What Should I Prepare Before Shopping for my New Web Designer?

Being prepared for anything is always a good thing. The boy scouts have been extolling its virtues for years. The same is important when shopping for a web designer. In our Choosing a Web Designer series we will try to demystify the process so you don’t get lost in the process.

1. One of the first things you should know is your budget. You don’t need to have it written in stone, but it is a good idea to have a ball park number written down so you can make the best choices from the 1000s of web designers out there. Be honest about your budget. If you only have $1000 then that is what you have. Most good firms will work with you on your budget so you can get a great site that can expand as you have more money to spend, yet still give you the essential functionality that your site needs.
2. Have a list of the pages you know you will want in your site. Every site should include the basics like a home page, about page and a contact page.
3. Make a list of the functionality your site needs. Do you want e-commerce, a blog, newsletter, etc. Is it important that you be able to update the site yourself? All of these components add to the cost of your site, so knowing what you want before hand will help your designer work within your budget and get the most important things on your site.
4. Be prepared to give up a few bells and whistles. Smaller budgets mean less bells and whistles, but it does not mean you will not have a great site. It just means that you may have to put on hold some of the functionality till later in the year. We often suggest that clients give a bit in the “Look and Feel” of the site to meet their budgets since it is often the “Custom Design” that eats up lots of budget hours.