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10 Questions to Ask Before Contracting a Web Designer
1. How much experience does the designer have? Asking this question of potential designers requires striking something of a balance. Yes, you want a designer with plenty of experience. But you also want one who stays up-to-date and can design according to today's most recent technological standards. No, you don't want to hire somebody who just learned web design last week... but neither do you want a hugely experienced one who still thinks it's 1998. 2. Does the designer have experience with companies like yours? Somebody who has designed great websites for a dozen pizza restaurants may not do the kind of work you require for, say, a technological website. Ask for a list of clients, and take the time to contact a few companies similar to yours to ask how satisfied they are with the work. 3. Have you seen extensive samples of their previous work? Not everybody has the same goals for a website-- or the same tastes when it comes to the design. Be sure the designer you contract has a wide-ranging portfolio that will give you a true idea of how he or she works. You don't want to end up with a site that --even if it works well-- looks like it was designed by a drunk fifth grader. 4. Who owns the code and designs? Instead of working on a client-copyright basis, many designers maintain the final copyright to any designs they create. This is a hugely important consideration when you go to hire a designer. If the designer keeps the copyright, you may have trouble going to another designer or company for updates or maintenance. At the very least, your rights should include full use and revision of any files, graphics, and applications created for your company. Remember, you want to work with a designer... not be shackled to one. 5. What browsers will your site be tested on? Most internet users use a version of either Firefox or Internet Explorer. But in addition to these two browsers, there are lots of smaller browsers that many visitors will utilize-- even if they're a relatively small percentage. In addition to Firefox and IE, ask any prospective web designers if they also test their designs on Safari, Chrome, etc.. 6. What unplanned expenses might I incur during the building process? In their standard initial design contract, every designer will include something a little different. Before contracting any company, be sure to check if everything you need done will be included in the price... or if you'll have to shell out more money later on down the line. 7. What will you have to provide, and can you provide it? In general, you as the client will need to provide all text, images, etc., for the site. If this is difficult for you, be sure to work with a designer who offers writing or stock photo purchasing services. 8. Will you be required to use them for maintenance and/or hosting? With some web design companies, you will be required to use them for maintenance and/or hosting. This will be due to a signed contract, or to the design company's use of a particular software or application that requires you to either use a certain kind of hosting service, or to go through the designer when you want to make updates. 9. Does the designer have experience with marketable websites? It takes about five minutes of surfing a "cool" flash website before you want to scream with frustration. How do you find the company's contact information when every "menu option" is different sparkly jewel? Sure, they look great. But "cool" websites aren't generally the most effective at bringing in traffic and creating revenue. It's easy to fall for the flashy fun of showy, modern websites. But it's more important to work with designers who know what visitors respond to. 10. Can they provide you with detailed site statistics? Site statistics is something that you really need to have built in, so that you can actually see what's going on in your website. Sites need to be coded in with an analytics software as to measure how many people are actually visiting your website, how long they are staying in your website, from where you are receiving this traffic and also the location from where the visitors are coming in. This allows you to focus more your online marketing efforts and to see the results of an online advertising campaign. Lets face it, a simple counter just wont do the trick!
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| More on getting the best out of your website design | |
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