With the global recession still biting hard many people are losing their jobs and are looking around for something they can do to try to make up their income as quickly as possible. Many of these people start their own companies, normally using the skills they had in their previous employment. One thing most start up companies try to get sorted out relatively quickly is their presence on the web. Without personally knowing a web designer these people turn to the internet to try to find someone who can construct a web site for them and lead tehm through the various stages such as choosing and registering a domain name. However some so called web designers are seriously lacking in the skills required. With that in mind here are a few simple tips to help you evaluate and engage the services of a web designer:
Tip 1. Cost
The first thing you should ask your prospective web designer is what the cost will be. Designers come in all varieties as do the charges for their services. You really want to have a designer work for a fixed cost rather than on an hourly rate. This way you can be assured what the final cost of your finished web site will be. In the current economic climate web designers may be flexible in their pricing so if the prices seem high, ask them how they can change the specification of the website to something which is more in line with your budget.
Tip 2. Reduce It Down
A quick search on the internet will produce lists of thousands if not tens of thousands of websites out there from which to choose from. What you don't want to do is waster your and web design firms time. So narrow it down to 5 or 6 companies to speak further to about the web design services they offer.
Tip 3. Portfolio.
Every web designer will have a portfolio of work which they will normally detail on their own website. Have a good look at the web sites they have done and ask yourself if you like the designs. If you want specific functionality on your own site have they got eexamples of something similar in their portfolio. Web designers come from a variety of backgrounds. Some may be from a graphic design background, others may come from a programming background and this will greatly effect the sort of site they are capable of. Of course decent web design firms will have a large number of staff each with specific specialisms enabling them to cope with most jobs, unlike the one man band web designer who is unlikely to have a broad enough skill set to cope with the more demanding web design project.
Tip 4. Research
Do some research on the companies name using Google and see if there are comments good or bad against the companies name. Don't be put off by an isolated comment however. Another thing you can do is make contact with the owners of websites in the webdesigners portfolio and ask them about their web designer - essentially you are getting references that will enable you to assess the competence of the designer.
Tip 5. Location
The internet is global and to a certain extent it doesn't matter if your web designer is next door or in another company. However there is a lot to be said for the ability to have a face to face meeting with your designer to discuss ideas in which case you will want to choose a web design company that is close by. If location is not that important to you remember one other matter, if the design company is in a different country and something goes wrong, the costs of taking matters to court, potentially in a different country, can be astronomical.
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