There’s no doubt you need a website these days. Whether you have an established business in your community, a small business startup, a non-profit organization, club or church, it’s expected that people can find you online now. If your potential customer or audience can’t find you online, your image is damaged, you appear to be out of date without a website. And if your website was created 5 years ago by your nephew, well, it needs to be updated now.
What to look for in choosing a Design freelancer or company;
Prices
Some advertisements offer unbelievable low prices, such as $89.00. Obviously, you can’t expect much quality for that price. If you want a custom design, and you do, with several pages and quality work, you won’t get it at those rates. A web design freelancer or company will charge about what a plumber charges per hour in your area. It takes more than an hour or two to complete a custom website. You might consider a low cost flat rate for a simple one page design. That can be a way to get your organization or business online, with the intention of expanding later.
Contact Information
They should offer at least two methods of contact, for example, an email address or contact form, and a website link, or a website link and a phone number. The email address should be from an ISP, not a free online email address like Yahoo.
Website of their own
Anyone advertising their services should provide a link to their website address in the ad. You shouldn’t have to request it, or request samples of their work. If they can’t create their own website, doesn’t that raise a red flag?
Spell Check
Do they use spell check? “plz send ur requirements”. !!! Seriously, if they don’t check their own advertising copy, would you expect them to take the time to check the details on your project?
Portfolio
The website should have examples of their work. Take a close look at the examples. What kind of websites are they? Are they real organizations or businesses? Or are they hobby sites, created by the designer just to fill up a portfolio? There should be some variety in the portfolio. The overall design should have a smooth, light, up to date appearance to it. Current designs use lots of white space and smooth bright colored graphics. Look carefully at the graphics, do they appear professional, or do they have jagged edges and an out of date look? Are they using sophisticated color schemes, or just a few primary colors? Finally, the sites in their portfolio should have links to the actual websites so you can see the work currently online.
Search Engine Optimization, or SEO
If your website isn’t created with SEO in mind, your audience won’t be able to find you. While SEO is an ongoing process, it needs to be built in from the start, otherwise it’s an extensive project to remake an existing website with SEO in mind. Ask if they know how to build in SEO from the beginning.
Contracts and Payment Schedules
They should use a contract; this is for the benefit of both the client and the designer by making the project details clear on both sides from the beginning. Payments are usually split up into a deposit of 1/3 to 1/2 to start the work, and subsequent payments as the work progresses.
Testimonials
They should be able to quote some testimonials from previous clients, and the testimonials should be displayed on the website. You shouldn’t have to ask.
References
You should be able to contact at least one of their previous clients for a reference check. You will have to ask for this, because previous clients will not want an email address displayed online.
Trustworthy
Search Google for their website address and email address, the responses will give you an idea of the trustworthiness of the person or company you are thinking of hiring. If they are amateurs or rip-off artists, that will show up on Google.
Communication Skills
Once you find a designer or company that interests you, use their contact information to do a pre-qualifying “interview.” You should be able to communicate with the designer you choose freely and easily. Make sure they respond professionally by asking a couple of questions and reviewing the responses you get. Do they reply within 24 hours? Are the responses detailed enough to really answer your questions? Have they provided you with a phone number yet?
Shop carefully for your website project. With the internet available, you can determine the skill level and reliability of service providers, take advantage of that.