Website Redo Tips

As a blogger and work at home mom that spends a lot of time online, I feel that your website is your business card. I think how it looks can say something about you as a person. For example if your website is all purple chances are your favorite color is purple. I know that with everything being so fast paced online people want to change up their sites. They get bored with the appearance of their sites and want to change it. It’s kind of like your wardrobe. Every so often you wanna try something new.  You get bored always wearing the same things.   I can’t design at all so I would have to hire someone. Who can you trust to have access to your site that you consider your child that you have been running for years? How do you know if someone won’t install a virus or delete all your hard work?  It is really hard to know with all the people who do website designs. Remember that your site is like your digital marketing agency.

Things to consider when hiring someone to redo your site:

How long have they been doing this? I would try and find someone with quite a bit of experience.  Experience doesn’t always mean excellence though. I wouldn’t make that my sole deciding factor. 

What is their style? Some people can only make those sparkly blinky graphics. Those were awesome back in like 2000, but if you want to be taken seriously you need something professional looking.  Can they accommodate your style? Do they also do designs in the platform you use on your site? Some people only design Wordpress or blogger.

How much do they charge? I have seen designers charge upwards to $700 for a redo. Can you afford them? Is it in your budget?  Do you think that it is a fair price?

Do they have a portfolio? You need to see what kinds of work they have done.  You need to see what they are capable of doing, not just what they can promise.

Do they have references? I would ask for some sites and that they have done and maybe reach out to the site owner via email and ask them for their opinion of the designer. Ask if there were issues. I would prefer to ask them and not rely on testimonials.  Call me a skeptic but if you spend years working really hard on something I need to talk to a person.

What is their schedule like? Some designers have a long list of clients. Will it be days, weeks, or months before you get your design completed? Are there issues at home that will postpone it?  I would see how long it will be, if you want something done quickly.  Some people don’t mind waiting.

What is the payment schedule? Do you have to pay a deposit? Do they require payment upfront? I wouldn’t recommend working with a designer who you have to pay upfront just as a security measure.

Are they efficient in HTML? That coding stuff is so annoying. Make sure you hire someone who knows their stuff really well. You can only Google so much.

Don’t be afraid to Google the heck out of them. Learn all you can. Most designers require a button or something that says Designed by…. Look for those on sites you go to.

Good Luck finding an amazing web designer! I hope these helped.