Shopping for a Web Designer

By ThinkAvenue Editor You’ve taken the plunge. You’re ready to get your business on the Web. You realize the millions of potential customers you could be reaching on the Internet. You’ve registered a domain name, found a great Web host and now… well, you’ve got a blank slate… an empty canvas. You’ve decided that you can’t possibly have the customized site

Designers across the board agree that you absolutely have to know what your site's objectives are before they even want to meet with you.

you desire without employing the services of a professional. Now the question is, how do you know if you’ve found someone worthy of your project? Since there are seemingly thousands of qualified Web designers out there, it can be a challenge to know what to look for in a designer, expect from the experience, and most importantly, how fast your site will be ready to launch.

Before we get started

Designers across the board agree that you absolutely have to know what your site’s objectives are before they even want to meet with you. “Before we start any Web site, we need to know what our client’s reason is for having a site,” states Sandra Marsico, Adjunct Instructor, Westwood College of Technology and Founder of Sandstorm Design (www.sandstormdesign.com). “Then we want to know where they see their company going in the next five years so that we can build a site to grow with them; not outgrow them.”

Presumably, you’ve thought about your reasons for wanting to launch a Web site. You’ve made the decision to either sell your products and services online or to provide information and a professional edge to your business. What other questions should you ask yourself before consulting the Web designer directory?

Erin Sloan, Owner & Artist, Sloan Designs (www.sloandesigns.com) prepares a checklist of questions that she poses to clients right at the beginning of the project, including:

1. Are you looking for an entirely new site design or for updates to an existing Web site?

2. How many pages do you anticipate your site having? (Hint: Think of one Web page as an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper.)

3. Do you have a logo?

4. Is there existing print material or stock images that can be used for your Web site?

5. Does your company have a brand identity?

Once you have the dimensions of the project in mind, it’s also important to think about what you like and don’t like in design. The easiest way to figure that out is by finding some sites that already exist and benchmarking them so you have concrete examples to share with your designer. “I ask upfront, do you have three to four URLs of sites you like? Also, who are your competitors?” says Esten Sesto, Project6 Design (www.project6.com).

Looking at competitor sites is a great way to decide what you need to include on your site as well as what kind of layout works and doesn’t work. Don’t only limit yourself to checking similar sites, however, this may be the one time in your business where you can really go out on a limb to build your dream site.



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