Choosing who will design your website can be a difficult decision. There are many things that you need to consider, including how much money you're willing to spend, how quickly you need it completed, and who will take care of the site after it's done. In this blog post we'll give you 15 questions that every business owner should ask when hiring a web designer for their company. Read on to see what they are!
1) What is your web design process?
The web design process can vary between agencies and designers. However, most will start by gathering information about your company and the goals you have for your website through a process known as discovery.
You should know their process so that you know what to expect and what your role is within it. Some designers prefer for their clients to step back until after the initial design is done; others like feedback at every stage so that they can continually improve the design to meet your needs.
No matter what, always ask how the designer plans to work with you and how often they will communicate with you. This will help avoid any surprises down the road.
2) Have you designed any projects in my industry before?
Every industry is different and has its own nuances that a designer needs to understand. For example, how are you selling your products?Are they physical or digital? Does your company have any special requirements like secure payment processing?
Having experience in the same field as yours will help ensure that they understand how to best appeal to your customers. It can also help avoid any costly redesigns later.
If your designer doesn't have experience in your specific industry, be sure to ask how they plan on researching it. Will they be looking at your competition? Reading up on best practices? Speaking with experts in the field? All this research is important so that they can create a website that is perfect for your business.
3) What content management system do you use?
Content management systems help with how you manage your website's content. The most popular CMS option is WordPress. Over 30% of websites are using WordPress. However, there are many other options to choose from. For example, we prefer to use Webflow but, are fully capable of the later.
Before hiring a designer, ask them how they will be managing your site's content and how easy it is to use their preferred system. You want the process of updating your own site as simple as possible so that you can focus on your business instead of how to make changes.
Keep in mind that some designers offer basic content management and others charge extra for it. You should determine how much you need this feature before deciding how to proceed.
4) Will you handle hosting and maintenance?
Many agencies offer hosting and maintenance for a flat monthly fee or may include it in the cost of your site. However, some charge extra if you want them to maintain the site long-term.
You should also know who their preferred hosting provider is as well as how your site will be hosted. If your site will be on shared hosting, keep in mind that your site performance will be severely impacted.However, with managed hosting providers, this is far less common.
When it comes to maintenance, you really want to know and understand what you will be paying for in this service. If something happens, it’s also important to ask who you should contact if there are any problems with your site or how long it would take for them to respond in case of an emergency.
When it comes to your website, you don't want to leave anything to chance. That's why it's important to ask your web designer how they will handle maintenance and hosting issues.
5) Do you offer any other services?
In many cases, your agency or designer also offers additional services. Someone who offers other services, like SEO or social media marketing, can be a huge help to your business. They will have a better understanding of how to market your website and how it integrates with the rest of your marketing efforts.
If you're interested in these services, be sure to ask if they offer them and what the cost would be. You'll find it more convenient to have one company providing these services rather than working with multiple.
If your agency or designer doesn't offer these services, they may be able to recommend a partner company that does. So, it never hurts to ask to be sure.
6) Will all the work for my project be handled in-house?
Sometimes designers or agencies that you work with may outsource work to partners. While this can be a good thing, it's important to know what you're getting into ahead of time.
If work is being outsourced, ask who the partner agency is and exactly what work they will be competing for your project. You should also get references for both companies so that you can do your own research.
You'll also want to know how much involvement you'll have in this process and how it impacts the time the project takes to complete. Your agency will have an idea of how much additional time any outsourcing may add and how that impacts completion times.
7) What will be needed from me before the project begins?
Before your project begins, you'll need to gather a lot of information for your designer. This will help them get started on the right foot and avoid any delays in getting your project completed.
Some of the things you'll need to provide include:
- Logo files and any other branding materials
- Content for your site, including text and images
- Your target audience or customer avatar
- The purpose of your website (e.g., selling products, providing information, etc.)
Remember, this is just a shortlist. It's best to check with your designer or agency for a full accounting of everything they need from you before starting the project so that there are no surprises later.
Once you've hired your agency, be sure to provide these items and anything else needed in a timely fashion. You don't want to be the bottleneck in your own project. So, it's important to be prepared before starting a website design project.
By gathering all the necessary information and providing it to your designer, you can help ensure a smooth and on-time launch. Be sure to ask these questions so that you have a good understanding of what to expect from your web designer.
8) Will my site be a custom design?
A custom site will be unique to your business. It is something that you won't find anywhere else on the web, and it's built specifically for your needs.
