5) Who have they designed websites for past?
Not every web designer is created equal. Some have developed niche talents for niche markets. Designers who create websites for rock bands are much different than web designers for small business. Why? They're both appealing to different audiences. People visiting a band website are looking to be impressed with creative layouts, cool pictures, and swanky web design. People visiting small business websites are looking for easy-to-navigate layouts that help them find the products or services their looking for quickly. To start your search, some web designers for small business are Web.com, Homestead.com, and SetMySite.com.
4) Can your web designer take direction?
It helps if your web designer has some business experience. As a small business person, you understand the value in understanding your market. Does your web designer understand the value in creating a look and feel that targets your market, or would he rather just build something flashy and cool to impress future clients. Make sure your guy can take direction and produce what you need - not what he wants. Ask how his or her process works. Can he design off a sketch you drew or another website you like? It's important that they can make your ideas a reality. Web designers for small business will understand this.
3) Can they create a design that compliments your brand?
You probably already have business cards, letterheads, fliers, banners, signs, car magnets and more. You're a small business owner. When you're not answering phones, you're washing windows, balancing budgets, and running every aspect of your business. You have enough things to do. You probably don't want to redesign your business cards and all your other marketing material to match your website. Make sure that your web designer can match your website to your small business. And if you don't like your current letter heads, logos, and fliers, can your web designer grasp your market by creating a look that works. Ask for examples. Speaking of examples...
2) Ask for examples of websites they've previously designed.
Checking out a web designers portfolio of websites will give you a good idea of their style. Professional web designers for small business should have plenty of examples and websites ready for you to view. If they don't, how long have they been doing this? How many websites have they built? Examples of past work verifies their track record, abilities, style, and genre. If a lot of the examples are small business websites, that's a plus. If the examples are mostly bands, they're either really good at designing websites for rockers, or they have a lot of musician friends that they owe favors to.
1) How much is this going to cost?
Web designers price their work differently. Find a price and payment structure that you're comfortable with. Some charge by the page, the hour, the feature while others will give you a quote for the project as a whole - each designer is unique. Web designers for small business need to fit your small business budget. Don't let the excitement of your new website put you in a financially shaky position; it's easier than you think. A lot of people forget that their website needs to be updated from time to time - that cost can really add up. Some important questions to ask include:
- How do you price your services?
- How much will my website cost?
- Does the cost include my domain name or hosting?
- Is there a down payment?
- Do I have to sign a contract?
- Can you update my website? If so, how much does that cost?
Homestead.com
SetMySite.com
Web.com
Do you have any tips to offer from you experiences? I'd love for you to share them. I hope this post at least gets you headed in the right direction. Below are some web designers for small business you can take a look at. Best of luck with your small business ventures!
No comments:
Post a Comment