How to Choose a Website Designer
Positive attractive female web designer with curly hair sitting at table and drinking coffee while working on website in office
Choosing a website designer can be intimidating, because you want to make sure that your website is going to look great and meet the needs of your business. There are lots of website designers out there who will take your money and give you something that looks good at first but doesn’t have much flexibility as time goes on.
If you’re looking for a website designer, here’s what you should consider before signing any contracts or handing over any money:
Do they have samples?
Ask to see examples of their work before hiring them so that you know whether their design style matches with what you’re trying to do with your website. A website is a long-term marketing tool for your business so it’s important that the layout and message work for your website.
Do they have finished products?
If they can’t show you something already built, it’s probably not worth hiring them. Websites take a lot of time to build, and if you’re looking for an affordable website that can be done in a few weeks or months then you’re probably out of luck talking to website designers at all – in most cases they’ll tell you that it will take 2-3 months at least to develop a website for your business. Even general website builders like Wix or SquareSpace won’t get the design style right for what you need without some customization (which usually takes lots of work).
How do they handle Q&A with clients?
Since websites are such important marketing tools, website designers should make it easy to communicate with their clients to get feedback on designs and changes. If the website designer doesn’t give you a place to submit bug reports or change requests then it’s probably not worth hiring them – website design takes lots of iteration and work in the early stages, so there needs to be an easy way for website owners to get updates.
Do they have good reviews?
Whether you’re reading reviews online or asking around to friends who have websites, seeing whether other people are happy with how their website turned out is always a good sign that this website designer is trustworthy. While no one can guarantee that all clients are going to be happy, website designers who turn out great products over and over again tend to get positive word-of-mouth and lots of recommendations.
Can they explain the website hosting process?
If you’re paying for website design then you should also be able to pay for website hosting. When you ask a website designer about their prices, make sure that the website designer isn’t charging extra for website hosting – some website designers will tack on an extra service fee without telling you. After all, website hosting is what makes your content available to everyone who visits your site; it’s not something that you can do yourself and requires knowledge of server administration and configuration. Since there are lots of options out there when it comes to website hosting (shared vs managed vs virtual private servers), find out upfront how your website designer manages different kinds of hosting and what the website hosting process is like.
These are some of the ways for website owners to choose website designers that are trustworthy and reliable. It’s never easy to find website designers who will give you what you want without charging too much, but don’t be afraid to ask the website designer lots of questions- if they’re good then they should be willing to answer all of your questions openly and honestly.
