Here are 10 tips for hiring a web designer that I’ve chosen because of the carnage I’ve seen. I have been writing code well before the internet was around. When the internet came around I started writing and designing code for websites, accounting, scheduling and many other software’s for running a business.

Over the years I’ve seen a lot of really bad things happen because of the internet. It is a playground for scams, hackers, fake information and fake companies that are all too eager to take your money. It’s so easy for someone to buy a domain, download free WordPress software, download a free theme and print up business cards and Poof – they’re a professional ready to take your money.

With it being a global marketplace the scams are not just locally anymore they are globally and that just means more ways to waste your time, efforts and money. So here are some of the things that I’ve seen the most since the internet started. These are important to identify before you hire someone to build your website. With competition being so high you can’t afford to waste time or money and you certainly can’t afford to ruin your reputation – that only helps your competition succeed as you fail.

Here are the 10 Tips For Hiring a Web Designer. Click on them to learn more about protecting yourself as you start the website process. The more you know the safer and more enjoyable the process will be for you.

Don’t Hire Someone Based on Price

I can’t even tell you how many people we speak with about websites on a monthly basis but it’s a lot. We always hear the same thing and that is:

“We’re just starting out and I don’t have a lot of money to spend on a website”

I get that, in fact I’ve been there but that was in the times where basic websites were 6 to 10 thousand dollars for a basic website. The economy is better now and the prices of quality built websites have come way down. So it’s hard for me to sympathize knowing what I know. The truth is that your website is going to be the first point of contact for people who are meeting you and your company for the first time. That means if you skimp on a quality website it will say a lot about your company. It could give the wrong impression, give the wrong information or even worst – not show up and that means your company doesn’t exist. That’s really bad for business – especially if you’re just starting out. [Read More]

Don’t Hire a Web Designer who is on Craigslist

There are many reasons why you don’t hire a web designer who is on Craigslist. The biggest one that we see a lot of is the scams. Unfortunately Craigslist is a place where people go to get something cheap. So there are plenty of scrupulous people out there quoting themselves as “Web Designers.” They might be it’s just that the quality of work is very cheap as well and what good is a cheap website if it doesn’t work.

Usually these companies have a single website that they just copy and modify slightly for your website. That brings in all the other just from that copy and might not be good for yours. They are usually tin on quality content, not set up properly, lacking many connections to the search engines, filled with hidden sample pages, bad tagging, bad meta data and the list goes on and on. [Read More]

Don’t Hire a Web Designer Unless They Are Good at SEO

Don’t Hire a Web Designer Unless They Are Really Good at SEO. In today’s market you’d think that every web developer is an SEO expert but that is not the case. Most web designers today only do websites because they are doing websites on the side for extra cash.

SEO is an important part of web design and when your website is built it should be optimized for the internet – unless you don’t care about getting your website found. Some companies are OK with not being found online. They might have it only for their customers and manually send them to the website by a link. However most of the businesses we see want search engine results. [Read More]

We see this all the time – “Web Designers” that only know how to build websites in one language. That’s a sign that you should continue to search out better web designers. The reason is that there are many different software brands out there and some are better than others, depending on the needs for your website.

The worst part of it is that the one software they use is usually a cookie cutter style website and that is bad for your business. The scenario is they probably used that software a few times because it was easy and instead of becoming a good web designer building for the client’s needs they chose to be a limited designer but easy for their own needs. [Read More]

Don’t Hire Someone Unless They Are Full Time Web Designers

Here is a very important tip: Don’t hire someone unless they are a full time web designer. I know it sounds simple but it’s not. It seems everyone these days are a web designer – I’ll have a latte and a side of some webdesign. Real estate agents build websites, DJ’s, TV commercials make it look easy for anyone to design a website and it never ends. Free websites, easy websites, fast websites, cool websites . . . . .

