By Steve Hoag

Choosing a website designer

Choosing a website designer is an extremely important decision when building a new website. As a business, you need to ensure you do all your research and find the closest thing to a perfect candidate possible. Here are five tips to do just that!

Technical Skills

Whenever looking at different web designer options, it is important to take note of what they are adept at. If you want infinite scrolling/page-less design, find a designer who knows how to do that. The most valuable designers are ones with some experience coding and programming, because they know the limitations and advantages of different content management systems. They will be able to confidently say ‘choose this solution because it will work perfectly with what you want.’

Web Designer’s Website

The best indicator of a web designer’s abilities is usually their website. This is essentially their portfolio, and will tend to be reflect the full scope of their expertise. Pay attention to things like their use of color, graphics, layout, and navigation scheme. Combined, do they create a compelling website?

Familiarity with Business/Industry

Finding a designer with previous work in your industry is very important. You need to find someone who knows your target audience and how to appeal to them. Do they share or understand your business vision? If they don’t, move on!

Internet Marketing Knowledge

Websites are one of, if not the most important piece of internet marketing. They are becoming the brick and mortar storefront of the 21st century. The web designer you choose must have a working knowledge of internet marketing tactics like color schemes, SEO, layout, social media etc.

Experience

An experienced website designer is usually more valuable to any company. They have been around the block, have best practices in place, and know the ins and outs of website design. However, an experienced website designer may be more expensive, and may not always have exactly what you are looking for. If you are looking for new, unbridled, fresh, outside the box thinking it can be worth taking a look at younger designers. This is especially true if your audience consists of younger generations.

View User Profile for Steve Hoag Steve is a recent graduate from UW, and the Marketing Coordinator at Fast Track. He primarily has experience in the tech and start-up industries. When he's not busy promoting Fast Track, he's watching Huskies or Green Bay Packers football. You can find him on Twitter @steven_hoag .
Posted by Steve Hoag Tuesday, October 22, 2013 5:35:00 PM Categories: B2B enterprise SMB web design website