Companies and small business owners have to deal with competition, no matter what industry they are working in. In these digital times it is imperative to have a social media presence, digital marketing, and a professional and easy to navigate website. You have approx. 10 seconds for a memorable first impression on a consumer and explain exactly what your company and website will do for them. After this time (and oftentimes before), they’ll leave and move onto the next site. There are so many website optimization options out there that it’s hard to know where to begin. Working with a web designer can be the best thing that ever happened to your company or a stressful waste of money. Here are the biggest problems with web designers and what you should look for before hiring one.
 

1. Clear Communication is Key
   You may not know much about what is needed to make your website stand out from the competition but you may know what you want it to look like, what content should be featured, and what you want your clients to be able to find. Having clear communication with your web designer is key when moving forward with such a big project. Before hiring someone be sure to ask about their current workload. If you are working with someone who has a million projects going on you can be certain they will not have as much time for you as you would like. To avoid major misunderstandings or confusion work with a person or company who makes you feel like a priority and has time to answer your questions and concerns.

 

2. Over-Promised and Under-Delivered
   Make sure your expectations are realistic and make sure the web designer you are working with doesn’t promise you the “moon.” The web design company should help provide you with a website that has high quality content, is visually appealing, and easy navigation. Many companies complain that they hired a web design company to make all of their website dreams come true and they felt for the money and amount of time it took that they were let down. If you talk to your website designer early on about the website plan, in detail, as well as the expected time frame and costs then there will be no unexpected let downs

 

3. Job Interview
   In the same way that you conduct a job interview for your employees to determine they are a good fit do the same for web designers. In the initial consultation ask to see previous work as well as a list of past clients. Ask them about all of their skills. Do they specialize in programming? Graphic design? Or both? Ask them what they know about internet marketing and search engine optimization. Finally, does the person seem enjoyable to work with? If you don’t think you can spend long periods of time with this person, you might not want them for the job

 

4. Maintenance
   Once the website is completed you will need to figure out if the web designers are responsible for website maintenance and updates or if you are. If you’re going to maintain the site yourself, ask them if they’ll design your site so that it can be used by you in a manageable way that you can carry on long after they’ve finished. Some designers want to create new sites but don’t want to maintain them. Or, you may not want to deal with additional monthly costs that maintenance may require.

Your website is your business card, and sometimes, the first thing that a potential client sees before working with you. To stand out from your competition look into hiring a web designer who can give you a fantastic website to keep visitors on your site longer. Many web designers have the expertise needed to help with your website wants and needs BUT make sure they tick all the boxes before hiring them. If they are accessible, motivated, realistic, easy to work with, easy to understand, and have a long list of happy customers then you can be sure you will be pleased with the end result.