Finding the Right Web Designer for Your Business: The Steps to the Dance

Working with a Web professional is a collaborative dance. You have steps you bring to the dance, and so does the professional you hire. If it’s the right fit, you’ll create a dynamic site that moves people to call, email and eventually buy.

The trick is to find the right partner.

Web site Warm Up

Do your homework. Consider it your warm-up. Ask yourself the following questions:

• What is the purpose of the site? Is it to increase brand awareness? To sell? To manage data? A combination of some or all?
• Who is my customer? What attracts them?
• What is our WOW factor? What makes us different from the competition?
• What online tools will I use to attract my customer? Written Content? Photos? Podcasts? Video? Mobile technology? Online store? Forum? Blog?
• What image do we want to convey and how do we want to convey it? Think color scheme, overall design and mesaging.
• Will we need a database and contact sheet designed to collect data on our customer for future use?
• What kind of analyticswill we require to determine success?
• What's our budget? How much are we willing to spend and what do we need to make from it?
  Once the site is up and running (live), how much maintenance will it require? Do we need someone to host it? Do we intend to update content often?
• Finally, browse/surf the web and take a look at competitor sites. What do you like? What don't you like? Collect the URLs so you can share them with prospective web designers and developers.

Once you've warmed up with this exercise, you're ready to find a parner. Question is how?

Finding a Web Professional

Referrals are an excellent way to find a Web professional. Ask your chamber of commerce or trade organizations you belong to.

Surf the Web. Is there a site you’ve come across that knocked your socks off? Use the contact information on the website and find out who did their site.

Google “Website design” and “Web development” sites. Pay close attention to what you like and dislike about their own sites. Do you like the design? The voice portrayed in the content? Is the information current and relevant? Is the site easy to navigate? Does it load quickly? (Remember, good dance partners tend to gravitate to similar styles. You wouldn’t hire a tap dancer to partner you in a ballet, would you?)

Interviewing Your Web Professional

Now that your dance card has a short list, you need to pick up the phone and talk to potential candidates. The following guidelines will help you determine if you've found the partner that will make you a cyberspace champion:

• A freelancer is someone who works alone and may or may not have the time and skill set to meet your needs.
  A company that specializes in Web design and development will not only have the staff to address disciplines, but also will have access to marketing and writing professionals.
• Beware of techno overkill. While a full flash site looks fun, it’s actually detrimental to getting you Googled successfully. Flash can sometimes have your visitors waiting for the site to load as well. Quick and easy is the best way to convert traffic into sales.
• But reach for the stars. If you’ve done your homework, you know what you need. So try to hire beyond your expectations. It’s better to know you have more than you need than to jump in and discover you have less.
• So here are some questions to ensure you get the quality you’re after
  • How many of the sites in your portfolio did you build entirely? How many were simply optimized?
  • Are the sites in your portfolio accurate representations of the work done, or have they been revised by someone else since you created them?
  • How familiar are you with my industry? Have you built sites for similar clients?
    • While knowledge of and experience with your industry isn’t necessary, be sure you ask them how they would address your potential customers in terms of design, interactivity and content.
  • How do you design Web pages?
    • Any answer other than CSS is unacceptable by current standards. If you hear the words “Yahoo SiteBuilder,” “FrontPage” or “DreamWeaver,” RUN. Like the wind. These guys haven’t upgraded their skills since Pong and Atari.
  • What kind of scripting do you use?
    • Listen for terms like, “Javascript,” “XML” and “API”
  • Can you develop tools that will enable me update content easily?
  • Do you test your code?
  • Do you develop back-end functions?
  • How quickly will my site load?
  • What browsers will you test it in?
    • If their answer is Internet Explorer and they stop there, move on. You want a versatile partner who cross-references browsers.
  • Do you provide Web hosting?
  • If I require further maintenance after the site goes live, can you provide it, and what will it cost?
  • Will you help me market the site? Do you help with concepting?
    • Creative Web professionals are worth their weight in gold.
  • If I require a shopping cart, can you develop secure ecommerce solutions?
  • What kind of analytics do you use?
• Show them the sites that caught your attention and ask if they can replicate it. Pay attention to their response. A true Web professional will be able to pick it apart and tell you how they will design the same for you.

Even if some of these questions aren’t germane to your business goals, asking them anyway will provide valuable insight as to who you will be working with and their level of expertise. How they answer will give you an idea of how well you can work together.

Web Professional Critiques

And finally, DON’T BE AFRAID TO CHECK REFERENCES! Just as you would an employee, you want to be sure you are hiring the right people for the job. The most important questions to ask?

• Were they easy to work with?
• Were they easily accessible and responsive to your calls and emails?
• Did they complete the project on time and within the budget?
• Would you work with them again?