Research shows that 57% of visitors will leave a website in case of unattractive layout or content.
That’s why professional web developers are still in high demand as of 2020. However, it’s not that easy to find and hire a professional one you can trust.
A great web developer is someone who not only writes the code but also clearly understands the project requirements and studies the target audience of the company and its product.
In this article, we’re going to list the questions related to your project that you should ask yourself before you hire web developers.
Full disclosure: We do design websites and if you’re looking to hire a web designer to help you with your business website you’ve come to the right place...
These 5 probing questions will guide you in the right direction to finding the best web designer for you and your business.
Question 1: What is your approach to usability?
More than any other question, this will help you quickly differentiate between experienced web designers and novices.
Asking about usability will help you understand the designer’s focus – namely, whether or not they have the most important thing in mind: the visitor.
A web designer without a good answer to this may build a site that they like, or one that you like, but that visitors find confusing or difficult to use. You want a web-design firm that thinks at the highest level: user-centered design.
The best people working in web design today will light up when you mention usability. They will be grateful for the question, and they’ll be glad to share their opinions, experience, and the latest research.
A response to look for:
“Great question. We believe in user-centered design, and we conduct usability testing whenever possible. When building the website our focus is on the UX (user experience)."
Question 2: Can you show me examples of projects with similar goals?
Ask for examples of sites with similar goals and features.
Suppose they haven’t built a similar site before, are they up-front about it? Do they have any ideas? What challenges would they expect?
Is design your main concern? Rather than searching for a firm with a portfolio piece that seems to fit with your needs, look for a web designer that can show you a wide range of designs. This indicates a healthy creative philosophy: a designer that listens to its clients, considers the brand, and doesn’t take a one-size-fits-all approach to the design process.
A response to look for:
“Of course. Let’s take a look at a few now…”
Question 3: Are the websites designed in New Zealand?
This question will instantly reveal if the team is locally based or outsourced.
A lot of designers farm out various parts of a project. This can make it harder for quality control, data security, delays in delivery and ongoing support in changes.
Bonus - made in NZ and hosted in NZ also supports our local economy!
A response to look for:
“Yes all our websites are designed locally in New Zealand”
Question 4: What if I want to make changes later?
One of the most fundamental differences among web-development firms is their approach to ongoing changes.
Every website will change over time. Some website designers charge hourly for these changes, while others set up training exercises with their client that allows them to make changes on the site and ongoing support when needed.
A response to look for:
“We will sort you out with one-on-one training on how to use your website, you will have the freedom to change content or update blogs if you want to. We will also be here for any additional support if needed."
Question 5: How will we measure results?
A great website should not only look awesome, it needs to work. For you, as a business owner, you need the knowledge to see once the site is live, how is it working.
It’s not a bad thing if the answer to this question sounds a little technical.
Listen for terms like bounce rate, unique visits, page views, time on site, inbound links, search-engine rankings, conversion rate, etc. If you start hearing jargon you’re not familiar with, ask for explanations in simple English.
A response to look for:
“We measure unique visitors, bounce rate, and conversion percentage. Our goal is to generate leads, so these are the most important metrics. We use an analytics tool to do this, and we will show you how to track these measures as well.”
Quick-fire Tips
- Clear pricing. Often we hear the horror stories of hidden costs or a much larger than promised account at the end. Ask for the total cost and if there will be any additional charges
- Is any SEO integrated within your web design? This is a key difference between designers and developers. SEO is something that should be incorporated into your website’s design from the very beginning, not added in at the end.
- Can I contact you for future updates to my design? Always check with the designer you want to work with to see if they would be willing to work with you in the future. If you want to update a page, add a new visual element, or even redesign your website, will they be able to help you?
Ready to get started? If you’re on the lookout for a web designer to work with, why not give Brightside Media a try? You already know what questions to ask us :)
We have many years of experience creating beautiful, functional, and engaging websites for our clients—and we’d love to do the same for you, too. So reach out and contact us online. We’d love to hear from you.
Joel Everson - Brightside Media
