8 Things You Should Do Before Hiring a Web Designer
Hiring a web designer involves a sizeable investment and effort from your business point of view. From determining what designs will appeal to your target audience to costs/deadlines, there are multiple areas to scrutinize. Given the volume of work, time, and money involved, entrusting your project requirements in the right hands is extremely crucial. To figure out the specifics and be certain before outsourcing, you need to conduct ample research and analysis. Here are 8 important things you should consider and do before hiring a web designer:-
Establish the Intent of your Website
Based on your business model, operational pattern, and customer profile, the objectives of your website need to be outlined at the very outset. Professional website design services will always aim at designing your website from the objective and functionality point of view. Furthermore, insights from the best digital marketing agency reveal that the latest web design trends should be implemented only if they sync well with the site’s intent and requirements. Some of these include:-
- Integration of Voice Search
- Inclusion of Shopping Cart and Payment Gateway
- Live Chat Function
- Online Appointment Booking
- 360 degrees Product Views
Time Constraints
Not establishing an affirmative project deadline might lead to unnecessary delays and technical hiccups later. Assess and set your expectations for the project duration after consulting your team is the first step. Accordingly, this needs to be communicated to the web design team in the very first meeting. Thereon, both parties need to arrive at a common consensus concerning the project deadline. A written agreement should be signed with explicitly mentioned deliverables and timelines.
Also Read: Advertising Online With Digital Marketing During Quarantine and Crisis
Deciding the Budget
Every business has specific cost constraints when it comes to getting its website designed and developed. The good news is that many good web design companies offer special packages for start-ups today. But remember, since this is such a crucial and one-time project, opting for a premium service provider with quality assurance is always better than blindly opting for the cheapest quote you get. A cheap, poorly designed website will not provide any ROI. On the contrary, it will cause higher bounce rates, deter most of your leads, and lead to a poor brand image.
Decide on the Web Pages required
Depending on your business type and the kind of products and/or services you provide, the number and type of web pages required need to be predetermined accordingly. Whether you approach the best website design services or the best digital marketing agency, they will give you a standard format for the web pages required. This includes the home page, the ‘About Us’ page, the products/services pages, the Contact us page, and so on. Deciding on this beforehand can help you avoid any confusion during the project.
Conducting a Background Check
Once you have shortlisted a few good web design services, how do you proceed with narrowing down on one? Scrutinizing their previous projects, client associations and overall portfolio of work can be very insightful. Make sure you check the following aspects:-
- Their overall experience in terms of the number of years plus the number of projects completed so far.
- What are the types of businesses they have worked with? Do they belong to your sector?
- What has been their scale of work so far, in terms of business volume and project costs?
- Check out their previously designed websites, not just in terms of aesthetics, but functionality as well.
Site Optimization
SEO is not a process that begins after your website has been designed and developed. Your entire website layout, navigation, images, and other design elements determine how easily search engines will be able to scan through your site. Getting your on-site optimization right during the design stage itself is crucial for your business.
Aim for holistic outsourcing
If you entrust a single company to take care of your web development, designing, content writing, and SEO, it will be much more cost-effective than hiring separate service providers or freelancers for each task. Moreover, there will be a lot more accountability in project execution if there is single-point outsourcing.
Technical Support
The job of the web development and design team doesn’t abruptly end once your site goes live. There could be several technical snags at the beginning which need to be addressed immediately. Opting for a team that assures you of adequate technical support for the teething phase is especially important.
Conclusion
Be it the aesthetics, functionality, or ease of use, your business website creates a lasting impression on potential customers. A well-designed website can be a game-changer for your online presence, bringing invaluable leads and ROI. The onus of all your online marketing efforts relies on having a modern, holistic, and user-friendly business website. Therefore, keeping the above factors in mind before hiring a web designer can be very helpful.
