How to choose a website designer
How to choose a website designer. When thinking of setting up a website for your business, there are hundreds of things to consider, and choosing who will design your website is one of them.
Website designers will not only curate the appearance and content of your site; they also have the technical and coding knowledge to ensure it operates efficiently and optimises engagement. It is vital to make the right decision when choosing a designer so that your website will reflect your business’s aims whilst appearing polished and functioning well.
Designing a website is also a ‘trial and error’ process that will involve feedback and response to fulfill your requirements.
A simple Google search of ‘website designer’ will churn up millions of results that are difficult to wade through. Therefore, it’s likely that the idea of identifying the right website designer for you seems daunting and unappealing. So how is this process made easier? How to choose a website designer?
Firstly, it is paramount to decide on the requirements for your website, including what functions you would like to launch.
For example, do you require an e-commerce site or blog posts? How many pages might you need? It’s a good idea to look at existing websites representing businesses similar to your own in order to gain inspiration.
A mood board or spider diagram is a good way of recognising all the requirements and desires for your website, including design aspects like colour schemes and fonts.
Bringing a rough sketch of the layout of your website and its content can help the designers to reimagine your ideas upon beginning the website development. Once you have chosen a website designer, they can help you to bring these ideas to life and can suggest appropriate adjustments according to your wishes.
It may be helpful to look at which software has been used to generate your favourite websites: here at Orangedot Media, we use WordPress for website development and, as over 43% of all current websites are developed using this software, it is likely your preferred websites have been generated by WordPress too.
In this way, you can narrow down the website designers you would like to use, based on the preferred software.
Not only is it good to identify the features of websites that you like, acknowledging the frustrations of some sites can also help to develop your own.
Your website designer can then make sure that these flaws are avoided and that your website can work the way you would like it to.
When making any long-term investment like a website, having an idea of your budget is important in order to ensure your website designer will provide the right package.
Most designers will give ballpark figures on their website, but obtaining quotes from a few different designers whilst browsing their portfolios is a good way to gauge the level of designer you may require and whether they will be local or a corporation.
Local companies often don’t have access to the marketing opportunities that larger companies do, so it’s worth looking for local ones to discover their pricing and previous work.
More expensive quotes still may not satisfy your requirements, whilst cheaper options may not provide a bespoke and polished website, so examining completed work from website designers can help you find the right company to work with. Once you have determined your budget, you will have narrowed down the website designers appropriate for you.
Although portfolios give a fantastic insight into the workings of a designer, website development is not all about the outcome.
Designing a website involves working closely with the designer in order to achieve the desired results. Therefore, it is essential to ensure that the team you will be working with is competent and helpful.
As shown on our website, navigating to the ‘Meet the Team’ page provides more information about the members of our development team. Similarly, reviews and testimonials listed on our website but also on third-party sites like TrustPilot enable you to gain a true representation of the company.
The journey of developing your website will require feedback from you and a response from our company, so thorough communication between clients and customers is important to develop a sophisticated website that meets the aims of your business.
Once you have chosen some website designers that suit your requirements, have a good portfolio, and are budget-friendly, don’t be afraid to contact them!
At Orangedot Media, our prospective clients are encouraged to get in touch by calling or emailing so that we can discuss with you what’s best for your website. In doing so, you can talk directly to the team members that will be developing your site and ensure that the customer service is top-tier.
It is important to remember that your website designer will be working with you rather than for you, because website development requires your initial ideas and projected outcome, paired with your designer’s expertise and knowledge.
Choosing a website designer can be daunting at first, but if in doubt, contact some designers to find out more about their team and their development processes. Call or email us today using the details under the ‘Contact’ tab on our page to discover more about how we operate.
