Google for web designers or web design companies and you’ll get millions of results for companies that promise very similar things: timely delivery, cheap, search engine optimization, and cross-browser compatibility, etc. Now, if they were all so good, why are there so many bad websites? Here are some qualifications that will help you weed out the good web designers from the bad ones.
Great Portfolio
A great portfolio shows creativity, variety of styles, and most importantly, has examples of work from real clients and not just spec work from school. Make sure the overall style of the web designer in his portfolio matches what he is looking for. Test your previously launched websites to make sure they are easy to use, bug-free, suitable for your target market, and fast-loading.
A great portfolio always trumps design experience or education. Web designers with too much experience might fixate on their shapes and be less open to new ideas or trends. And just because someone has taken a few design classes doesn’t mean they have a good eye for it. We have found many websites offering web design services with horrible websites.
Customer service
No matter how stellar your designer or agency is, if they can’t respond to your calls or emails in a timely manner during business hours, chances are they won’t be able to meet your deadline. This can spell the death of your business if your project is urgent due to something like a product launch. Some freelance web designers moonlight, meaning they work full-time jobs and take on a few projects here and there for extra money. Beware of such people because they may not be around when your project goes wrong and force you to lose your deposit.
Required skills
Whoever you select must be proficient with the web technologies your project requires. If you need Flash for an animated clip, make sure your web developer is proficient in Flash Actionscripting 3.0. If you want to turn your website into a CMS, make sure that they are well versed in your chosen CMS and the web technologies that support it. Most of the open source CMS are controlled by PHP. It is always better to hire an expert who can excel at the things he needs rather than a jack of all trades who is just mediocre at everything. You should usually be able to assess this based on your online portfolio.
Your timeline fits your timeline
All projects have a deadline or preferred time frame in which you would like it to be completed. Inexperienced web designers often quote overly optimistic timelines. No matter how simple your website design or redesign is, it’s almost impossible for the design process (from concept to completion) to take less than two weeks because there will always be revisions. I always laugh when a potential client emails me and estimates that their new website is very basic and shouldn’t take more than 2 days. It is much more professional to quote a longer timeline and deliver earlier than expected. However, if your web designer says that he will take much longer than his competitors, he may be working elsewhere.
Full service
Design companies often offer a full service because it requires a team of developers, designers, and marketing experts. Full service means they offer comprehensive web solutions like SEO, eCommerce, branding, mobile friendliness, and social media marketing all in one place. Rarely will you find a web designer who is an expert in all of these categories, which is why some companies hire design firms if they have the budget.
Communication skills
Communication skills are just as important as design and programming skills because if your web designer communicates with bad grammar or spelling mistakes, so will your website. Do they articulate problems well? Can you translate complicated technical jargon into simple terms? You can easily assess your communication skills through your initial calls, emails, and project proposals.
Marketing / SEO Experience
What good is your website if your target market can’t find it? Your web designer or design company should know how to promote it. If you found your web designer through Google with industry-specific keywords, then you must know something about SEO. Here are some other simple SEO techniques your web designer should implement to build your web presence:
- Generate fresh content relevant to your target market with a blog
- Write a meta title and description tags.
- Include your keyword search terms in your headers and subheads (H1 and H2 tags respectively)
- Sprinkle your keyword search terms throughout your content
- Create a sitemap for search engines to crawl
- Add your website to online business directories
- For more SEO strategies, check out my blog post on How to Generate High-Quality Web Traffic.
customer references
Ask for client references and be sure to call them. Ask your customers if they responded, on time and within budget. Some web design companies look for work through freelance websites like Guru, where you can find reviews.
Presence in Social Networks
Social media helps you respond to people talking about your brand and understand how they perceive your company. There are so many social networks, but the ones to monitor are Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. A good practice is to post a status update every time you publish a blog post or new web content.
Expense budget
It’s key to consider all of the above and then consider cost or budget if all else fits. The cheapest quote is rarely the best.