How to Choose a Website Designer, Select the Right Website Design Firm

by Susan Greene

Now that you've decided that you're ready to create a website for your business, the question is how to do it. It seems that everyone from your 14-year-old nephew to the 70-year-old grandma next door is able to design a web site these days. And many people will tell you that you can even build the site yourself using a word processor and some inexpensive software program purchased at your local computer store. However, is this the route you really want to go?

To have a professional-looking website, the fact is you need to hire a professional website designer or website design firm. Consider the analogy of learning to play the piano. You can pick up an informative book and with a little trial-and-error, quickly learn to play a few chords. But to really make music, you need a great deal of acquired knowledge, practice and also talent.

Creating a quality website, requires an understanding of graphic design, the various types of web design software, programming and coding, and Internet marketing. Furthermore, a good web site designer will know the limits of different browsers and computer platforms as well as how search engines spider through websites. Fail to make the right design or programming decisions, and you risk creating a useless website.

How do you choose a web design firm or web site designer? Even here in my mid-sized Florida city, we have dozens of Orlando website design firms and Orlando freelance web designers. It can be overwhelming. Here then are the key factors to consider in making your decision:

Web Design Firm vs. Freelance Web Designer -Do you simply need your website designed or will you also need assistance with copywriting the content, marketing your website, submission to search engines and website hosting? A freelance web designer can satisfy the design angle, but you may need a larger, more sophisticated web design firm to meet all the criteria?

Credentials -Does the web designer have professional qualifications in graphic design, web design and the Internet?

Experience -How long has the web design firm been in business designing web sites? Look at the design of their own website and other sites that have designed. Do the colors and text look balanced? Do all the links work? Does the site load fast? Is it easy to navigate? Do all the pages have a consistent look?

Testimonials -Ask for referrals from the web designer's customers. Perhaps a list of testimonials from these customers is readily available. If not, ask for contact information and then call on a couple of the customers. They'll tell you the skinny, good or bad, on the website designer.

Technology -If you want to use advanced technologies on your site, such as flash, shock wave, database integration or e-commerce capabilities, make sure your designer is familiar with them and has the necessary programming software.

Services -Be sure the website design firm you select offers all the services you need. For example, can they help you obtain your domain name? Will they assist you with copywriting the content for your website? Can they provide a form reply page for queries for your site's visitors? Will they host your site? Will they update your website after it's been designed or provide a content management system that allows you to do it yourself?

Pricing -Cost will obviously depend on what you want. Every website is a custom job. Attempt to develop an outline on your own before calling on web designers, otherwise you'll have difficulty obtaining quotes that allow you to compare apples to apples. Be sure to figure the costs of hosting into your total budget, as this is usually a monthly fee. That is, you wouldn't want to save a little on your website's design only to spend much more over time in monthly hosting fees.

Payment Terms -Of course, every company and vendor is different. However, my experience has been that most Orlando web design firms and Orlando freelance web designers demand at least partial payment (usually 50% of the total) up front before starting a project. Most will wait until you are completely satisfied with the final website design and it is online operating smoothly before billing you for the balance.

Ongoing Support -Web sites, moreso than any other type of marketing media, require continual updating to be most effective. Support means that you know you can contact your website developer and get prompt service at a fair price in making changes or additions to your site.