Hiring a web designer is one of the most crucial decisions a brand has to make. A quality designer can bring your company vision to life and ensure your website aligns with your branding, and they can deliver a website that is user-friendly and accessible.
However, to get the most out of your web designer hiring experience, there are a few things that you need to know. It helps to clearly understand your goals and what you want from the engagement. Identifying the right qualifications for your web designer is also important.
Let’s discuss a few benefits of hiring a web designer for your company.
As a business, you want an engaging website to represent your brand.
Creating your website design might be challenging even if you're experienced. The reason is that the website design industry is moving ahead rapidly. You might not have the latest tools or be familiar with the trends, which can put you at a huge disadvantage when competing with other brands.
Getting a professional website designer is a great way to ensure you get a great-looking website. They have enough experience to understand your needs and deliver the website according to them.
Designers work with you to create a website that accurately reflects your brand and its values.
Web designers also care for the user experience, a critical part of any website. They can guide you and give you pointers on optimizing a website further.
Every business owner wants a website that is aligned with their brand. But the problem is that getting branding right through website design is not easy.
There are several aspects that you need to consider, and it includes colors, fonts, images, and design. While these might be challenging, a web designer can handle them with aplomb.
One of the critical metrics of a website is how open it is to SEO. SEO has been the driving force behind marketing for the last decade, and it has helped companies compete with other bigger brands and establish a foothold in the industry.
A website must incorporate technical SEO strategies to help the brand elevate its marketing.
Having a brand-aligned and SEO-centric website means you can build a strong online presence. It can help you reach your audience easily, establish credibility, and build trust.
Most people don't realize how long it takes to design a full website. There are a lot of things to consider before you finalize a design.
If website design isn't your company's core skill, you'd be better off handing it to a professional designer. A website designer can take care of everything about design, leaving your team free to focus on other aspects of your business.
Hiring a website designer is more cost-effective than getting your team to do it. Your team might not have the tools and expertise to develop a well-designed website. A designer can give you an engaging website that can help you attract customers, improve conversions, and elevate your online presence.
Opting for a professional designer might seem like having a higher upfront cost. But they can save you a lot of money by wasting less time and producing better results.
To start a design engagement, discuss what you want from the process. Depending on the type of business, goals, and metrics differ greatly.
For example, an e-commerce website will focus on delivering the most products on a single page to the user. On the other hand, a boutique clothing website will opt to have an open design focusing on whitespace.
See how this boutique clothing website is using a lot of whitespace.
Understanding your business and how effectively you can position it through design is key. You should also focus on your target audience - the people you will reach through your website, and keep the design focused on them to get better traffic and engagement.
Getting a designer who listens to you and is open to new ideas is important to the success of your project. They should consider your feedback when designing your website, and an experienced designer will also suggest effective tips for improving your design.
When discussing design, it is important to consider brand design preferences. Remember that a website is an extension of your brand and should be treated as such.
Your website should align with all the other parts of your branding - values, personality, and goals. Getting this right in the initial stages sets your web design process up for success.
Creating a mood board is a great idea when setting expectations for design.
Creating a mood board with a physical or digital collection of pictures and fonts is a great way to flesh out your design, and it can give your designer a good reference for what you want. It can also be a common platform for exchanging ideas with them.
Give them clear indicators about how you want your website to look. Choose between a traditional-looking website or something more minimalist. What colors do you want for the website - bold, bright hues, or more understated neutral tones?
All these can help set the right expectations for the process.
A fixed budget is essential for any project, especially web design because it can spiral out of control. Website design or redesign can cost a couple of hundred dollars to thousands depending on your requirements, and the price for website design also increases with the complexity involved.
It's a great idea to research website budgets for your particular industry. Checking online will give you good estimates and set pricing expectations. Knowledge about general budgeting will give you leverage when you hire a web designer.
Also, talking about budgets, it is important to mention designers' budgets as well. Sometimes, low-budget designers may not be able to deliver what you're looking for. It helps to compare different designers and negotiate with them about their budgets.
Finally, be realistic about the budgets you're setting. If your budget is too low, chances are you won't get quality designers.
Target demographics play an essential part in website design, and the type of users who frequent your website decide what your website will look like. A good example of this is a niche like health care or hospitals. If you've noticed, some standard colors and layouts are used for these kinds of websites.
