Web Designers – 10 Questions You Must Ask Them
If you have never had a website built for your small business before, it’s important to ask a number of questions when choosing a web designer for your project.
Below are 10 important questions you must ask your web designer before giving them the go ahead to work on your new site;
- Can I see your portfolio?
Before you agree to anything you’ll want to see the style and design of previous sites completed by the individual or web design company. Think about the look you want for your own website and compare that to the work they are showing you.
- Do you have references?
An impressive portfolio is one thing but it doesn’t give you the whole story behind the project. By asking for references you’ll discover whether it was completed on time and on budget, designed to the client’s brief and find out more about how easy the web designer or agency is to work with.
- How many changes to your design are included in the price?
Web design can be a very subjective thing and you may not be happy with the initial design that’s done for you. With this in mind you should ask any potential designer about how many changes are included in the price you’ve been quoted.
- Do you use templates or create unique websites?
There are a lot of freelance web designers and companies around who only use templates for designing client’s websites. While in some cases this may be okay for you, if you have a very small budget for example, in a lot of cases this is done as a time saving measure and the client thinks they have had a unique website designed for them. Some template sites can perform poorly in terms of search engine optimisation.
- How long will the process take?
Every website is different so it pays to ask potential designers how long your project will take from start to finish. It’s important to meet all the deadlines they set you for things like receipt of the copy if you want your site to be completed on schedule.
- Will I be able to update the site myself once it’s live?
Having unique and regular content on your website plays an important part in search engine optimisation so you may want to do this on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.
If having access to your site is something you really want then you should ask potential web designers if they can design your site using a content management system (CMS). If they can’t do this, you’re looking at having to pay them every time you want to make a change to your website and alterations may not be done as quickly as you’d like.
- How much will it cost to host my site?
Many web designers and agencies will provide your first year’s hosting for free, but even if this is the case it’s worthwhile asking what the cost will be in subsequent years. It’s always wise to ask whether or not hosting is included in your quote if it hasn’t been made clear.
- Will I own my site and domain name?
If the web designers you speak to are going to register your domain name for you, make sure that it gets registered in your name and not theirs.
With regards to your website, always check the terms and conditions before signing up to anything as some web development companies charge people to design a site and then retain ownership of the site themselves meaning you can’t move it to another host for example without paying them a fee.
- What do you need from me?
This question is especially important if you haven’t had a website designed for your small business before. Knowing what you need to supply to your designer i.e. logo, photos, text and when you need to supply it is critical to the smooth running of your project.
- What other services do you offer?
Many web designers and agencies offer other complementary services to their clients such as copywriting and search engine optimisation. While it makes sense to have everything looked after by one person or company, you may be able to save money by looking elsewhere, so don’t just accept the first quote you’re given for these.
You should also do your own research into these other services and be prepared to ask as many questions as you need to make sure they can deliver what they’re promising.
If you liked this article you may also want to read 10 good reasons your business needs a website
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