How Do you Choose a Web Designer?

| Posted: 09-02-2007 | Comments: 0 | Views: 29 | Rating: (50)

(?)

Its evolution. Simply put, every business needs a web site, for several reasons. If you are asking this question, you already know your business will need a web site, or it needs a new web site. Now it's time to find the designer.

Before you even go looking for a web designer, sit down and determine what you need, what you want, and what you can afford. You know what kind of business you have (or will have) and you know what you what to offer people from your web site. Determine if you need a brochure site to promote your business or an e-commerce site to sell your products, and what types of add-ons you want (blog, newsletter, user accounts, forums, podcast, audio/video, Flash). The more you need + the more you want = the more it will cost.

Next you need to determine if you want to use a local company or designer or if you are okay with global pros working on your project. Both have benefits.

Local

You can go into the office with your notes jotted down and meet with a real liver person to discuss what you need and find out what they can do and have done. If they have a local office, it means they have been around for awhile and will likely remain. You can check credentials and Better Business Bureau lists to ensure they are professional. But they are likely to charge more as it costs a lot to run an office. They may also only work with larger budgeted sites.

Global

No limits. You can find a web designer anywhere in the world. And the costs can vary widely from super cheap to extremely pricey. You can go for a large company or a single person. But be careful, sometimes not everything is as it seems. You may find yourself dealing with a 1 man operation when you thought you were dealing with a large corporation. When choosing a global pro, be sure to look at everything they have done and ask as many questions as you can to determine the legitimacy. Make sure you know who they are and what they can do with you.

Once you know what you are looking for, it is time to begin your search. Go to Google or your favorite search engine and do a search for what you need. Do not go with the very first result. click on every listing for the first few pages so you get a good feel for these types of sites.

First Impression

Once you have seen them all, narrow your search by choosing the ones whose sites you liked best. This is important because if you are unhappy th the site they use, you may not be happy with the site they give you.

Professional

After narrowing it down, investigate the sites. Go through every page, make sure everything works and there are no obvious typos. If they are thorough and professional about their own site, they will be with yours.

Portfolio

Make sure they have a portfolio and client list available on their site, and make sure it is current. If the portfolio looks like it has not been updated in years, the company may no longer exist. Check all the sites they have done to ensure they are professional, and make sure they have some designs you like.

Qualifications

After looking through the portfolio make sure there are sites in the portfolio or client list that they have done sites that have the same features you need on your site. If they have never done anything like what you need, it may be because no one asked, but more likely because it is not something they can do.

Contact

All companies provide you with ways to contact them. With global pro's there is not always a brick and mortar office, so contact will usually be via email. This is fine, but it is always better when a company provides a phone number as well. You may never call, but it is always good to know there is a number incase you need it. When you do contact a company, ensure they respond to you in a timely manner. Waiting 2 or 3 business days is not acceptable. If they make you wait on the initial contact, image how long you would wait when working with them.

RFQ

Every company should offer you a free request for quote. Send an email to several companies outlining what you need, and what you want. You may want to keep your project budget under wraps until you hear back from the quotes. you may be shocked at the quotes, or you may be pleasantly surprised.

Once you have a few quotes in you can see what the budget looks like and you can now determine who to work with. Determine who has the best sites, can do the most, and do it for the best price.

Once you have that, your ready to roll on your new site.

Feling informed? Get your free quote from Creative Compulsions today.

Rate this Article:

Current: 5 / 5 stars - 1 vote(s).

Article Tags: Internet, Professional, Web Design, Hosting, Graphics, Designer, Portfolio, Develop

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/internet-articles/how-do-you-choose-a-web-designer-102891.html

Print article

Send to friend

Publish this Article

Author feedback

About the Author:

Myles is a freelance web designer / graphic designer and owner of Creative Compulsions. With over 10 years experience creating professional designs for everything from business cards to books to web sites.

Submitting articles has become one of the most popular means of generating quality backlinks and targeted traffic to your website. Join us today - It's Free!

Article Comments

Add new Comment

Why Do you Need a Personal Website?
By: Robert Burke | 22/08/2007 | Technology
Designer and developer Robert Burke examines the common uses for personal websites as well as makes observations and predictions about the future of online communities heading in the direction of Web 2.0 and away from the personal websites of "Web 1.0."

Turning Visitors Into Customers
By: Peter De Pradines | 07/05/2008 | Web Design
The world has changed. Today 70% of all companies and services are originally found by way of the Internet. Tomorrow is will be closer to 95%. Will they yours be found?

Website Design Reflects Your Organisation
By: Angela Rogers | 23/04/2008 | Graphic Design
Website design is a true reflection of any organisation. When you surf through different websites in a day, what makes you stick to a website, is it the flashy or jazzy part?, is it the simplicity through which you are able to reach to the desired information without getting confused or lost?, is it because it loads quickly and you do not have to wait for long, which saves your time?

Navigation Element Locations
By: Angela Rogers | 27/04/2008 | Graphic Design
Top Menus Generally this menu bar is placed below the page header which usually is a graphic containing the site logo. These are generally single links, expanding menus or drop down menus. Every menu can be shown via some text or may be a graphic.