The choice is not just based on standards but also on the people who visit these websites. They want to get the right information quickly without any confusion.
Contrast this to a popular sportswear brand's website. You'll find a lot of detailed graphics, animation, and splashy text with varying layouts. It helps to create a user avatar with all their preferences to ensure you get the right design for your audience.
What type of designs do they prefer? What kind of information are they looking for?
How easy is navigating their website? All these are essential questions to answer.
A contract is a legal document that will ensure all parties involved have enough clarity about the terms and conditions. It will help you prevent disputes and other misunderstandings that can arise.
To ensure you have an airtight contract, have a lawyer review it before sending it to the designer.
There are a few things that you should keep in mind when creating a contract. The first thing you should do is outline the scope of work, and this will include a detailed description of the project and the designer's contribution. You must also add how the deliverables will be sent and the timeline, and this will clarify any doubts they have about expectations.
Adding payment terms and clauses is vital. Specify the project's estimated cost and upfront payments, if any. Include the charges for additional work that the designer takes up. Finally, include a section on termination of services. This section should specify how each party can terminate the contract.
A great way to find potential web designers for your project is by searching for them online. But it is important to know where to look.
A simple Google search can highlight professional designers who can be the right fit for your project. While this can be a bit too broad, it can give you results and reviews of their services.
Also, opt for freelancing websites like Upwork, Fiverr, and others to get even better quotes. These websites have an effective ecosystem with designers at all skill levels. These platforms are great if you're looking for a permanent or temporary addition to your team.
Another place to approach people is through social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. LinkedIn is especially handy because it is a professional website and will help you find the right candidate.
A web designer's portfolio gives you insights into several things about them. It shows their approach to work, suitability to your project, and creative quotient.
You also get information about technical skills, thought processes, and adaptability. There are a few things you should look for when browsing through a design portfolio.
One of the most vital aspects of a designer portfolio is variety. They should have accomplished a wide range of tasks throughout their timeline, giving you an idea about what they can bring to your project. Something else you should look for is ample experience in your industry.
Check their portfolios for quality and if their designs have been "copied" by other artists. While inspiration is okay, copying another artist's work and presenting it as your own is wrong.
Look through their portfolio choice of colors, layouts, and typography. All this should give you an idea about how good they are.
Customer reviews are an important part of the selection process, and they can shed light on several facets of a designer and how they engage with their clients.
You can get information about past clients, reliability, communication, and customer satisfaction. The good news is that reviews are included with almost all platforms online.
Even a simple Google search will give you reviews about a designer. You can also opt for other professional websites like Upwork, Freelancer, and LinkedIn. Find detailed reviews about people on these websites and even about specific topics.
All said, don't consider reviews the only metric for designer quality. Consider how they respond to it and the source of the review.
Something that a lot of people miss out on is evaluating the technical skills of a designer. When it comes to website design, not everything is visual. You also need a considerable background in coding and other technologies, which all come together to make a fully functional website.
Evaluation of technical expertise also depends on your experience with the niche. Check online for the right technologies suited to your design process, then ask questions about them.
A good example is using Shopify for an e-commerce website. You could ask the designer if they have experience with it or suggest alternatives.
Another topic for discussion is responsive design. This refers to a website's ability to display over a wide range of different devices. With more mobile traffic, responsive design has become an important part of the design process.
See how this website is responsive on all devices.
Design and creativity are two of the essential skills for a web designer. The more creative a designer is, the better are chances they can deliver a great-looking website. Creativity also helps them solve issues that they might not have encountered before.
Design style and language are other areas where designers need to be evaluated, and their approach to design should align with your branding needs. The best thing to do here would be to check their portfolios and ask them to give you a breakdown, as it can give you valuable insights into how they approach their work.
Before you hire a designer, you need to check for their availability. Depending on the project's scope, you might need specific dates from your designers. The only way to get this done is to discuss it with them. It is best to assume they will always be unavailable, and you might need to switch things around in your timeline.
Also, at your end, ensure that your project has the right scheduling. Have a clear timeline for the progression of your project. Clearly outline the roles and responsibilities of the project and assign the right people. Once you've done this, contact the designer to finalize the dates.
Getting your scheduling right first gives you a better chance of success with designer availability. They will be keener to share their dates with you once you've done the work.
One of the most frustrating things about any project is people who are slow to respond or difficult to communicate with. This can cause missed deadlines and delays in the project.
