Hiring a website designer can be a scary investment! How do you choose when there are an abundance of designers all specializing in similar things? Let me give you the inside scoop and some background into choosing designers:

1. On which platform do they design?

This is crucial. If they are designing on WordPress, it may not be a one and done thing. I have a post all about why I choose Squarespace (and Showit) over WordPress. However, the gist of it is when I am done designing your site, I want to be able to hand it over to you to maintain so you don’t need to pay a monthly maintenance fee, WordPress makes this difficult and a custom coded site makes this nearly impossible.

2. How is their user experience?

I think we know by now that you are paying for more than just a website, you are paying for an experience. A website generally takes at least a month and if you are working with someone who doesn’t have good systems in place or is slow to respond, it will make the month or two an absolute headache.

3. What’s your budget?

Of course I have to put this one in there! If you are making $20,000 a year a $8,000 website is probably not worth it (can I get an Amen?) Find out what their package offers (I suggest at least 5 pages and SEO) and make sure it is in your budget.

4. Do they do proper SEO techniques?

You may have heard of Search Engine Optimization once or twice… it’s a big deal! I work with my clients (and use their client questionnaire) to determine effective keywords and then place those strategically in their H1 (main heading), H2 and body.

I suggest checking out some services pages (many web designers post their prices) and if they don’t, asking for a proposal. Getting at least 3 options is a great place to start!