Organising Your Website for Better Performance
By: Angela Rogers | 28/04/2008 | Graphic Design
Organising a website has lots to do with the effective implementation of the various key aspects related to a website.

Why We Should All Stop Using Ie6 and Bury it Deep?
By: Angela Rogers | 23/04/2008 | Presentation
Have you ever wondered why there are vastly increasing number of Web designers and developers who don’t like using Internet Explorer?

Layout is the Most Crucial Aspect of Web Designing
By: Angela Rogers | 27/04/2008 | Graphic Design
Layout is the most crucial aspect of web designing. The basics of web are frequently over looked; instead people start calculating on tangent of (CSS, tables, frames, etc.)

It is Time to Enhance Your Website!
By: Angela Rogers | 28/04/2008 | Online Business
You’ve tried everything to give your website that perfect look, but still it is not able to attract traffic? Then it is high time that you consider the following options to add attractive effects to your website:

Got a Question? Ask.

Ask the community a question about this article:

Frequently Asked Questions

Virtual world creators?
By: in need of help | 12-07-2008
Whats a FREE site that lets me create a free 3D virtual world like Xivio? ( look at this site to see what im looking for) please answer. thanks !

Does any of you know a virtual study environment that is really worth something?
By: Eyal Rofe | 12-07-2008
can you link me?

What are some good sites to watch movies that are ...
By: Jenny Lee Farrow | 12-07-2008
what are some good sites to watch movies that are in the theaters?

Where to sell vintage fabrics?
By: Janbelle333 | 12-07-2008
Hello. I am a retired interior designer that has accumulated collections of decorator vintage fabrics of Greeff and Schumacher, kits for quilts and pillows, numerous trims. I am interested in selling these online or sources to sell to.

Graphic Design
By: SherryBerry | 11-07-2008
What time of work can I get with a certificate of achievement for graphic design. Can you suggest other courses that would be helpful?Thank you,

Swag Bucks: the real story
By: Shikina | 10-07-2008
What is the history of Swag Bucks?

Q&A Powered by:

Latest Internet Articles

How To: Take Your Small Business to the Next Level
By: Katrina Sawa | 27/07/2008
You've built a successful business, you have an established customer base and you are well known in your geographical area or your industry or both; so now what do you do to stay ahead of the pack? How do you take your business to the next level?

Benefits of Article Marketing Series- #7 Write an Ebook
By: Jeff Schuman | 27/07/2008
If you have written e-books in the past, you may be sitting on a gold mine. In this article, let's talk about using your articles to create an e-book.

Increase Sales Commission Percentages With These Tips
By: Jason Szova | 26/07/2008
Do you want to take your Click bank check to the next level? If you do I have a couple strategies you might find intrusting that will help you boost your commission check 10 fold.

The Dreaded Google Penalty
By: Jennifer Horowitz | 26/07/2008
Many people insist there is no penalty (except Exclusion for really blatant "Black Hat" techniques), and rather it is all about Filters. If you do something that triggers a filter your site won't rank as highly. Whether you call it a filter or a penalty, the results are the same. If you don't follow best practices, sooner or later your site will be penalized or filtered out of the top rankings.

Benefits of Article Marketing #6- Email Marketing and List Building
By: Jeff Schuman | 26/07/2008
In this article we want to talk about how to use article marketing to build your list and do email marketing in the future. This is a great concept and is another one of the many benefits of article marketing.

The Worst Work at Home Business Scrams
By: Dock J Murphy | 26/07/2008
The dream of thousands of people is to be free to work at home. The ads are enticing. Be your own boss. Make as much money as you need. There are so many opportunities it seems impossible that you could fail. But the sad truth is that many, if not most of these opportunities are scams. Some are worse than others.

Do You Want to Optimize Your Own Web Site?
By: Jennifer Horowitz | 25/07/2008
Think of the engines like teachers handing out gold stars for everything that you do well. Google currently has about 200 factors in their algorithms that determine how your site will rank. Imagine your teacher with a clipboard and checklist with 200 items on it and she assigns you gold stars for each of the things you do well.

Multi-level Marketing and Potential Income Stream
By: Dock J Murphy | 25/07/2008
MLM is the kind of business that works best for self-starters and those with dedication and initiative. Traditionally good employees might not make the best MLM team members as they might not have the go-to to get the job done without prodding.

More from Myles O\'Reilly

How to Choose a Graphic Designer?
By: Myles O\'Reilly | 09/02/2007 | Graphic Design
Graphic design is an essential part of every marketing plan. It can greatly increase the professional look of your business, or express your bands creative style. Right from the first glance it will leave an impression.

Article Categories

Article Marketing

Article Notepad

Stop Duplicate Content

Term Papers

Need Help?

Sign up for our email newsletter

Receive updates, enter your email below

Use of this web site constitutes acceptance of the Terms Of Use and Privacy Policy | User published content is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
Copyright © 2005-2008 Free Articles by ArticlesBase.com, All rights reserved. (0.30, 16)

How Do you Choose a Web Designer?

Article Comments

Related Articles

Got a Question? Ask.

Latest Internet Articles

More from Myles O\'Reilly

Need Help?

Site Links

Webmasters

Business Info

Sign up for our email newsletter