While everyone is running around building websites it is hurting the web design industry and that dilutes the really good companies out there. There are not licensing, certifications, apprenticeships, degrees or any kind of training needed to be a web designer. So many people start building as sites for some weekend cash and then build it up to a nice side job. These side gigs bring the pricing down where larger companies can’t compete. When they leave the market the industry gets weaker and less talented. [Read More]

Don’t Hire a Web Designer In Another Country

Don’t hire a web designer in another country because you don’t really know what you are getting. We see a lot of challenges with the websites that we see that were designed outside the states. There are plenty of good web designers in your area to choose from. Going overseas is only to save a few dollars but the truth is we’ve seen people lose more money than they save.

There are many reasons to buy local/regional vs foreign designers. You just need to get a few quotes and see the quality you are getting for that price. Sure foreign web designers can charge a lot less because they have a lower cost of living and $500.00 where they live is a lot more than $500.00 where you are from. BUt here are three reasons that should make you think twice before hiring overseas. [Read More]

Don’t Hire a Web Designer Who is Not a Legitimate Business

Don’t hire a web designer who is not a legitimate business unless you only need a hobby website. The troubles you will have over the long run will make it more expensive and a waste of valuable time. In this business climate you cannot afford to lose money, time and reputation and that’s what I see happening to many businesses on a weekly basis.

The web and SEO industry is fraught with fraud because there is no licencing, certifications or any kind of training needed to go out and sell. That means everyone and their grandmother is a web designer. That makes this industry have a really bad reputation. So we see many people buying from their friends, family, neighbors kid, etc. That’s a recipe for disaster when it comes to your business. Would you take legal advice from a hobbyist who watched legal videos on YouTube? What about medical advice from your neighbor’s kid who’s only qualification is that she’s never had the flu. [Read More]

Here is a very important tip: Don’t hire someone based on emotions. I know it sounds easy but it’s not. I have had so many conversations with start up companies, and even large established companies who hire based on their emotion. So what does that mean?

The conversation starts out with someone coming to use because their website isn’t working for them. We look it over and realize that is is a very basic site with little chance of doing anything for promoting their business. It comes around to “Who built it?” Thant’s when the emotions come out. Things like:

• My nephew is trying to get into this industry
• My friend’s daughter has been playing around with website and I want to help her
• My kid is in college taking internet courses and he needs the practice
• My friend helped me out – he does his own site

The truth is that however good it makes you feel helping someone out the worse it’s going to be for you. I have seen this time after time. I’m all for helping people but when the survival of your company depends of a quality functioning website you really need to put your emotions aside and make a better business decision.

The internet changes daily, software’s change weekly and web designers pop up even faster. You really should think long term when it comes to the survival of your business. Hiring somebody because you want to save some money and help out a friend becomes very costly in the end. You will eventually go to a professional web designer and spend more money to do the whole thing over. But that’s not all the cost – there is the money you didn’t make because nobody could find you and then there’s the competition growing stronger because they took business that should have been yours.

IF you want to help a friend get the site built properly and then let them have the keys to the site so they can learn how to do it correctly vs learning from a YouTube video that’s years old and outdated.

Don’t Hire Someone Based on Emotions

Here is a very important tip: Don’t hire someone based on emotions. I know it sounds easy but it’s not. I have had so many conversations with start up companies, and even large established companies who hire based on their emotion. So what does that mean?

The conversation starts out with someone coming to use because their website isn’t working for them. We look it over and realize that is is a very basic site with little chance of doing anything for promoting their business. It comes around to “Who built it?” Thant’s when the emotions come out. Things like: [Read More]

Don’t Hire a Web Designer Who is on a Barter Exchange

This is a tricky one. I say don’t hire a web designer who is on a barter exchange or club because over the years of taking on client’s from other companies we have see the disaster that comes from many barter style companies.

Think about it – many people go there because they don’t have a lot of business or are trying to grow their business. That means that their reputation is not quite good enough to stand on it’s own. So many of them are learning as they start out. Sure you don’t have to pay out any cash but you are still paying for it. What good is it to pay for something if it doesn’t work for you? [Read More]