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How to find a web designer |
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I often get asked by potential clients how one goes through the process of finding – and vetting – web designers. Here's my list of tips to get you started:
To find a good designer, you first need to be clear on:
- What your product / service is
- Who your desired audience is
- What you want your site to do (eg, sell a product? advertise a service? act as an aggregator of other sites' products? etc)
- Your budget
It's also very helpful to know a bit about what you'd like
the site to look like (perhaps based on what you've seen that you like
in other similar-purpose sites). And, if you're starting a business,
you'll need a logo / brand identity developed prior to starting the
site design (which sometimes you can get in a one-stop shop deal with a
web designer, depending on their design experience).
When you're ready to start looking for designers, you'll want to look for the following:
- Good communication
No
matter how technically talented a designer is, if they can't ask good
questions (and actually listen to your responses), they won't be able
to give you what you want.
- Technical experience in designing / developing a website, which can be based in any of the following:
- Static HTML
Only the designer can edit / create pages.
- Flash
Again, only the designer can edit / create pages.
- CMS-based sites
The designer/developer sets up, but that you can edit and add pages / images. There are 3 categories of CMS to consider:
- Open-source (least expensive)
Free to the
public but requires expertise to set-up and maintain; there are many
people who specialize in open-source CMS site design/implementation/
maintenance)
Pros: least expensive
(potentially) of all three options; depending on the actual open-source
CMS you choose, can be very sophisticated, high-functioning and
flexible. There are thousands of designer / developers who specialize
in each CMS, so you can change from one to another if the first
relationship doesn't work out.
Cons: These are out-of-the-box applications which have some
feature limitations, depending on what you're looking for in usability
(eg, you're stuck with some things that you might not want to pay extra
to fix).
- Proprietary
Not free, comes with a specific web person who knows how to use it
Pros:
Can have more features you want in a CMS; can have someone working on
it who knows how to further customize code to get what you want.
Cons: Most likely is more expensive than open source
options; also, you're stuck with a platform that only one person /
company knows how to troubleshoot or fix.
- Customized
A developer designs / programs a specific interface for your express purposes.
Pros: Is completely tricked-out for your purposes.
Cons: Very expensive; only one person / company knows how to troubleshoot and fix it.
- SEO
Search Engine Optimization, eg, how to get your website to rank well in Google's search pages (so others can find it easily).
- Graphic Design
Helpful if you want a one-stop shop for logo, brand identity & site design.
- A huge plus: Marketing
Your
website is totally useless without a marketing plan, so you'll need
someone who knows where and how to promote your site and attract users
/ customers / traffic. |
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 21 February 2010 )
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