You decided to hire a web designer to create your website. Great!

How do you choose the right one?

The following list contains some important questions to help choose the right designer for your new site.

  1. How much will the entire cost be, and can I pay monthly if required? By offering monthly payments, some web designers help small businesses get a more professional, polished site while staying within budget limits.
  2. What is included? Understand exactly what everything in the contract means before signing. Better yet, have your lawyer have a look at it.
  3. What about hosting? Not all Web Developers offer hosting. Know your domain name and location of your website. Even if hiring a full-service provider.
  4. Who is responsible for content? If the content is provided, make sure that you have final approval authority. It is your website after all!
  5. Is there on-going support? Know what kind of support is offered… and how trouble tickets are generated.
    1. Can you call any time or is it regular business hours?
  6. Will the site rank well when indexed? Not everyone who is looking for you, knows your name. Keywords and properly placing them helps your site get visibility.
  7. Will it be mobile responsive? Only mobile sites show up when searched on a mobile device. Your website must be mobile too.
  8. Can I be as involved as I choose to be? You, the client, are the director. You should be able to check in at any time to see the progress on your site.
  9. What is the preferred form of communication? Stream-lining communications creates unity. Your designer is part of your team – not the opponents team. Only by working together will your website get created and successfully launched.
  10. What are your specialties? Not all web-designers are created equal. Some are Word-press Experts. Some are SEO Experts. Some are experts in BLOGs… They should be able to tell you what their specialty is.

If not – run the other way!

These are some of the basic questions to ask any web designer. Tailoring these questions to you and your site will help you hire the right web designer. Hire the one that makes you the most comfortable!