How To Hire A Web Designer
Freelancing 05 September 2014 4 minute read
This post is aimed at anyone looking to hire a web designer or developer to work on a project for them. Hiring is tricky, as many business owners know, in this post I'm going to go over everything you should take into account when getting someone to make you a website.
1.) Know Your Budget
Many times people aren't entirely sure what they want and don't have a good idea of what they can spend. It makes your life and the life of the designer or developer easier if you know what your budget is. Sometimes people contact me and give vague answers to my questions which only makes it harder for me to truly understand the pains of their business and in turn provide a valuable solution.
Every time a high-value web designer asks a question it's because they want to be able to add value to your business, not just give you an off-the-shelf website.
2.) Premium Websites Costs Money
A quick Google search will let you know about a load of local web design shops that offer incredibly cheap services. There's a paramount reason why these kinds of places exist and it's because they want to make money fast and easy. If you're paying a low price for a website you're going to get a low-quality product.
Out of all the top web designers, I know not a single one of them charges a cheap rate because they deliver quality results and that's exactly what their clients are paying them for.
3.) Design and Code are Tools
When you hire a web designer you often assume the product they'll be delivering is design and code, a lot of times this is true. However, a truly great web designer provides a solution to your problem by using design and code as the tools, not the answer.
Your problem may be dwindling sales figures or a decrease in the number of sign-ups or active users you see each month. You need someone who will be able to communicate with the users through your website and turn them into customers which in-turn will earn your more money.
4.) Find Out About Options
Sometimes your budget just isn't enough to get everything you want. This is when it's great to have options presented to you, maybe in the form of different packages.
Let's look at an example. Say you need to increase sign-ups on your website and you find a web designer who can do the job. The best thing to do is get a few different packages like:
The benefits here are being able to choose an option that provides a solution but also suits your budget. I know it's not ideal to only get the lowest price package but if you really want results then spending some extra money will have a much bigger ROI (return on investment).
5.) Come Prepared
If you decide to go with a certain web designer, at some point you'll want to have a chat with them over Skype or on the phone to nail down all the details. The best thing you can do for the call to be successful is to come prepared with any information you think the web designer might need about your project.
Is it an e-commerce? Does it require specialist functionality? Do you need coaching on how to use a CMS? Questions like these need an answer otherwise it's going to be much harder to get a solution that fits your needs. Average web designers give you an off-the-shelf website whereas premium web designers give you a solid, valuable product that will improve your business.
Conclusion
In the end, all that matters is that you get a product that will propel your business forward and increase your revenue. Finding a decent web designer or developer is hard work but by taking the above 5 tips into account you can be sure that your search will be a lot easier.
Don't rush into hiring someone. Taking your time to find the right fit, not just for the project but for you, is the best thing you can do when getting yourself a web designer you can rely on.