How to choose a website designer

You have a business and need an amazing website design! However with 1000s of website designers to choose from it can feel impossible making sure you are picking the right one that is going to bring your vision to life, within your budget and who you are actually going to build a bond with (although I don’t think this is discussed enough so I am going to write a whole section on it)!

Your style

Your vision will be unique to you. You are going to have a certain aesthetic you want to achieve. So it is important to find a website designer who will be able to recreate your vision.

Although you may think any website designer can do it, more often then not this is not the case. Many website designers come with their own level of style. Which means if you want a website which is light and airy and choose a website designer who has predominately been creating websites with a bold aesthetic you may find your visions clash. This means it is important to look at a website designers portfolio before making your decision.

Some of the top places to look for a website designer portfolios is on social media. Website designers will often have showcased their work on their Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook feeds. You will be able to follow along to check out their latest designs and see if their style is a good match for you.

Similarly you can view website designers portfolios on their own websites or on websites like Behance and Dribbble. Website designers will often put together portfolios of projects that have created and publish them to these websites.

Your Budget & Business Needs

Website designers will come in all budgets. However it is important to consider where your business is at currently and what will suit your specific needs right now. I have met multiple clients who have budgets of $200 and wanted the world. So here are a few things to consider before approaching a website designer…

You are just starting out

You have the business idea and you want someone to create a functional website for you to get you up and running quickly. You are not looking for an artistic project and you just want to get your products or services up online within a few weeks.

If this is the case you would be best looking for a website designer who offers template services. This means they will use a template and drag and drop your images and copy into the template. This website designer is not creating anything bespoke and they are not spending hours creating a brand template for you. They are just getting the job done.

This means the website designer isn’t spending hours creating your something bespoke and you are getting a website which suits your current business needs within a matter of days or weeks.

This also means you will be paying a lower price then if you were to build something from scratch.

If this sounds like you then you can expect to pay anything from a few hundred up to $1000 for this type of website.

You are growing

You’ve had your business a year or more and the DIY website template has outgrown your business. You feel it has cheapened your brand and you are now looking for something a little more tailor made.

In this case you will be looking for a bespoke website designer. A website designer who is going to build you something from scratch and sit with you discussing your color palette, fonts, imagery and overall vibe of your website.

This website designer will not be dragging and dropping images into a template. This will be a bespoke project and as a result you will be paying more for this service.

If you are looking for a bespoke website then you can expect to pay anything between $1000 - $5000+ depending on the size and time length of the project.

Going for gold

You need a mega website. A website with product pages, blog posts, sales pages, informational pages, portfolios and more. You are now a 6+ figure business and have 1000s of sales and visitors a day. You are looking for a website to cater for your fast paced and fast growing business.

Depending on your business needs you may need to hire the top end website designers. The coders and engineers. These guys are going to code you up something like an ASOS website.

These website are engineered to perfection. We are no longer using drag and drop builders and instead these website designers are using code. These projects normally take months if not well over a year to create but they come with added features and layers of security to keep you and your customers safe.

However you can expect to pay $10,000+ for a website like this.

Website Designers Reviews

Most website designers will have reviews on their website from their past clients. However the reviews they will have on their website will be their best ones.

So take a look at places like Trustpilot or Google Reviews to see other reviews they may have.

Personality & Rapport

Website designers don’t just come in all types of styles but they will also come with all different types of personalities. I do not think this is spoken about enough when it comes to finding a website designer.

When you work with a website designer you will often be working with them for a few weeks to a few months. You may also need them 6 months later to make additional changes to your website. A web designer will be asking you questions, want to get on calls, will need feedback and overall be someone you speak to a lot in your time working together.

So let’s be honest, you will not want to spend weeks, months or years working with someone you can’t stand.

This is why it is important to get on a call with web designers. See if their approach, the way they converse with you and overall personality is someone you want to work with. (Just to let you know website designers do this with their clients too).

An introduction call goes further then just talking about the project. It goes into getting to know each other and seeing if you click.

Timeframe of Web Design Project

When choosing a website designer it is important to discuss time frames. You may want a website built within a few days but a website designer may not have space for a few months. So it is important to pick a website designer who can get your project completed in your timeframe.

Now time can also build in with rapport.

If you set out a timeframe with a website designer they will block off this time within their calendar to work on your project. If you consistently miss deadlines and don’t have everything organised that a website designer needs then this can damage relations.

If you are hiring a website designer for a specific time frame it is important to stick to that timeframe. This is because a website designer may have refused projects or delayed other projects to cater to your specific needs. Which essentially means if you can’t stick to what you first agreed then you are disrupting the flow of a website designer and potentially effecting their business.

This also works for you. There is nothing worse hiring a website designer who promised they would get your project built within a set timeframe but you are sitting there 6 months later with nothing to show for it. If you signed a contract and paid a deposit (which often you will have done) then this is going to be hugely frustrating for you.

Transparency is key. It is also another reason to carefully look at reviews or get on a call with a website designer to discuss timeframes.

Website design and SEO

When picking a website designer it is important to consider SEO. A lot of website designers will not offer SEO which means your website, although visible to your online will unlikely get found by anyone else. Just because you have had a website built does not mean it will get found on Google.

If you want your website to get found on Google then you need to invest in SEO.

Without SEO you are reliant on having the URL of your website on your social media profiles - www.yourbusinessname.com.

If you work with a website designer who specialises in SEO then you will get a website that will get found on Google. This means potential customers or clients who are searching on Google for the types of products or services you sell will be able to find your website.

Conclusion: Picking a website designer

Picking a website designer for your project will be a personal choice. One that means picking a website designer who can bring your vision to life, one who will do it in your budget and one who you will actually work well with. Make sure you look at their portfolios to see if they have designed websites you like. My final tip is to go onto the websites they have built and see how they work on both mobile and desktop. This will give you a good indication how well built a website is. You need to ensure you are picking a website designer who has good technically skills as well as design skills!

Would you like to speak to us about a web design project? Get in touch!