So you’re looking for a web designer… let’s face it, there are a bajillion out there! Big ad agencies, freelancers, your neighbor’s kid’s best friend… how do you know which web designer or company you should work with? Chances are – you’ve had a bad experience with a web designer before (oh the stories I’ve heard from clients), and I want to make sure that doesn’t happen again! Below are 8 things to consider before hiring a web designer…
- Experience – Do they have examples of work to show you that they have completed for other clients? You want to figure out if they’ve been around the web design block, or if they just took a free online ‘be a web designer tomorrow’ class yesterday. Not to say that ‘new’ web designers aren’t any good – but they should have several sites under their belt before they accept paying clients.
- Design Style – Look at their work – do you like it? Is it inline with the style you want your website to have? There are lots of designers with lots of different styles. Different people have different design tastes… make sure you find a designer whose work you love.
- Skill Set – What services are they providing? Web design is a bit of a wild card industry… some web designers are JUST designers or JUST programmers, others can do copywriting, or photography, videography, SEO, social media, email campaigns… but rarely does one designer/company do ALL of these. Make sure you get a designer/company that provides the services you need, and make sure you are on the same page with exactly what services those are.
- Costs – What is your budget? Professional websites will likely cost at least $2,500. Sites with advanced features and hundreds of pages will likely start at 5 figures. If you get bids of $500 and $10,000 for a basic website… run away from those estimates. If your budget and your needs don’t align, you will undoubtedly be disappointed moving forward with a website project. Don’t forget to ask about ongoing costs for hosting/maintenance as well.
- Personality – Who do you work well with? Just like there are different design styles, there are different personalities. You have to work with someone you are comfortable with and feel is honest and trustworthy.
- Business-Oriented – What questions are they asking about your business? If they spend more time talking about colors and branding than conversions and goals, then you might want to move on.
- Process – Ask about their web design process. Do they have one? What kind of timeline is typical? If there is not an established process, your project could drag on for months or even years.
- Reviews – Are their testimonials from happy clients? Perhaps the best indicator of a good web designer is talking to someone who has worked with them already. If the designer/company is unable to provide references, that’s a red flag.
If you have any questions about the above or think I missed something – let me know!