we know, the better we can build what you want. This is part of creating a great user experience when visiting a website.
7. Copywriting.
Ensure that your website designer isn’t just grabbing pictures and text from other sources. Text and photos should be either created or purchased from websites like istock.com. Be cautious as author of content can come after you, and they typically charge astronomical rates for this. Text is even more tricky as it’s easier to spot thanks to Google crawling your site, and it also will impact your SEO ranking by regurgitating other websites information. It’s effectively doing you no good by posting information like this, unless you are link sharing via a credit.
Thanks for reading. We’ll keep updating this page on the go. We hope this has been helpful and we look forward to helping you out further with a website. .
Please feel free to contact us for a free consultation for your business.
