7 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Web Designer
Image by Kristin Caldwell Photography
When searching for the perfect web designer for your business or organization, there are many important factors to consider and hopefully these questions to ask before hiring a web designer will come in handy while you make your decision!
Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Web Designer
1. Does your skillset match the scope of my project?
Not all web folks are alike. There’s immediately already a big difference between web designers (those of us who utilize a platform with a user-intuitive builder to present a business with an elevated aesthetic by way of our natural eye for design) and web developers (those who build sites from scratch aka code, and have a higher level understanding of coding - may or may not have a natural eye for design). The direction you should go in will completely depend on the type of business you have and how much custom coding your site will you need, if any. Pro Tip: Most basic business websites require zero code, even e-commerce sites!
2. Does your platform of choice fit best with my needs?
Similar to designers themselves, not every platform is for every person! Some more complex projects may require WordPress and some e-commerce may be better suited for Shopify, but most basic websites don't require these more complex platforms and you can avoid some unnecessary fees by choosing a platform such as Squarespace - which also offers e-com and membership functionality!
3. Can I see some example websites or a portfolio of work?
Any good designer will have this on hand and will be able to link you to some sites that are the closest to your niche or design needs. Just like with any other creative whether they're a graphic designer or a photographer, it's very important to ensure that you are hiring the web designer whose aesthetic is a good match to yours. Attempting to change the designer's style to meet yours won't be the ideal approach, instead hire for their style!
4. Do you specialize in copywriting or have a collaborator you trust?
It's not common for web designers or developers to also be expert copywriters (someone who perfects language/text for marketing purposes), so it's helpful to get the name of their preferred copywriter if you don't want to write your own content.
5. Is SEO included?
Just like copywriting, it's not common for web designers to have mastered the complex art of SEO although they should have a basic understanding of it and can optimize your site with the proper foundation to start with. Solid SEO specialists do that exclusively for their business and would likely be an additional hire for the project, so this is something to clear up with your designer early on.
6. Where do you get your imagery for your designs?
An easy way to spot a pro web designer is by getting their answer to questions like these. Make sure they are using properly licensed images for all of their designs - either CC0 (Creative Commons Zero) free usage images OR images they paid for off of a subscription-based site. Never trust a designer that uses Google! This is illegal, sadly all too common, and could cost your business down the line.
7. Will I have access to edit my site once the design is complete?
Another way to avoid future heartache is to ask the designer if you will have full ownership of the site once their design is complete. I can't tell you the amount of clients I've moved over to Squarespace and rescued out of the grip of their old designer's archaic practices. Oftentimes, outdated agencies will purchase the domain name (.com, etc.) and web hosting services for their clients and keep them trapped in astronomical $$$ contracts where they can charge fees for their "management" - beware! While I do offer web management billed at an hourly rate for clients who want nothing to do with all the tech, I am a big advocate of client autonomy and always hand over all logins once the design is complete. I even offer hourly trainings if needed to ensure they feel empowered to edit their own site!
I hope these 7 questions helped get you thinking and clarified some outstanding items that may have naturally come up through your decision making process! Have more questions? Leave them in the comments below - I’m more than happy to help! :)
