A lot of time, details, and knowledge go into building a website. And as a small business owner you have more than enough work to fill your day, that is why you hire a web designer to build your site. But do you know what questions to ask your potential web designer so that you will end up with a website that you can both be proud of – and that will turn a profit for you? Here’s a list of a few questions to ask your web designer before you put them to work:
1. How much time do you spend researching and planning before you design the website? A web designer should have a block of time allotted into the timeline they give you to spend getting to know your business inside and out, to check out your competitors and their websites, as well as look into the market. On average this could be anywhere from 3-10 hours and will allow your web designer to get a good feel of your business and what you’re all about.
2. Who will be working on my project? An obvious question, sure, but still important and often overlooked. It is important to know who your point of contact is in case you have any questions or need to relay any information. Part of your website build might be outsourced to another firm, not necessarily a bad thing, but something you need to be made aware of in terms of flow and proofing of your project timeline. There is nothing wrong with asking for the phone number and email of any designers working on your project. After all, you’ll all be working together and it is important you feel comfortable with this team.
3. Do you analyze current traffic to my website before making design decisions? Granted this question only applies if you already have a website that you are having redesigned, but it’s a valid question nonetheless. There might be certain aspects of you site that really work and that get a decent amount of traffic or other areas that sit untouched either due to design or content. If your site isn’t already set up with analytics, that is something your web designer can, and should, do. This will allow you both to see the demographics of your page visitors including their age range, gender, location, and give you the bounce rate for your website in addition to the pages of your site with the most views. Essentially this will show the web designer what works on your current site and what doesn’t and where to start with the redesigning.
4. How many revisions do I get and when are they? Meeting together to go over any proofs for the website is important for both the designer and the client. It allows you as the client to provide feedback an change or alter anything you don’t like before the web designer gets too far into the build. Generally, these aren’t major scope changes, but rather more in relation to design, layout, or aesthetics. Also, try to set a specific number of these revision meetings and schedule them if possible – this assures the web designer that the client is aware that the amount of revisions is not limitless while at the same time giving the client an idea of when they can expect to see proofs. Some web designers create Wire-Frames, or a bare-bones layout of the website, before beginning the build to present to the client, while others feel confident with the information they were given and jump right in. If you want to see layout proofs before your web designer begins, make this known to them at the start so that they can schedule that into the project timeline.
5. What is a realistic timeline? This will most likely start off as a time range, then as you do a few revision meetings together your web designer will be able to lockdown a more definitive launch date for your website. A site redesign will probably have a shorter build if you are wanting to use the same content and images as opposed to a brand-new website build. Another factor will be if you are using a separate marketing team and SEO firm in addition to your potential web designer – they will all have their own timelines that will need to be coordinated. Whereas a web developer generally covers all of these aspects and can schedule their completion in-house.
6. What other costs will be involved? With web design there is a broad spectrum of prices for specific services as well as all-encompassing packages. Some web designers include the cost of web hosting and your domain name in the price they quote you, some don’t. Some will charge you separately for images, content, or plug-ins and others might allow for a specific number of each in the package they create for you. If you want to write your own content or already have some written that you want to use, then the web designer won’t have to charge you for that particular service, in theory. It is important to familiarize yourself with all of the aspects of a website build so that you aren’t hit with any further charges as your project progresses.
7. What if I want to add more features? Once you and your web designer have agreed on the website build, it doesn’t necessarily mean any other features can’t be added. The revision meetings with your designer are a great opportunity to bring up any additions you want to make so that they can be clear on what you want and can give you an idea of the amount of time they will need to add in your features and what the cost will be to you. Your web designer might not have a specific cost for the work you want, but they should at least be able to give you an hourly rate for the time the added work will take. The earlier in the revision process, the lower the cost will generally be since it should be easier to incorporate any additions before the build nears completion.
8. What about updates once the site is up and running? Of course you are going to want to make updates to your site and a quality page should update at least once a month in order to maintain a healthy SEO and to provide your customers with the most recent content. Some web designers will include a specific number of updates within a certain time range in the price they quote you, while others charge separately for updates as they are needed. Or as client you may want to do your own updating in which case your web designer can set you up with editing software and train you and your employees on how to operate it.
These are just a few key questions you should be thinking of when you meet with potential web designers and what is the most important is that you feel comfortable asking them. A good relationship with your web designer will result in a fantastic website!
