Finding the right person or organization to design a website might be a daunting prospect for some.  There are a myriad of options, ranging from freelance designers to large multimedia companies with dozens of specialized people.

But who do you choose?

It really depends on you requirements.  Are you planning on having a small website which is mostly text and images, or are you planning on having a large website with thousands of webpages, online shopping facilities and an interactive community?

If you’re a blogger or just starting out in affiliate marketing you probably don’t need (or can afford) a web designer to design a brand spanking new website.  Fortunately there are numerous free and cheap website templates/themes which you can buy and install yourself.  However, if you’re not particularly website savvy, you’ll still need to hire somebody to setup these templates for you.  Your Web Design Expert is more than capable to help you out here!

If you’re in business and serious about achieving the best online results possible, a unique design is to your advantage.  You can tailor your website to suit both your business and customers/clients in ways a pre-made template cannot.

So do you go freelance or to a multimedia company?

If your intent is a small website (say under 10 webpages), or even a moderately large website (say under 200 webpages) then a freelance designer could get the job done nicely.  Not to mention a lot cheaper than a company who pads out their prices.

It’s important to realize the price a designer charges is not necessarily a reflection on their skills or level of service.  Some designers are moderately priced and design good websites, while other designers are expensive yet don’t deliver results anywhere near as good as the moderately priced designers. 

It’s more the way the designer presents his or herself that dictates they amount they charge.

At the other extreme countries like India and the Philippines have much cheaper designers because the value of their currencies are much lower than in “Western Countries”.

Of course this doesn’t make finding a good designer any easier.  In fact it may add additional challenges:

• An outsourced designer may not speak fluent English, so communicating may be considerably more difficult.  Have you ever spoken to an outsourced customer service representative, like in a call centre?  If so, this may give you an indication of what communicating with some outsourced Web Designers is like.
• Quality standards are sometimes lacking in these parts of the world.  That’s not to say all outsourced designers produce poor quality work, though you should make sure you see examples of their previous work.
• They’re not readily available for face-to-face meetings and you can’t call them directly via phone.  Fortunately the Internet provides technology to overcome these limits so it’s not so much of an issue these days.

Questions to consider when selecting a designer?

• Does the Web Designer provide value for service?
• How reliable is the Web Designer?  Does the designer finish task and projects on time?
• How fast and efficient is the Web Designer?  Some people work faster than others which can affect the time and cost.
• For example: Web Designer A charges $80 per hour and takes 5 hours to complete a project while Web Designer B charges $50 per hour and takes 10 hours to complete a project. Even though Web Designer A is more expensive per hour, the overall cost will be cheaper.
• Is the designer friendly and helpful when answering questions? If something goes wrong how responsive and helpful are they?
• Does the designer possess the necessary skills and experience to implement everything you want?
• What is your budget? Do the Web Designer’s rates allow you afford everything you want?
• Where is your Web Designer based?  If you can’t meet them face-to-face, are you comfortable working remotely and communicating via phone, Email or Instant Messaging?
• Does the Web Designer have a portfolio of work?
• Do they have testimonials from past and current clients?

If you need help finding the right Web Designer don’t hesitate to contact us via the below form.  We may be able to assist or recommend someone suited to your project.

Act now!