10 Questions To Ask Your Website Designer

Creating a new website or redesign is a huge investment so it’s important to know how to find a good website designer who can fulfil all your design needs.

Despite their best intentions, a website designer and client may not be on the same (web) page no matter how hard they try. That is why it’s important to find a web designer who not only has the design capabilities you are looking for but connects with you on a design level and has great customer service. Here are 10 questions that you should ask a website designer before you part with your hard-earned cash.

Can I see samples of your previous work?

Always review a designer’s portfolio so you can get a sense of their work and their style. Ideally, you want a designer who specialises in your industry as they have a better idea of what the scale and scope of the project is, what particular requirements are exclusive to the industry, they can provide more accurate quotes in regards to the scale and scope of the project and set more realistic and achievable deadlines.

Who is doing the actual design work?

With the trend in outsourcing, you may find that you are paying a website designer’s exorbitant rates and they are outsourcing design work to companies off-shore. It’s like paying for a head stylist at a hairdresser’s salon and having an apprentice tending to your hair with the stylist only overseeing the work. You want to know exactly who is doing the grunt of the design work if you are paying a premium for it.

What content management system (CMS) will you be implementing?

This question will ascertain what CMS you will use and whether you will be able to easily add, edit and delete content on your website without having to put in a panicked call to your designer each and every time. Typically, they will offer you either an off-the-shelf CMS or a custom-built version. If you own a small business, think about the long-term serviceability of the website and whether you can maintain it yourself.

What are your favourite programming languages and why?

This question would help you to judge the programming skills of your website designer especially if you want to develop some web applications or other interactive features for your website now or in the future. Ideally, your website designer should offer both the open source PHP/MySQL and ASP.NET programming languages. They also need to ensure the website is compliant across multiple browsers and platforms.

What do you know about mobile website design?

In this mobile age, more and more people are researching their options via the web with mobiles, smartphones and other portable devices. A mobile-friendly website needs to have features such as fast loading times, a simplified booking system, a click-to-call button to ring you, an easy-to-usesite architecture and other features that make it more conducive for travellers with portable devices to surf the web.

What experience have you had with ecommerce websites?

To stay competitive in a saturated industry, ideally you want a website with an integrated online enquiry system or the ability to add one later without a total website redesign.

What SEO experience do you have?

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is an important part of design. There is no point in having an elegant website design if it doesn’t have high search engine visibility. A website designer may be able to build you a beautiful site but they may not have the SEO specialist knowledge to be able to optimise your website. However, they may have an SEO specialist on-site or be able to recommend an SEO company.

Do you include hosting and domain name registration?

If you are starting your website from scratch, you will need a domain name and a hosting company. This is a service a website designer may provide as part of their design package or they may be able to recommend a company to you. Hosting is a consideration when it comes to SEO. It will help having an Australian website hosted in say Australia when Australian searchers look for this type of business – locally hosted websites are preferred on local Google engines.

What if I’m not happy with the design?

Sometimes a client doesn’t have a clear idea of what they want but clearly know what they don’t like after the work is done. A designer ideally should have a detailed brief from the client, regular meetings and a number of set revisions specified in the contract. It can be expensive and time-consuming for a designer to make changes to a design where they have met the brief but the brief keeps on changing.

What post-launch support do you provide?

After your website is launched, there may be ongoing issues such as design problems or changes you want made. You don’t want to hire a website designer who launches the website and then never returns your phone calls. Before signing on the dotted line, ask your designer what level of after-sales support they provide, whether training is part of your package and if there are any ongoing maintenance charges.

At Web Design Works, we have Web Design solutions to suit small business or we can create a custom solution for larger organisations that have specific design needs. Contact us and find out more about our high-profile list of long-term clients that our website design teams have collaborated with to develop websites that enjoy high search engine visibility and deliver an online return on investment.

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