Choosing A Web Designer

Choose a Web Designer that keeps up on Google changes and understand why your website design can make or break your business.  Google gives a little free advise in this video.

Choosing the right firm to get your website created, updated, compliant or maintained can be a daunting task.  You may find yourself lost in a sea of quotes and emails only to end up throwing a dart to pick the company.  This company is going to be creating YOUR business face.   Time to take a breath, grab a pen and paper and do a few things first. We are going to help you figure out how to choose a Web Designer.

Before you start any project in life whether that is buying a car, building a home or shopping for a vacation, you need to start with a clear goal.

Starting your search before you yourself understand what you really need or want as the end product is a sure fire way to add to the frustration. Web Desingers are as varied as candy bars and each will be a different relationship to you.

 Think through your needs and wants.  Think about your site like you would if you were on a dating site. You might type in a search for a single, female with blonde hair and brown eyes (that’s what you’re looking for), you get back 1000 single females with blonde hair and brown eyes. Below are all images of Blonde Hair, Brown Eyed females.  Pick one? 

As you can see you got what you asked for.  The results were very different.  Much like your website you will need to know a lot more about what you want in a date.  You may want to make sure your date speaks a certain language, likes animals, cooks, can work well with your friends and family etc.

When you are asking for a 10 page website for the best price, you will get a great price but chances are high that your end results will be far from your expectations.   A few things you need to know before you search for the right web development company are:

Are you selling product?  Do you need a shopping cart? Inventory ability?

Do you want your customers or clients to be able to interact with your site with comments or sharing your content on social sites?

Is having your site properly set up for SEO critical?  Will your page titles and URLs be Search Engine friendly?

Do you want to be able to add and change content, images, banners on your site?

(Remember, if you don’t clearly ask for these features, you are not going to get them in your end result).

Many clients share their horror stories about a project that went really bad

Making assumptions about what you will and will not have the ability to do with YOUR site when it is paid for and delivered it the most common mistake made.  All design and development are NOT created equally. 

Did you ask for graphic design?  Did you hire the graphic designer for $5 or for $100? The difference may be small in price but huge in results.

Examples of not being clear in the type of graphics you were thinking. You asked for a graphic of a black cat, which one did you expect to get?

Both are Black Cats, both are very different in quality and feel.

Having a delivered product that is not what you expected is a waste of time and money.

Once you have a clear outline of your needs and functions then you may want to consider these next factors:

Location – Hiring outside the United States is a popular idea.  Many site owners choose overseas because of initial price quote.  While it may seem that those developers in the U.S. cost more, that is not the truth.  Yes, there are some firms that carry a steep pricing model.  You are not stuck having to pay triple to those firms.   Complete Web Solutions has always maintained a highly competitive pricing model.

Dealing with a company overseas brings multiple issues to the table.  Lack of communication, either because of time differences or language and lack of recourse if your project just never gets completed to your satisfaction.   There is little a company can do to force an overseas developer to hold up their end of the deal.  Spending your time and money, only to be left with a bad or incomplete project is a terrible way to end the day.

Price – A high price is no guarantee of a quality job.  The lowest price is usually going to get you a low quality project.   Your website is your businesses online presence, it will be a shining, revenue producing machine for you or it could be just another random site that your customers will never see.   Creating a budget for your online business is a good way to make sure you don’t get carried away when hiring a company to create the perfect result for your site. 

Client access – You are the client for these companies.  Will you be able to speak with the design or development team during the process?  Do you have the ability to make any changes to your original quote during the process?  Will these changes have a cost to you? Is there a backend control for you after your project is complete or will you be faced with additional costs each time you need to make a change to your site?   These are very common issues that site owners find themselves having to deal with daily.  It can be a long term cost for you if you are not clear up front with your expectations.

Ability to finish your project – Too many site owners have lived this reality.  You picked the person or company you felt would perform the services you needed, you paid for the project only to find the completion time you were quoted has already doubled, your emails are not being answered and you are left no recourse but to continue to beg the firm to finish your project.  This is another strong reason for working with a company located in the United States.  

Relationship – When you find a company that has produced your project at a fair price with quality work and speed, sick with them.   You may think your site will never need changes again so why keep a relationship going.  Those in business for any amount of time understand that your site will always be in need of new graphics, content or changes to expand your products and growth.   A good relationship with a design or development company could be one of the most important assets for your business.

Complete Web Solutions values the relationships we have built with our clients.  If you are ready to talk about your website and want to get some help with your outline or your ready to start your project.  Call us 719 302-5029 to choose a time that best fits your availability.  Quailty work at Affordable prices