Want to Know How to Hire a Website Designer, Santa Rosa?
Advice from a Santa Rosa web designer… A woman called me recently to discuss her website. I was horrified to hear her tale, and thought business owners might benefit from hearing this.
She had given a sizable deposit to another Santa Rosa web designer to develop her site. They had an initial meeting at which they discussed design and other aspects of site development. The woman provided images and content as directed and, after several weeks, the designer sent her a link to the draft site.
The client thought it widely missed the mark. She expressed her dissatisfaction and provided a list of revisions. The designer agreed to make them and get back to her. It never happened.
He stopped responding to her calls and emails, and eventually his phone was disconnected. Her poorly rendered site was left half-developed, her money was gone and there was nothing I could do to help her (since her web designer never provided access to her site…)
Unfortunately, this story is not new. I have heard various versions of it over the years. The problem starts when the business owner fails to exercise proper due diligence.
7 Questions to Ask a Web Designer Before Hiring Him / Her
So, here’s some advice: when hiring a web designer, Santa Rosa business owners should ask the following:
- How long has the web designer been in business?
- How many sites has the designer developed? Can he/she provide examples? (Look for more than a couple.)
- What is his/her online reputation? (See ratings on Yelp, Google, etc.)
- Do you expect your designer to improve your site’s chances of being found on Google? (You are asking about search engine optimization/SEO services.)
- What processes does your designer follow, what can you expect and when?
- What is required of you—the business owner—in developing content, providing images, etc.
- Does your designer have sufficient knowledge of marketing and business strategy so your site is more than “pretty pictures?”
Once you’ve selected your designer, make sure the project is carefully detailed in a service agreement that spells out what he/she will do, when, at what cost, etc.
For help with website projects, see our Santa Rosa Website Designer Project Organizer and our Content Thought Starter.
For a free website plan and consultation, contact us.
