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.