Asking designers how they communicate about their work is a great idea, and you can also ask them to specify how they handle communication and what platforms they're available on.
Secondly, find out at what times during the day they're available. There shouldn't be a situation where you're trying to reach them, and they're unavailable. Check if they can accommodate time-sensitive tasks in their schedule. If they respond positively to all your queries, they might be the right candidate.
Designers being able to provide past references is an important part of their portfolio, and it can give potential recruiters a glimpse into how they interact with past clients. You can gauge how well they've performed from their past projects over the years.
It is important to ensure that you ask questions about the designer's past engagements. In an ideal scenario, the designer can put you through the references.
Remember to have a list of queries about the designer and their skillset. You should also ask them about how professional they were with the project. Another thing to ask is about adherence to timelines and missed deadlines.
From a company's standpoint, setting expectations at the start of any engagement is important. Design is varied and complex, so it is vital to communicate what you require to your web designer.
Talk to them about your short- and long-term brand vision and goals. It will help both parties find out if they're compatible with each other.
Getting to know them is key to understanding if they fit your brand. Their portfolio and work references can help you gauge how well they can deliver. Also, outline what you want from them and how they can achieve their targets.
All these data points can help communicate your expectations to the designer.
Regardless of how well the project is progressing, there are times when ideas don't align with each other. In times like these, you need to know if your designer can handle feedback from your end. In most cases, iteration cannot be avoided, so you need someone who isn't discouraged by revisions.
Ensure that they listen to feedback and ask questions regarding it. Here, communication is key, and they should understand what you're trying to convey. A general rule of thumb is that only designers with an open mind can handle revisions and client feedback.
A web designer can help you create and implement a website when short turnarounds are required. While a simple, one-page website may not benefit from the involvement of a web designer, anything more than that needs their expertise.
Complex projects can be made considerably easier with professional website designers.
A web designer should have a strong foundation of creativity and out-of-the-box thinking. They need technical skills related to graphic design and UI/UX design.
A designer should have a good eye for engaging design, color palettes, and typography. Deadline and project management skills ensure that they won't delay the project.
There are several things to look for in a designer to ensure they fit your brand. Check their portfolio and past references for their design style cues.
Another thing to ask for is experience. The more experience they have, the better they will be. You should also check if they are communicative and responsive to your requests. Flexibility is an added advantage, especially if your project has a short deadline. These are some assets that are favorable for a web designer.
You can ask a designer you're interviewing for their design portfolio. This is an essential question because it can give you insights into how good they are and their method. You can also ask questions about their work based on their portfolio. When hiring a designer, asking for their portfolio is a common and recommended practice.
Yes, SEO is an important consideration in website design. A well-designed website incorporating good SEO practices can significantly impact your online visibility and help you reach your target audience more effectively.
Some of the key elements of SEO-friendly website design include the following –
● Core Web vitals
● Mobile responsiveness
● Navigation
● Structure content
● URL structure
This is entirely dependent on your preferences and the nature of the project. Some clients prefer to be hands-on with designers, while others prefer to let them enjoy creative freedom.
All said, it is essential to have a few things outlined during the project like -
● Project scope
● Budget and timeline
● Reports and metrics
● Design quality
Yes, metrics have been a part of all projects in recent times. Design metrics allow you to measure the success of your design process and track improvements.
User engagement and conversion rate are two important metrics to evaluate the design. You can also implement A/B testing, heat mapping, and surveys to get a more detailed picture of your design process.
Feedback is a part of the process that some designers might have issues with. But with professional designers, this is never a problem.
When you present designers with feedback, the first step is to review and discuss them. Once things are finalized, it is moved to a revision plan. Once that is passed, it is moved to implementation. This is a simplified view of the process, and there might be multiple rounds before the implementation stage.
● Ensure you communicate your requirements to your web designers at the start.
● Search for designers with a portfolio that aligns with your brand and aesthetics.
● Validate a designer's experience in your industry so it will be easy to work with them.
● Set realistic goals and timelines for your project to prevent delays.
● Communicate clearly and openly about design requirements to ensure a smooth working relationship.
● Consider designers who are in touch with current design trends and technology.
● Ask for past references and ensure you validate the designer's claims.
● Look for designers who are open to feedback and revisions.
● Discuss the designer's availability and ability to meet deadlines.
● Ensure they're able to provide ongoing support and maintenance.