Choosing a web designer can be like choosing a tradesman. Who do you trust? Which ones are genuine and which ones will leave you feeling out of pocket? I have compiled a list of questions that we feel you should always ask before commissioning a website. It shouldn’t matter whether you’re going for an expensive site that is all singing and dancing or a simple site – you should still expect and receive a great service.
So here are the top questions that we think you should ask your web designer or check on their website. Please don’t be put off! There are thousands of honest, fantastic companies out there who want nothing more than to make their customers happy. However, as I search on Google, some companies aren’t perhaps quite what they appear…
1. Do the examples of their work click through to a website?
I have noticed that on some web designer’s sites, examples of work are displayed, but it is not possible to click through and actually view the site they are claiming to have created. I cannot think of any reason for this, other than:
a) They haven’t actually created the site – they have simply taken a screen shot of any website and added it to their “portfolio”.
b) They have created the site, but it isn’t very good and so don’t want you to see it.
c) They have created a site with a fantastic looking homepage, so that they can add the screenshot to their “portfolio”, but they can’t show the rest of the site, as it doesn’t exist!
If you can click through to the site, I recommend the first thing you do is scroll down to the bottom of the page. Most web designers stipulate in their terms and conditions that the website will have a “Created by… ” link at the bottom of the customer’s website. This is the norm in the industry. If then, you scroll down to the bottom and you don’t see this, I would be suspicious that the company who claim to have designed the site, possibly haven’t.
Also, if you can click through to examples sites, double check that they are genuine! I have seen “portfolio examples” that are clearly fabricated. Perhaps the telephone number of the web designer’s “customer” is 01234 5678910, or the domain name is a sub domain, rather than a real domain name. Be vigilant – it will be worth it!
2. Do they offer testimonials that can be verified?
As with tradesmen, often the best way to gauge a web designer is on testimonials from previous clients. I care about the work I do and I want to ensure that my customers are satisfied. On completion of their site, all my customers are sent a short questionnaire about the quality of my work, service, price etc and I am proud to display these on my site. Your web designer should be happy for you to contact previous clients, as this is truly the only way that the testimonials can be verified.
3. How much do they charge for hosting?
When you get a web design quote, you will often find that hosting is included free of charge for the first year. You must ensure that you know exactly how much your hosting is going to cost after this time. For example, I had a customer who had a great website that had cost GBP50, but they were being charged GBP30 per month for hosting! This is far too much (and in my opinion unethical). Their cheap web design ended up costing them a fortune.
You should expect to pay anything from GBP30-GBP60 per year for your hosting for an average site. More than this and I would walk away. Conversely, if you are told that hosting is “free forever”, then I would also be suspicious. Perhaps you will be charged a high fee to renew your domain name instead…
4. Will they accept payment from you, without having discussed your needs first?
I have seen some websites that send you directly to a payment page. I would never recommend making a payment for a website without having first discussed exactly what you want – either via telephone or email.
Before parting with any money you need to ensure that your web designer understands what you want from your website, how many pages it will be (you need to know what constitutes a “page”), what you need to supply and what they will source, what would be the best domain name etc etc etc. There’s a whole list of factors that should be decided before parting with your money. If a company is happy to receive payment before this, be wary.
5. Do they have Terms and Conditions?
You are entering into a contract with your web designer and as such, you should firstly ensure that they have T & Cs and secondly read them! They are there to protect both you as the customer and also the web designer themselves (yes, sadly sometimes the customer tries to rip the web designer off also). If they don’t have T & Cs and say not to worry, it is all based on trust, then be wary.
6. Whose name will the domain name be in?
This is really important. The domain name should always be registered in your name, not the web designer’s name. This means that you own the domain name. For example, an unethical designer may register the domain in their own name. If your business is successful (which hopefully it is!) and the time comes to renew your domain name if the domain name is not registered in your own name, the web designer can charge you whatever they like to use the domain name. This is not a situation you want to find yourself in.
