Questions to Ask a Web Designer Before Hiring
By Rick Dieffenbach. Updated December 2007.
Many people come to Allure saying, "I don't know a thing about what I need in a website, help me." We do! But we have had other people come to us, frustrated and even angry about how their previous web designer treated them or how their website just did not perform for them.
In this article, we've prepared seven things to ask a perspective web designer. We hope this helps you make a better decision before you invest time and money in a new website.
Note: There are no website designer licensing requirements and no minimum training or experience standards. The most you can be assured is that the person or company you are interviewing says they are web designers or developers. It's up to you to ask the right questions. Don't be hesitant to get the answers in writing before making the financial commitment.
1. Search engine preparation.
If having your site come up in search engines is important, the site should be optimized for search engines from the ground-up. How your site is constructed - from the overall methods and design choices to the words in the text - all play a part in search engine positioning.
Things to ask:
Have the designer provide proof of competence in search engine optimization. Adopt a "show me" attitude. Have them show you several example sites they have optimized for the engines and the phrases they were targeted for. Then test them yourself - start in Google. Criteria: Anything that falls on page 3 or further is poor. Ask the designer to explain what they will do before, during and after the website is created in regard to search engine placement.
2. Usability for the general public.
Did you know that how you see a website on your computer may be different than another computer? There are a number of reasons for this with the primary one being a lack of universal standards adopted by the makers of web browsers such as Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera and Safari. Worse, what little standardization does exist has often evolved and changed through the various versions of each browser.
This lack of standardization can cause a website that works well in one browser not to work the same way in another browser. Creating websites that work across many different computers and browsers is a learned skill that comes from building many websites.
Things to ask:
Ask the designer which browsers, and what versions of those browsers will your site work for. (A typical business site today is generally Internet Explorer Version 4 and up, Firefox Version 1.5 and up, Safari Version 1 and perhaps Opera. The site should work on both a Mac and PC.) If you want your website to be friendly to hand-held devices like Palm Pilots, ask the designer to explain what portions of the site will be friendly to these devices.
3. Handicap Accessibility
Creating a handicap-accessible website requires careful construction using knowledge and skill that go beyond most amateurs.
Things to ask:
Ask the designer to discuss what accessibility is; Ask the designer to describe the extent that accessibility will be considered in the site. (NOTE: If you represent an organization receiving some federal funding, the web designer should advise you about Section 508 requirements.)
4. Requirements for website updating.
After the site is built, what will be the procedure for making changes? For example - adding pages, photos or changing text? Can you do this yourself, or will you have to come back to the designer? Will you have to become qualified with web building and own expensive software to make changes?
(NOTE: There is more than one way to construct a website. The method chosen by the designer will determine how hard or easy it is to make changes later. Caution - many small and "weekend" designers only know one way. And when all they have is a hammer, everything starts looking like a nail.)
Here is a list of the four methods of website updating today.
Built-in editing - Modern. Here, everything you need for editing a page is built-in the site. You can add new pages as well. The menu system self-creates as new pages are added. Photos are automatically sized properly for you. The editor itself is very similar to a word processor. (This is the model that Allure Creative uses)
Built-in editing - Antique. Here, the editing system is built in, but instead of functioning like a word processor, it offers only basic text editing. Photos must be pre-sized manually. The menu does not self adjust when pages are added or removed.
Using a web design program like Dreamweaver, Adobe GoLive, Microsoft Frontpage or Microsoft Expression Web to edit text and make changes directly. However unless you have significant training and significant experience in web design, your site will likely have one or more problems - for example, not very well structured for the search engines. And often, these programs allow you to do things that you really shouldn't. In the hands of the right person - trained and experienced - these work well. In the hands of amateurs... well... the results are often less than they could be.
Using Adobe Contribute. Even though Adobe Contribute is a web program much like those in #3, it is designed for business owners and managers. It does a good job of allowing simple text edits and photo placement. New pages can be added, although changing the menu may be time consuming. The best part about Contribute is that it allows business owners to do basic editing, but does not encourage changing things they should not. For very basic, small sites, with text and a few photos, this option can work well.
Things to ask:
How will the site be updated - by the designer or by you?
Which one of the 4 methods above will the website use?
What can you update on the site? What can't you update on the site?
5. Site ownership and transferability.
Do you own your site? Can you pick it up and move to another designer if your relationship goes sour or if the designer goes out of business?
MANY websites today - especially the bargain basement models - are actually part of a larger program owned by the web firm. They create your website (or allow you to create your own) from this "master program."
While there are benefits of this approach, generally lower construction costs, there are important issues to be aware of. The problem is that you are locked into one web designer or firm. This means you can not move the site to another designer. It also means that should the designer go out of business, the site will be lost.
Things to ask:
After it's built and payed for, who owns the website - you or them - both from a legal perspective and a functional perspective;
Can you move it to another web hoster or designer? How difficult is that? (Ans: should be nominal labor cost - perhaps 1 or 2 hours for a typical site)
Will they provide you a full copy of the website?
6. Web firm abilities.
There are three kinds of "designers". Skilled graphic artists, talented programmers and those who are none of the above.
But there are other important skills which are often not part of a graphic designer's or programmer's area of expertise:
Knowledge of website navigation - how people get around websites. (Each of us thinks we know this based on how we get around sites ourselves. Actually, there are a number of distinct user styles. Understanding website navigation is a whole field in itself.)
Knowledge of search engines - what do the engines look for? How can pages be structured so they will be properly listed in the engines? This is a whole field in itself, too!
Knowledge of how to write text that is easily eye-scanable and digestable by users of your website.
I have yet to meet one person yet - including myself - that has high-end abilities in every skill area needed for web design. Usually it takes a team of individuals.
Things to ask:
Get a list of previously completed websites and references to contact; then contact them!
Look at these sites. Do you like what you see at least 50% of the time? If not, you probably won't like it when you see your new site!
7. Site usage and after-build marketing.
After the site is built, what then? If you are a typical small business owner, you will need help after the site is built. You will need to understand how the public is using your site, what is working well and what isn't working. If search engines are important, then you'll probably need help with that.
Things to ask:
Will you receive after-build services, such as website usage and search engine placement support**, and whether these services are included in the base price.
8. Conclusion:
Shop around. Find out which firms do a good job. Meet with them for a consult. Many offer complimentary consultations. Get everything in writing before commiting.
Rick Dieffenbach
* Database driven websites, carefully constructed, make website updating very easy and quick.
** If their answer is, "it's all in the hosting report which you can access yourself," beware. This is like a college algebra professor telling you the answers are all in the text book. They are, but most people need some hand holding.