How to Select The Right website designer?

With so much information and disinformation on the internet, find out every small business and non-profit’s essential guide to selecting the right web designer. Using a professional (instead of DIY) to create your company’s website is critical because 38% of people will stop interacting with a poorly designed website. This post will review the most important questions to ask website designers to get the most out of your investment.

Are you searching for a web designer to create your website but not sure what to look for or which company will be the best fit for your small business or non-profit? Use the guidelines highlighted below.

In most instances, web designers are also developers; I will use both titles interchangeably in this article.

EDITING SESSIONS

Anyone who has looked into developing a website knows that it is no small investment. A website should last several years before needing any major updates. A website should be YOUR vision and sound like you. You need to have editing sessions with your web designer to achieve this. I don’t care how incredible the web creator is; no one gets it right on the first try. That is why, when picking a web designer, make sure they offer at least two, if not three, website editing sessions (sometimes called reviews) during the development process–prior to signing your contract. The fewer sessions the website developer offers, the more basic and cookie-cutter their end product will be. As a small business or non-profit, budgets are incredibly tight, which is why it’s so important you get the website right on the first development.

When a website developer offers two or three editing sessions, it demonstrates they care about your satisfaction and your vision. If you do not see editing sessions in a website quote or contract, protect yourself by asking about the editing & review process and make sure they put the number of editing sessions in the contract.

CHECKLISTS

Creating a website has two parts: the fun of designing colors, fonts, and layouts, as well as the tedious and detailed content and development input process (most of which the end user does not see). For this reason, it is important to ask your potential web developer about their website process. Most web developers, including myself, use a checklist for every website they create. This checklist is vital to ensure no detail or code is overlooked throughout the process. When hiring someone for your website, look for signs that the web designer is detail-oriented, organized, and confident.

My husband is a pilot for a living. For the people on the plane (much like someone looking for a website creator), all they experience is the take-off and landing. As a client looks for a website, you will see the end product (website and buttons). Airplane passengers do not see the multiple-page checklist every pilot must complete on every take-off AND landing. Because there are so many details in flying a plane, even the most veteran pilots do not rely on habit/experience. They use the checklist every single time. A good website designer should do the same. I’m not saying your life is in our hands, but you are putting a lot of trust in a website creator, so make sure the person you choose is organized and has a process for creating websites – whether that be a checklist or some other form of organization.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS & REWARDS

We are the generation of reviewers. It’s so bad that I can no longer buy a shirt online without looking at reviews, let alone paying someone a four-digit investment to create a website. Everyone relies on reviews – especially in the service industry. When researching what company to choose to make your website, look at reviews and accolades. Even if they only have a few websites created, or a few reviews, reading the reviews and making sure the person making your web pages is customer-centric is the quickest way to know if you can trust them with your investment. Also, look at the awards they have received. Most rewards are not easy to earn, so consider these aspects when choosing the company that will help your vision come to life through a website.

MAINTENANCE

This feature may not apply to everyone. Maybe you need a website created and never want to touch it again; that's cool. Move to the next point. However, if you recognize that you will need maintenance at some point in the future, then it is important to figure out what platform your website creator uses to avoid massive frustration in the future. There are three or four main options I will highlight. If your web developer uses WordPress, know that it is the most common, flexible, and challenging to edit and keep updated. Plus, even if you want to attempt an edit, you have to make sure all of the add-ons used on your website get updated, too (think of it like updating apps in the app store), before you can begin editing. The second most common option is Wix. I do not believe many website designers use Wix because of the limited coding and customizing available, but if they do, know that all you need to do for maintenance is simply drag and drop text boxes and such – making maintenance pretty simple (yet sometimes limited). The other common website platform (and the one I use) is Squarespace. I love Squarespace because I can customize and create websites however advanced the client wants – yet when I’m done and turn it over to a client, Squarespace offers editing as simple as dragging and dropping text boxes, pictures, etc. Squarespace allows small businesses and non-profits to perform simple website edits and updates without paying someone (which I find extremely valuable to people on tight budgets). That quick comparison aside, asking your website creator what platform they use and what maintenance plans they offer is important. Eventually, your website will need updates, so determine if you are willing to pay someone for those updates (via a maintenance plan or hourly update changes) or if you want to have the option to update yourself. Knowing and understanding what kind of maintenance your company/website will need before you select a website designer will help narrow your selection of what company to choose.

SEO: SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION

SEO can be elusive. For one, Google is always changing how it ranks search results and websites. Second, with SEO, you will 100% get what you pay for–anywhere from $100 to $10,000. So before beginning the search for a website developer, figure out what budget you want to allot for SEO. The basics include keywords, image text, a few backlinks (other websites that link to your site – which are very important to Google but extremely time-consuming to acquire), site headers, and descriptions. If done correctly, this should help you rank in the first few pages of search results to where you receive 30-60 clicks per month from internet search results. However, if you are determined to rank on the first page of search results, know that you will have to pay thousands for it. There are companies specifically dedicated to SEO (setting up 100’s of backlinks for your company). Figure out what is important to your business and how much you want to budget for SEO. The only advice I can offer in this short summary is to make sure your website designer is at least aware of SEO and how to set up the basics on your website and has enough knowledge not to leave your website on an island that is never seen in search results nor gets any clicks or traffic per month.

THE LARGEST SEARCH ENGINE IN THE WORLD

You thought we could talk about designing and building websites without discussing the big G in the room?! Not a chance. Your web designer needs to be well-versed in most things Google. Make sure they add Google Analytics 4 (the newest tracking platform of 2023) code to your site so you can track users' engagement to see what is working and what isn’t on your website. Do they use the Search Console to index your site (this sentence may be Greek to you, but ask your potential web designer this question, and if they say no, do not use them). Search Console indexing tells the search engine that your site not only exists but also what is on your site (so you show up in searches). Next, and most importantly, ask if they will add your company (and your new website) to Google My Business (GMB). Again, if they do not, find another website company to use.

SUMMARY

In summary, make sure your web designer states how many editing sessions you receive through the web-creating process. Next, find out how your developer works – do they use checklists for each of their websites? Are you the company’s first client, or do they have some experience (and some reviews you can read to learn more about the service to expect)? Does your web developer offer SEO–and what is your budget for SEO on your website? Lastly, how experienced is the website company with Google Analytics, Search Console, My Business–and how will they incorporate them into your website?

As soon as you finish reading this, set aside five minutes to plan how your business wants to maintain and edit your website once it is created. Keep this knowledge as you start looking for a website designer to ensure your maintenance plan and their maintenance options (and platform) align. These critical questions will ensure you find a website designer best suited for your company.