5 Questions to Ask Your New Web Designer

If the time has come for your business to enter the digital age, a new website might be in order. But it can be difficult to know who the best web designer is for you. After all, web design is a complex task and one which varies from one web designer to the next.

Below are five questions you should ask the person completing your web design.

How much can I expect to pay for web design?

Web design varies in price depending on what you require and the web designer itself. The figure you might have in your head may greatly differ from what the actual cost is. You can expect to pay several thousand dollars for a good website and generally it’s money well spent.

While asking about the total cost, you should also ask how they expect to be paid. Most web designers will require a deposit, and then instalments based on each section of your website build. If they are doing the web design, development and copy writing, they may ask you to pay for each section separately. The other option is to pay by page. There is no set payment method so it’s important you ask your web designer what they expect from you.

Do you know much about internet marketing and search engine optimisation?

If your website can’t be marketed properly, or be found in search engines, there is very little reason for it to exist. No marketing and no traffic means no visitors to your site. This means thousands of dollars potentially wasted. Find out from your web designer how they can help you achieve more traffic. They may be able to attach a blog section to your site in order to keep it up to date with keywords and content, as well as inserting Facebook pixels into the backend to allow data transferred to Facebook users. Get their advice on the best way to deliver traffic to your website, and find out how to monitor this traffic.

Can I maintain the website myself?

Some web designs enable the business owner to update and alter them without the need to talk to the web designer. However, not all are set up in this way. It can depend on the website you have. If you have an online store, it’s important you can update this yourself. However, if your web design consists of a landing page and a few tabs, it may not require your adaption regularly. Find out during the web design process which parts you will be able to edit, if any at all.

Can you meet my deadline?

If you’re looking to launch your website now, chances are you need it by a certain date. Many web designers and developers are already booked up with website builds weeks in advance. This may mean you could be waiting for weeks before they can even look at yours. This means you do need to be flexible with your deadline, as do the web designers. If your chosen web designer is unable to meet your deadline, you may have to find someone who can. However, just remember that web design takes some weeks to come together. There are several components and the process doesn’t happen overnight.

Which parts of my website do I own?

The most important thing first and foremost, is to make sure you own your own domain name. If you don’t, your rights within your website are greatly diminished. The second most important part is to know how much of your website you actually own. This can extend to the graphics, the fonts, the stock imagery and the written content. Did your web designer purchase these usage rights for you during the web design process? Can it be used elsewhere by you? Ask the person completing your web design to send all components of your website to you that legally can be, in order for any other web designer to work on in the future.