Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

I am so tired of seeing client and designer horror stories gone wrong. I get clients coming to me after they just had it out with another designer or two! Having done this for awhile, I have been able to figure out why most clients don`t always get what they want with their web designer-- they don`t know how to hire the right one. I am posting part 1 of a two part series that will help some of the small businesses here understand the criteria needed to hire a qualified web designer.

This first part will cover some of the criteria that you need to look for in a designer along with the type of questions you should be asking of yourself and the designer. Part two will cover the five different elements that generally affect the costs of a site and help prospects understand why there is such wide variation from designer to designer.

Of course, if you would like to read the whole article, feel free to read it here at my business blog. There is also a link to the pdf version if you wish for a printout. I welcome all feedback so that I can improve it. Let`s begin;
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This is reading that every small to mid size business should have on hand when approaching a web designer or design company. Many clients lose money with their websites because they failed to do the necessary due diligence of hiring a designer. At Sachi Studio, we believe that an informed client is the best client to have. After finishing this brief guide, you will be able to;

1. Identify the goals for your website,
2. Know what questions to ask of a web designer,
3. Understand the various costs associated with developing a website,

If you approach 10 web designers about their prices, you will get 10 different answers. When a prospect uses price as the sole criteria of hiring, they will usually focus on the lower end designers. This is exactly when trouble begins and horror stories occur. Instead, you should be approaching designers with the goal of who is most qualified in terms of skillsets instead of prices. By hiring designers who add the most value, you will receive a website that will prove to more valuable to your business.

So how then, do you find a designer who can add value to your bottom line? The answer lies in the goals that you want out of your site. Below are five questions to ask yourself to help clarify your goals. Once you determine the website goals, you will then use them as a guide to help you find the right designer for your business. Remember; not all web designers are created equal. These questions are meant to help you filter out the unqualified web designers.

1. Do I want my website to be ranked well within the search engines for certain keywords that customers could be using to search for my business? If so, then you want to find a designer who has skillsets in Search Engine Optimization Strategies.
2. Do I want the option to update the website on my own rather than rely on a web designer? If you want to update the site on your own, then you should find a designer who is familiar with various Content Management Systems and how to design for the CMS Software.
3. Am I planning to sell products online? If you do, then you should find a designer who has skills in database programming and ecommerce functionality.
4. Will I be writing the web copy for the website or should I find someone who can? If you write it, your webcopy should be finished by the time the designer is done on their end, otherwise this delays the project further. If you want your web designer to do this, then you should make sure that she knows how to write webcopy. Most people know how to write, but few know how to write effectively on the web and to get visitors to buy from you.
5. Do I want the site to play a marketing role in my business? If so, then you want to find a designer who understands various types of online marketing strategies and how those techniques can be integrated into your website to bring in more customers.

In summary, these are what you should look for in a web designer. We recommend that you ask the questions below of your designer. The designer should also be able to show previous work with respect to these requirements.

1. Does the web designer have knowledge of search engine optimization strategies? If so, does he have a portfolio of work to show his competency in SEO? What kind of techniques will he be employing and does he have a methodology to developing a well-ranked site? How is the research performed?
2. Does the web designer have experience in designing for ecommerce websites? What type of software will he be using?
3. Does the web designer have experience with designing for content management systems? Will he be training you on how to use the software so that you are not reliant on him for future maintenance? Is it proprietary or open source software?
4. Does the web designer know how to write effective web copy? How are the rates structured?
5. Does the web designer have an understanding of various online marketing strategies that can help the customer make more money from the website? What type of marketing strategies does the designer provide? Brand creation? Email marketing? Business blogging consulting? SEO? Article writing?

Part 2 is to be continued....

Haha, your first 2 sentences sound like me. In fact, I`m working on 3 clients tonight alone that started with that story.

To this, I add an article on how to communicate with a development team.

(In fact, these few have kept me so busy that I haven`t even added new blog entries today!)

I get the impression most people don`t have much of an idea of what *exactly* they expect from a Web site. If that`s true, then how would they know how to answer the questions about what to look for?

Seems to me that the burden is on the designer/developer to communicate (at length) with the prospective client, to explain the questions THEN get the answers?

Ditto Craig.

As an art director and designer for many years, the most important questions I could ask were the questions my clients didn`t ask. After all I was the professional with the experience and that is part of the reason someone would find value in my service.

A developer cannot assume that anyone hiring them knows exactly what is in their best interest.

I have learned a lot in the past year about hiring a web developer. And the the most important lesson was,

A true professional will take the time to address concerns upfront, clarify your expectations and provide you options. They will do the work quickly and effectively without excuse. You owe them to be prompt in providing information and payment. Make decisions quickly and discuss concerns as they arise.

You must have an strong idea about what you want your site to accomplish. This can easily be done by research. Give your developer a detailed list, in order of priority with references.

The developer must have and share with you their concerns and detailed plan of action. A developer should be able to explain to you, so that you clearly understand, why, what they are recommending for you is in YOUR best interest.

