Where Can You Find a Good Website Designer?

This can be a tricky part of the job. By far the best technique is the one that works best in just about every other business buying decision. Ask around. Talk to friends, others you know who have websites to begin with. Be specific in your questions. Many sites for example are created by friends for friends using simple off the rack software packages that promise “anyone can design their own website”. Even when you get promising leads from the questions you ask above, go to the website and look carefully.

A top notch website designer should pride themselves on providing a unique look and feel for each customer they work with. They should have a well designed website of their own that will showcase their expertise, or not as the case may be.

Does their site include a portfolio of unique and high impact visuals? Do they contain lots of valuable information about the product or service? Do they make it really easy to contact them for more information, or to actually make a purchase?

And my favorite… do they include many testimonials from clients who actually have websites designed and maintained by them?

Using a search engine can be a big help for you initially. It’s a small world and technically, you can actually hire someone on the other side of world to do a fantastic job for you as easily as finding one downtown. Searching for “web design” will give you over 300,000 results, and “good web design” nets around 197,000. Obviously there’s no lack of them out there. Remember, the trick here is to find the one that’s best for you.

I suggest that it’s often best to locate one that is in relatively close proximity to you. The reason is that you have the option of actually meeting face to face with the person(s) working on your website. You can bring images; look at suggested layouts etc., in real time and save a lot of time sending stuff back and forth via emails etc., until a design is approved. However, if you aren’t comfortable with a local business, don’t be afraid of going out beyond the town limits. It really is a small world these days.

Another consideration is the quote. Beware, in fact run screaming from someone who assures you it won’t be too much and/or gives you a “ballpark” price out of his head. Every good website company worth its salt will provide you with a printed, detailed quoted spelling out each element of the process clearly. It will provide details of the conditions of the business relationship, spelling out in simple terms what is expected from both parties in the arrangement.

Once you have received a quote, you may wish to make a buying decision right there, especially if you have a good feeling about working with this particular person or company. However, while I would like that to happen with all my prospective clients, I would be less than honest if I didn’t say that getting other quotes before making the decision is always a good policy.

If the guy you really like knows you are going to get other quotes, he shouldn’t be offended. If he’s really that good, he won’t be afraid of competition. He knows he can’t build every website in the world, with over 100,000 each day going online, but he will appreciate that the client that comes to him after careful comparison is a great start to a mutually successful business relationship.