Luckily, I think this practice is fading out but I still have the occasional customer who doesn’t own their domain name – their previous designer does. How do you check this? If the company’s portfolio is genuine, you can visit the website http://www.who.is, type in the domain name and it will tell you who the owner of the domain name is. The owner of the domain should not be the web design company (although they are often listed as the administrators, which is fine)
7. How much will you be charged to makes changes to your site in future?
This is a tricky one. Having your website designed is usually just the first step in. Once your site is up and running, you often want to make changes to it, add special offers, new pictures etc. Obviously it would be unfair to expect your web designer to carry out this work for you for nothing (although some customers do think that web designers should do updates for free!). On the other hand, you want to know that you’re not going to be ripped off every time you want to change your site.
You can expect to pay around GBP25 per hour for updates and this is around the norm for most ethical web designers. It’s possible get a lot done in an hour, so it generally works out pretty well for customers. Some companies will charge GBP25 per change however, so watch out for this. For example, a designer might alter some text for a customer, add 2 photos and an extra PayPal button. It could usually do this in approximately half an hour let’s say, so it would cost GBP12.50. If you were being charged per change, this would be GBP100! Again, just be aware of all the costs before committing.
Something else you may want to look at, is whether or not you have the option to be able to update your own site in the future. This means that you can log into your website and make changes to your own site as and when you like, without worrying about the cost each time. As technology becomes more user friendly, this type of service is becoming increasingly popular.
I hope that helps in your quest for a web designer. Please don’t be put off by any of the above. Like all industries, you will hear both good and bad stories and as long as you do your homework, trust your instincts and follow some basic principles, you will end up with an appealing, user friendly, navigable, SEO friendly website.cuketka
webcareidn
roulette77australia
caza
pastelaudition
dicesummit
dcnh
krosecompany
nospec
1mp
fend
pfimegalife
statistici
euislands
sturgillsimpson
rentle
mightybuildings
yikeweb
grey2kusa
colgatepalmolive
loud
shil8
lohrandcompany
norectus
energija
stevenaitchison
arainfo
rengokaikan
parents4peace
bpromotion
zhedna
lcsedu
santafeciudad
xn--medlginsttning-ozbr
qhca
simonschreibt
thiqah
yunlang
radcreation
cm8z
legaltechdesign
99jingdian
etwinternational
brighttribe
rolexmiddlesearace
osom
mapa-assurances
lastekaitseliit
metalunderground
spectronicsinoz
hoaoaihuong
gorodpushkin
brouhaha
209
tokyo929
annakallas
andersoncooper
scottwesterfeld
ashridgehouse
tokoabe
kevinw
resmed
worldsoft-demo
harrisburgmagazine
pacificbedbank
ergo-segurosdeviaje
cindori
sauer
hostwinds
royalblind
chinagreenproduct
besupergenius
sitorsquat
ae
runthetrap
massarbor
weareha
updatebacklinks
amdc11111
annsharf
rodeoticket
weeweb
creativedk
huntingheadlines
finest-jobs
cryptovor
lunapark
west263
serenity
ctweb
g99
findingspress
bapeten
gpowitnesshistory
duckcommander
azizimedia
businessort
hjkahflkald
uksearchnetwork
netinsight
henshaws
vicoustic
editionsdelaube
nxfree
question-defense
merseburg
iopenerinstitute
internationaltin
enter-shield
furstperson
newsgater
wonsulting
tierradelfuego
lishixinzhi
alterotic
hopeofthevalley
sn-cz2020
ail-echalote-certifie
liveheroes
bestdroneunderhalfapound
realplatinumlife
webdakaar
raskrutov
videogameslive
darwinports
publiacqua
eastlifepro
evolutionpowertools
wirechina
xplorer
framacolibri
grandbanks
vinograd
herzing
slotxo789
ptix
themeearth
vilavelha
virginiaplaces
wapdale
rasenpartner
jacotei
clinic-kyokasho
planetsono
welzijnszorg
avenuemedia
bentbranderuptrainer
accesshelps
enduris
forexinstruments
heizsparer
myboothpic
dfo
cryptopublis
spectrumorganics
eriercd
perekup-club
institut-reiki
rdvmanager
jubjubs
biomolecula
activexsoft
diacorporate
mpv
imiwin
lyricsmint
zeuscart
manggha
gnjp
webo
svensk-poesi
flymee
343industries
learncomputer
latinodonorcollaborative
domainnews
wxct
eims
conversion
serverx69
jaanuescorts
musicals101
aukweb
newsstedy
boavista
moore
