Hiring a Web Designer
Look, I get it. Not all of us are cut out to be web designers. Heck, some of us would still be doing the Matrix homage of green font on black backgrounds and scattering animated GIFs of dancing babies all over our homepages. Some of us are driven by the business side—you know what you want your site to do and how it should look, but you just don’t have the knowledge, tools, or raw talent to pull it off.
Choosing the Right One
The good news is that the internet is full of people who do have the knowledge, tools, and raw talent to build exactly what you’re looking for. Of course, Web Designers probably won’t work for free, so before you can set them loose on your HTML, you’ll have to lock down their fee, expectations, and deadline.
That all sounds simple enough… until you learn that just because someone says they’re a web designer doesn’t mean they should be a web designer.
The person you hire to design and work on your website is almost as important as your website plans themselves. It doesn’t matter how good a concept you have for your site, if your designer can’t pull it off, it won’t do you one bit of good. So, before you sign off on someone and hand over the WordPress access, here are a few things to check first:
- What Do You Want – Don’t hire someone until you have a solid idea of what your site should look like. If you can’t give your hire a solid direction, they’re probably going to disappoint. Even if you don’t have specific plans in mind, know what your site should do, and compile a list of similar sites that you like so your designer has a few touchstones.
- Make Sure They Can Do It – Building an eCommerce site is a lot different than building a blog site, so whatever your end goal is, make sure they have the technical prowess to pull it off. Be sure and check their portfolio as well and look at how well similar projects of theirs turned out.
- Set A Deadline – Be upfront about when you need the site and make sure they can deliver in that amount of time.
- Set A Budget – Designers will range from $500 to over $20,000, so there’s a pretty broad playing field here. Remember, for the most part, you get what you pay for. Make sure they can deliver what you want within an amount you’re able to pay and be firm with that final budget number.
- Get References – Sure, they can design a good looking site, but maybe they’re horrible to work with. No amount of beautiful code is worth that experience. Check with people they’ve worked for in the past and make sure there are no nasty surprises in store.
- No Outsourcing – If you hire someone to build your site, make sure it’s them building your site. Some people will land the job and then outsource—many times to places like India. That can be a big pain if you run into issues with the site and need to get in touch with the actual coder.
- Mark Your Territory – Get it in writing that anything they build for you belongs to you. It’s your intellectual property, and once they finish, they no longer own any part of it. If your business winds up taking off, you’ll thank me for this.
As far as finding someone to hire, there are tons of web sites to help connect you to designers seeking work. Upwork.com is a favorite of mine. Or find some websites you really like and scroll to the bottom—more often than not, the designer’s name or company will be listed there.
Questions? Ready to Get Started?
If you have questions or would like to get started, please give us a call at (312) 834-7787 or visit our website to request a free quote and consultation.