Choose your Website Designer wisely.

When you are looking for a website designer, there are many factors that you need to be aware of and that need to be taken into consideration before making such an important decision.

To a great extent, the ability to work successfully with your web designer is often as important as their actual skills in being able to deliver your project as you want it.

A website designer that is skilled in what they do, but is a pain to work with can make the whole process frustrating and not worth the money you are spending, especially if you have an emotional attachment to the project (which you should have, as you would be the one supplying the money and motivation)

This relationship can be worth a major proportion of the contract. However, there are some key aspects in choosing your website designer that you should consider. Be careful to take note of what you are getting for your money. Some possible pitfalls you may want to check on are:

Obviously, what do you get for your money?
What is included?  Design, Content, Graphics, Search Engine Submission, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Update costs and Site Maintenance? Be sure of all these details so that you can compare your quotes realistically. You also need to quantify some of these aspects in terms of quality, quantity, hours needed to complete the job, availability of statistics and Search Engines submitted to etc. SMARTERwebsites.net include all of these services integrated into each project.

What are the ongoing costs?
All websites have ongoing costs. Web Hosting, Domain Names and Updates are the main three. Make sure you know the total cost of your investment. Get it in writing!! Many companies offer lower up front costs to lock you into higher ongoing costs that end up eventually costing you substantially more. Some other ongoing costs you should consider are SSL certificates for your E-commerce website, extra bandwidth and web space allowance (unlimited at SMARTERwebsites)

How easy is it to incorporate your branding into your Template?
Some templates make it difficult to incorporate your logo or colours into them, be wary of template driven website companies, some of these people are skilled enough only to change the text on a template. Some designers such as SMARTERtemplates.net design their sites from the ground up incorporating all of your design elements in their design. These companies offer the most flexibility.

How reliable are the Services provided?
Both with Hosting and Email, too much down time can make the whole experience unworkable. SMARTERhosting.net services have an enviable 100% uptime. You don't want to find that you have to change Hosting Services after six months because your designer has provided you with a poor Hosting Provider. Most clients rely heavily on their email and these are the people that need to choose their designer carefully, so that their business isn’t impacted.

What are the costs for making changes later on?
Updates and maintenance to your website is something that will eventually happen, even if you don't change the content frequently you will eventually need to add or alter some content on your website and you will need to know what it will cost over a year. A good idea is to have a solid Maintenance Agreement (hourly charges can become expensive).

Hidden costs
Make sure common aspects (like Search Engine submissions) are either included or are not at an extra cost to you. Some key factors can be omitted just to keep the price down. Make sure you don't get sold short. An important consideration is...is the website designer doing the job part time? Are your web designers doing this as a full time job?  Some designers are working during the day and then web designing at night. A lot of website designers started out this way, but it can cause issues when you need something done quickly and they are not on the job, when you need them.

If all the above check out, and you have found a website designer who you can work with and will provide you with services that will get you your website up and running quickly and efficiently. You will achieve your desired results.

Remember; not only choose a designer with the right skills for your project, but also one you believe you can work with on an ongoing basis. Build a working relationship will benefit you both and your web project as well.

Marc Tracy is CEO at SMARTERsystems the Website Design Consultancy, a one-stop-shop Website Design and Consultancy business catering to large and small businesses alike and personal websites, looking to get an edge with their presence on the Web, providing Website Design, Hosting Services, Site Maintenance, Domain Name Registration, Template Design and Consulting Services. Having been in the Website Design business for over 15 years SMARTERsystems have a proven track record that is exemplary. Email us here.