Introduction

As a web design professional for a number of years, I am continually shocked by the standard of service offered by some web designers. From not offering the most basic coding to charging extra for functionality not even required, to an inability to communicate in clear English to their non-technically minded customers.

Choosing the designer or design agency that handles your website is a difficult decision and a costly one to get wrong. I have put this guide together to inform on how you can go about making the right decision for your company.

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Have some idea of what you want

For small businesses or even for larger a established business that is not particularly technically or internet savvy this crucial first step alone can be difficult, however, you need to have a clear understanding of your basic requirements before you can begin the search for a suitable web designer.

Depending upon your requirements you will find that different web design companies (each with differing experience and core skills) will be better placed than others to meet your specific needs. 

Requirements analysis can be as simple as understanding what sort of information or content you would like on your website and what you would like your website to be able to do.  Knowing roughly how many pages you require will also help. To get started with this process think of a typical set of core pages on any website, these would be:

• Homepage

• Our Products / Services

• About Us

• Frequently Asked Questions

• Contact us

Now think about what additional pages you will need, and start to think about what sort of information and functionality will go on these pages.

It can be tempting to choose a full service web design company who will be able to meet all of your needs, but if you are only after a basic brochure ware website, a full service design company are likely to have even basic packages that far exceed your own requirements, meaning you can end up paying more.

If you were to choose a design company that specialises in brochure ware website's or that has a portfolio of clients with sites similar to that which you require, then this would make them a much better prospect.

Decide on your budget – but make it realistic

Often, especially for a small company, it can be difficult to know what the web budget should be, without first knowing the going rates for such work. 

Don’t feel compelled to go with the highest quote, often if the quote is substantially higher than others, it my mean that the company who provided it did not sufficiently understand or take into account your requirements – generic quoting can often be a problem leading to unrealistically high quotes and is something I have come across time and time again when some of my regular clients have revealed quotes they've had from different companies.

Quotes at the lower end of the scale will often come from small companies, keen to get your business.  Competing on price is an effective way of obtaining new business and should not indicate an inferior design service, however, do take into account the following point.

Sometimes small businesses or freelance designers with little experience will give you a low quote based on their inexperience and lack of knowledge of the market they are operating in. These low quotes can be very tempting - after all, everyone likes a bargain! However, many start up designers are missing the essential ingredients to ensure not just that you have a nice, functioning website, but they will often be oblivious to the wider implications of web design such as designing with search engines in mind. If in doubt, don't be afraid to ask how many years experience they have, or if the sites they design are search engine friendly.

Small businesses or freelance designers can often quote lower because they quite simply have lower overheads than bigger companies and therefore can work for a lower rate. So remember, a low quote doesn't necessarily mean a low quality service and a high quote doesn't always mean you'll get a better website!

It is common for a web project to run slightly over budget. Vague client specs as well as requests for additional pages, functionality or design once a site goes into production are common. If you ask for additional work to be done then you will of course need to pay for it, and this won't have been included in your original quote. Before you choose a designer it might be worth clarifying an hourly rate for any additional work (around £25 an hour is the norm), or even just an indication that anything additional will be fairly billed for. Be prepared for an overspend of perhaps 10% though.

The strength of a companies portfolio should speak for itself - Look for a proven track record

Before deciding on a web design company, the single most important influence on your decision should be the strength and quality of their past work.  A good portfolio will have at least a dozen website's showcased.  You should be able to see a clear screen shot of the website, some information about the site and a link to the site, so you can take a look at it yourself.  Beware of designers who don’t include links to their website's – this can often mean that the sites they are showing are not actually real sites and are just site mock-ups for fictional website's. This is a popular tactic, especially for new designers who don't actually have any real websites they've designed to shout about - use designers with a limited portfolio at your own risk.

Try to look at the portfolio objectively – it might be full of all singing, all dancing animated flash website's, but if this is not the type of website you are after, how well placed will a company that specialises in interactive website's be to produce your own site?  Look for sites designed for companies in a similar market to your own, or for sites of a similar size and scope to the one you require. 

If you like the look of sites in a designers portfolio, chances are you’ll be happy with a website they produce for you.

Communication and approachability of your designer

No matter what the size of your website, you will enter into a close working relationship with your designer, or appointed project/account manager.  It is crucial that you feel that this primary point of contact is approachable and understands your needs.

A good designer should listen to any concerns you have and do their utmost to ensure you feel happy and confident throughout the project life cycle. Communication in a jargon free manner (although admittedly, some jargon is  unavoidable, but where this is used, explanations should be offered) should keep you informed and up to date with the projects progress.

If you can’t understand what your web designer is talking to you about, what hope is there of you enjoying a productive working relationship? 

A graphic designer is NOT a web designer!

Sometimes people get confused between web designers and graphic designers, and indeed there is certainly some cross over in the skills of both. A graphic designer will design with good design principles in mind, based on, what works well in print. Design for the internet is very different. Although basic design principles will still apply there are a whole host of additional factors that a web designer has to take into account when producing a design for a website.

This is not to say that a graphic designer can't also design website, or vice versa, but they are both very different disciplines that require two sets of knowledge and experience to carry out. A graphic designer will design a site that looks very pretty, but in my experience, 95% of the time these designs will translate very poorly to the internet and will end up producing a website with very low levels of usability and search engine friendliness.

Summary

In summary the things you should be looking for in a good web designer are:

• Approachability & clear communication style

• Design should be carried out with wider implications of the internet and usability in mind

• Don't use a designer whose primary function is graphic design to create your website!

• Don't be tempted into using the company that supplies the lowest or highest quote you obtain

• Make sure the web designers portfolio is strong and genuine with sites in it that you like

• Decide on your budget - make it realistic - be prepared for up to a 10% overspend

NO PART OF THIS ARTICLE MAY BE COPIED OR REPRODUCED WITHOUT THE EXPRESS PERMISSION FROM THE AUTHOR

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