Custom designs allow your designer or agency a better understanding of how you want things done, how much content should go where, how people will use each page, and more. This makes everything easier for them.
A custom design will look how you want it to and how you need it to work (i.e., if you don't have a lot of images, your designer won't build an image-heavy site). A good designer or agency should be able to tell how much time they'll need based on the scope of your project and how much you're willing to spend.
If you want a custom design, be prepared to answer some questions about your business, what you do, and how you want things to look.Your designer or agency will need as much information as possible to start creating something for you that's perfect.
A custom site is not always necessary.
Many designers and agencies have pre-designed templates that they can use for your website if you don't need something custom-created. For example, a lot of companies will offer the same template in different colors or with minor design changes. This makes it easier to get started on projects quickly because there is less to customize.
If a pre-designed template works for you and your project, it may be worth considering. If you're interested in how much an agency will charge to design something from scratch vs using one of their templates, ask them how they price the two options (and how long each option takes) before moving forward with any designs or decisions.
9) Do you follow SEO best practices?
SEO, or search engine optimization, is the process of improving your site to increase its visibility when people search for products or services related to your business. This includes making sure that all the content on your site is written correctly, that the right keywords are used, and more.
Good SEO practices can help your website rank higher in search results, which means more people will see it. More people seeing your site means a higher chance of converting those visitors into customers.
SEO can be very technical and following best practices will provide your website with a good foundation that you can later build on. So, knowing that whoever you choose to work with follows best practices will set your website up for success.
To learn more about setting your website for success, be sure to check out our post on 8 Elements You Need To Make A Successful Website!
10) How many pages will my website have?
This question is important to ask because it will help you determine how much your website will cost. A website with a lot of pages generally costs more to design and build than one with fewer pages.
At the very least, most basic websites have the following pages:
- Home
- About
- Services
- Contact
Before beginning your web design project, you should have an idea of how many sites you need for your site to have. Your designer or agency should be able to give you an estimate for cost based on the number of pages you provide. This number may change as your site is being built, but it's a good starting point.
11) Are there a set number of revisions that I have for my site?
Most web design projects go through a few rounds of revisions. This is normal and to be expected. However, how many revisions you have may depend on how your project is priced.
If you're paying by the hour, you will want to minimize revisions since you are being billed for each hour of time spent on the project. If you're paying for a project, you may have a set number of revisions included in the cost.
Regardless, it's important to know how many revisions are included in your project package before starting to be sure you can get the design you want. It will be very helpful if you know what type of design you are looking for ahead of time so that you can minimize needed revisions.
12) What is the turnaround time for my website?
This is another important question to ask. The turnaround time (also known as the estimated project completion date) will depend on how many revisions and how much content you need for your site.
For example, consider a website with three pages: home page, about page, & contact page. If I have my design idea in mind already and all the content is written, the turnaround time would be much shorter than if I didn't have any of my content ready.
Generally, it's fair to assume that a project that is larger and more detailed will require more time to complete than a smaller website.
Your designer or agency should be able to give you a general estimate for how long the project will take once they have all the information, they need from you. Keep in mind that this is just an estimate and things may change along the way.
13) Will I need to provide my own website copy?
Copywriting, or writing the text for your website, is an important part of SEO. The better your copy is, the more likely people are to read it and convert into customers of your business.
Your designer or agency should be able to help you write effective website copy if you're not sure how to start. However, if this isn't a service that is provided, they may be able to point you to someone they know can do the job.
This is by far the most important aspect of your website.So, it's best to work with a professional copywriter to make sure your copy is written correctly, but you can also do it yourself. Just be sure to follow best practices for SEO when writing your content so that you're not harming your website's ranking.
14) Will your design bring me more business?
This is a great question to ask because if you can’t see how your website will help bring in more business, then it's not going to be worth the investment.
Your designer cannot guarantee that your website will bring business, but he/she should be able to tell you how your website will help with that.
A great website will be the hardest working part of your business. It should bring in new clients or help sell your services if you drive traffic to it through effective marketing.
If hiring a designer is something new for you, I would encourage you to think about how this can benefit your business and how it will help bring in more customers. You may want to consider using Google Analytics or another type of analytics program so that you're able to track how your website is performing.
15) How do I get started?
After you've spoken with the designer or agency and feel comfortable with all the answers provided for your questions, it's time to get started. Your designer will be able to get you set on the right path with their client intake process.
If you have questions that we haven't answered here, you can always schedule a call with us or send us a message through our website. The Unrivaled Digital team is always happy to answer any questions and help you along the way!
