How to choose a web designer.
Once upon a time, deciding how to choose a web designer wasn’t a big deal...
...Many businesses thought that having a simple website with their contact information on was enough. And it used to be… if the website was a user-friendly, responsive online platform that succinctly marketed your product or service. After all, first impressions matter and customers may choose a competitor if your website is confusing or difficult to use.
However, the world of technology moves quickly. Expectations have risen. Competition has grown. These days, if your business doesn’t have a website, you risk looking out of date or slightly suspicious.
Here at Ketchup, we understand the importance of high quality website design, no matter what product or service you provide. We also know that there’s an incredible amount of information out there on how to hook up with the right web designer so, in this article, we're going to make the process much easier to understand.
Choosing a website designer; Advice for SMEs
When you’re a small or medium business owner, choosing the right website designer is really important because we're talking about your shopfront to the world.
Done well, it can win you a lot of new customers but, get it wrong, and prospective customers will move on to your competitor.
We’ve all experienced poor websites. They may be slow to load, have overcrowded home pages, poor spelling and grammar, or a mix of fonts and badly sized imagery which doesn’t match the branding. How long do you hang around on these sites?
That's why investing in a professional website makes a lot of sense. A good web designer will create the best layout for your site. They will also identify the ideal location for imagery and graphics and advise on where text should sit. Easy navigation comes as standard as well as intuitive page links and using the latest technology and software to guarantee good functionality.
An excellent website designer will also understand that your website needs to achieve your business goals. It needs to create revenue and give you a clear return on investment. What’s more, he or she will integrate SEO and social media as part of a richer marketing mix so that people can find your new site.
Seven steps to picking your perfect web designer
When you've never recruited a designer for your website before, it can be daunting thinking about what makes a good one. In our decade of experience, these are the seven areas we would consider:
1: Experience
First of all, find out about their experience – take a look at all their previous work. Ask to see their portfolio if, for some inexplicable reason, it’s not on their website.
Make sure to visit the sites in their portfolio yourself. Test them out and consider what it is you do and don't like about them.
2: References
Check their references – many web designers will include testimonials on their website as convenient references and recommendations. This form of social proofing is very helpful. Speak to previous customers and check their experience, e.g. were they given regular progress updates, were deadlines met and expectations hit?
3: Conversation
Note how they start the conversation. Do they ask lots of questions? Have they mentioned getting you to fill in a brief? This shouldn't just be a friendly chat - anyone creating a new website for you needs to know what you want to achieve.
They should give you options for your budget and tailor a solution accordingly. For example, are they considering what your website needs to do for you rather than simply suggesting a “new site” will fix everything?
4: Support
Be clear about the technical support they offer because designing a website isn’t just about including the right functionality. Post-build support and dealing with any issues is an essential part of the service.
Check whether the website designer offers aftercare. Some bigger agencies offer a dedicated helpline or live chat (which may explain their bigger price tag). Having the confidence that they are easy to get hold of may be what you need.
5: Training
What happens when the site is live? The majority of websites today run on a content management system (CMS) so you should be able to update things yourself once the design is published to the world.
Some web designers insist on face to face training, others prefer issuing a manual or instructions by email. Make sure you choose the way that suits you.
Check too about ongoing maintenance and monitoring packages (like our own Ketchup Protect). What happens if something stops working or the site gets hacked?
6: Professionalism
Your web designer is a supplier, just like other people who support and feed into your business. Do you really want someone who is doing a bit of web design on the side or has gained an online diploma from dodgy.com?
You wouldn’t take your poorly dog to a chap who ‘knows his way around animals’. You need a vet. So don’t risk wasting your time and resources on amateurs when you need a professional job. Do it once, and do it well.
7: Relationship
Your business website design can be a very personal and emotional thing, which means you should consider the rapport, synergy, and fit you have with your designer.
For example, here at Ketchup, we prefer discussing our projects over a dog walk in the country (admittedly made easier by having a rural office and our own dogs!) or coffee and cake in a local cafe – is this how you’d like your business relationship to work?
Having a great relationship, one that’s personal, always makes business more enjoyable. Don’t ignore your instincts.
5 Extra questions to ask your web designer
When you have narrowed your choice of designer to one or two, these next five questions may help you make a final choice of best candidate:
- Do you test on PC and Mac?
- Are you experienced in optimising for mobile devices?
- Do you have your own servers?
- Who owns the site, the domain and hosting once designed?
- Do you offer search engine optimisation (SEO)?
The first two questions make sure your site will run well on all devices, particularly mobile. This is vital because more people are using their phones to browse websites and so it must look good and work well on them.
Questions three and four bring clarity on where your site will 'live' when it is accessible to the public and who owns it.
The final question on SEO is important because a new site will not rank highly on Google just because it looks good. There are many technical factors that have to be delivered well, not to mention providing content people are searching for. You will almost certainly benefit from having an SEO audit alongside the launch of your new site.
Check that they know their own industry inside out. Ask them how they deliver the best results for their customers. A great web designer will give you solutions to questions you didn’t know you had to ask.
What's the difference between a web designer and a web developer?
Web designers are the people who create the look and feel of your website. They come up with the layout, fonts, colours, standards and branding that will greet your visitors. Web developers take those designs and use code to create a functioning website. Website design and development are very different skill sets.
An SME shouldn't be recruiting one person to do both roles. Clarify whether your designer will design AND build your website. Be very cautious if they say 'yes'. Probe them about how they do it.
Do they use pre-built templates and then “customise” them for each client? Or, like Ketchup, do they develop bespoke websites that suit your business’s specific needs?
Web designers who offer the full service as a “one man band” often end up delivering a low end amateur-looking site. What’s more, they tend to use a pre-built theme which can restrict them later when you need additional functionality or custom elements.
As with all specialisms and niche skills, we believe it is better if people stick to what they are good at. Our dedicated designers are trained in producing professional websites that meet the highest commercial needs. Our skilled developers then convert the design to code.
What's more, our talented copywriters make sure the content is engaging and gets noticed in Google, with tried and tested SEO techniques and our dynamic designers create imagery that aligns with brand and message.
Why you should use an expert web designer
Professional website designers make sure your site reflects your brand, product or service in the best possible way. What’s more, a quality professional will view your business from the outside, in much the same way as your customers.
This makes them place value on the same features your customers do: ease of navigability, quick to load on all devices, clear layout, etc.
Nothing promotes your business, products, or services as effectively as a professionally designed website! Treat that design with the respect and importance it deserves.
With the right web designer by your side, you will:
- Attract more people who are all potential customers
- Increase awareness of your brand
- Boost business sales
How Ketchup can help
The web design team at Ketchup bring tons of experience in creating websites for a very diverse range of businesses. Interested in finding out more? Call us on 0115 671 3868 or email us by clicking this link.
Oh, and check out our own web design portfolio for yourself.