You must review their recommendations, do a bit more research and ask questions. If they are unable to give you clear explanations and provide helpful insights into why something will or will not work for you, you should find someone else to work with.











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Cathy | JustOrganizeYourStuff.com | Organizing Life to Enjoy Life.

Nicole- That`s funny. I can relate. I remember there was this one week where I had 3 different inquiries from people who had bad experiences with their previous designer. One client found their designer off of Craigslist. Another found their designer through offshoring overseas. I can`t recall what happened to the 3rd one.

Ditto to Craig`s remark regarding the burden falling on the developer to initiate the conversation. That`s why I have this article to help provide some foundation of that :)

Certainly we spend a lot of time and effort in creating a bid for a project, understanding the clients needs, understanding what their competitors are doing, where the market is going etc.

We will typically create a terms of reference from their brief and our own research which will include the elements that they have identifed, what we consider potential other components/ functionality and the risks & issues we have identified.

The other advantage is when the document is finally signed off it becomes a definitive record of the scope and therefore prevents scope creep and reduced arguments of if our quote included something or not. (can you tell my professional background is in project management?)

It does concern me with some designers/ developers who will quote and even start work on a project with a brief as limited as simply "I want web store"  


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Astaroth Solutions - Bespoke web development

Cathy and Craig - spot on in your responses.

I often find that first phone call to be an hour or more!

And really communication is key. That was my point exactly ... that the happiest clients are the ones with the best experience in terms of communication.

Alright. So, in part 2, I wanted to cover 5 sticking points that will affect the cost of a website. As I previously said, talk to 10 different designers, and you`ll get 10 different price quotes for the same project.

As has been mentioned in this thread, most clients really have no understanding as what really goes into the design of a site. Irregardless if it`s brochureware or dynamic driven sites, there are a few variables that will affect cost. So here we go with part 2. If any designers have feel that there is another factor that will affect cost of a site design, I`d love to hear your thoughts.
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What affects the cost of a site?

The cost for a website, even for basic brochureware, can vary quite a bit. One designer can charge $700 for a 5-page site. And yet I know another who charges $1300 and yet I know another company that charges $2000. And all three clients will be happy with what they receive and paid for the site. Most people only see the end result of a design, but below are some of the elements that occur “under the hood” and are factored into the cost of any website. Beware of the designer who quotes you a concrete price without finding out more about the information below from you.

1. Mockups. How many mockups or drafts do you wish to have? Some clients wish to have three or four iterations of the site before coding commences. The more mockups that a client wishes to have, the more time it takes for the designer to implement thus increasing costs significantly.
2. Technology. Depending on the goals of the site, technology and software can play a critical role in the site design. Some people want the option to update the site on their own without relying on the designer. This means that a CMS, Content Management System, is needed. This will usually increase the cost of the site design since it takes a bit more time to design for a CMS.
3. Creatives. If you want a lot of creative juice to be integrated into the site design, then this will increase the cost. Design elements such as customized icons, buttons, flash, and graphic illustrations are time and labor intensive. Creativity will vary widely from one designer to another. There will be a balance that you need to achieve with the aesthetic look of your site, what your designer can produce, and how much you are willing to pay to achieve that look.
4. Revisions. How many times do you want to revise a site before it is finally launched? The more revisions a client wishes to have, the further this delays a project and the more time a designer has to put into it. Time is money.
5. Services offered. Aside from coding and design, there are other services that some designers can offer. Search engine optimization strategies, online marketing strategies, email marketing, and web copy writing are just a few of the added value that some designers can offer to your business. Building a website is just the first step. Getting visitors to buy from you requires a designer who has a solid understanding of marketing. What you are willing to pay will depend on how much value you place on your online presence.

A couple buying tips;

1. Register your own domain name rather than rely on the web designer. Relying on a web designer to register the domain name for you mean they have ownership of the domain name and not you. Should something go wrong with the relationship between you and designer, you will not be able to get your domain name back. This can cost you a lot of business.
2. Don’t focus on pretty but focus on marketable. A lot of website owners tend to think that a website that is beautiful in graphics, full of flash, and has music, will help them make money from the website. This is simply not true. At the end of the day, website owners don’t want something pretty but want something that will help them make money. Focus on having a site that loads fast and is full of content and resourceful to the visitors.

The end :)

Oh man, this is why I`m not making anything? I knew not charging for a million mockups is a bad idea. 

(Seriously, money is like my worst subject. My artist is no better. We`re all doing it for the thrill of the product so we end up perfecting the thing for our own purposes. Do they have some `charge what you`re worth` boot camp for a couple of bleeding hearts who will work for free for a sob story?)

As service professionals, we should be highly cognizant of where we put our time.

There was a great thread that talked about how to deal with the multiple mockup issue with clients. See "How many website mockups is enough"

I believe it`ll open your eyes quite a bit with how you deal with clients from this point forward.