Finding a Website Designer
Professional vs. Do-It-Yourself
If you need a professional website, and you are not a professional website designer, you should hire a professional. Doing it yourself may turn out... Well, let's not finish that thought.
You Have to Be Involved to Grow
Anyone employing a website designer must participate in keeping up with the design and overseeing its direction and progress. Otherwise, you will be very disappointed when you don't get the results you were expecting.Expect to pay more, eventually. Websites are never "complete". If you learn to do minor updates and changes yourself, you'll reduce your expenditures. Some website designers will "maintain" your site for fees, either monthly or at base rates per incident. But, because websites are easily updatable, and because information is constantly changing, you should learn how to update pages yourself. Macromedia's Contribute software makes it reasonably easy and inexpensive to update pages.
OK, Now Seek
Search for "website designers" and "your city" on Google. Look at the first couple of pages of the results Google displays. You'll find freelance designers and larger design studios. View their sites and portfolios. If you like any of the work you see, check the following:The site should be
• clean, fast loading, visually
appealing
• well-organized, easy to navigate, easy to use
•
transparent - you should know, under 4 seconds, what the company offers
• customized, minimal cookie-cutter, or templated sites
• stylish; you should be able to find one that compliments your business
- The sites should contain
• working samples of additional site features (if you require any)
• search engine optimization (see SEO)
• at least 5 or more portfolio entries
• additional services you may need (logos, photos, etc.)
The Website Designer Should
• provide website design services as the primary business,
if other
services are offered, that's icing on the cake
• have a computer or
art background (blending of both backgrounds is best)
• have an art background if your site
needs contain sophisticated and polished graphics
• have a technical background if your site is going to
be highly technical (databases, e-commerce, registrations functions,
etc.)
Small Fry vs. Supersized
• Larger companies will have greater skill sets and resources. They are
typically more expensive and employ several people to complete the job. If
you need additional site features, a large design firm will be the best choice.
• Smaller design companies will give you greater customer service
and more focused attention. More than likely, you'll deal directly with
your website designer and they can typically turn a job around faster and for
considerably less money.
Cheek-to-Cheek is Necessary Only When Dancing
• Usually, you won't need to meet
your designer face-to-face. Consider searching for designers outside
your local area. All communications
can easily be handled by phone, e-mail and express mail services.
• Keep in mind that working
long distance should not stop you from hiring the right designer for
the job.
Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner
• Narrow your selection to less than five designers.
• Contact each
for a quote.
• It should take less than 24 hours for the designer to contact
you.
• Get personal recommendations or references from others
who have used the designers you are considering.
And Ye Shall Find
If you've taken all the above into consideration, you are almost guaranteed to hire a great website designer for your project. Communication is the key. Good Luck!
If you cannott figure an estimated cost for a website that would be created by Houston's Websites from the price sheet, please feel free to contact