8 Tips on Choosing a Website Designer for Small Businesses
Every year in the United States, more than 627,000 new small businesses open their doors to customers. So if you are planning to start up a new business, you're in good company. Unfortunately, this also means that the competition between small American businesses is fierce.
If your business is going to succeed then you need it to be accessible. This ensures that as many potential customers as possible can find you and order your products or services. This is why designing business websites that are user-friendly is so important.
Because of this, choosing a website designer that is going to nail your business' site is essential. With more than 60,000 web designers working across the US, picking the right one for you can feel overwhelming.
Fortunately, we're here to help. Read on to find out our top eight tips for choosing a website designer.
1. Ask About Web Design Experience
When looking at different options for website designers, you want to work with someone that has experience in a relevant field. Having experience in your industry will help designers to create a website that is unique and professional.
It also means that they will have a good understanding of how to incorporate features that your business might need. For example, if you want to accept payments through your website, it will need to support e-commerce hosting.
2. Look for a Portfolio
The aesthetic of your website matters as much as the nuts and bolts of it. This can entice people in or put them off very quickly. Your website design will also help your customer navigate your website easily.
Looking at a designer's portfolio will give you a good idea of their style of website design. You can also use this as a point of reference for discussing your design goals with your web designer.
3. Check Their References
An impressive portfolio is one thing but this doesn't necessarily guarantee that a web design company is easy to work with. This is why references are important.
These will tell you about the experiences that previous clients have had while working with a company. If a web designer cannot provide references this could be a sign that they are difficult to work with. In that case, it's time to look elsewhere.
4. Keep Your Web Design Budget in Mind
As a small business, you might not have the same amount of capital to pour into your website that a large corporation does. Fortunately, you can still create an impressive and professional website with that you have.
It's important to discuss your budget with a designer early on. That way they can offer you services that fall within your price range. Or they might be able to recommend focusing your budget on fewer, more expensive services in order to create something really impressive.
5. Discuss Online Marketing Experience
Your website is a place for your customers to find out more about your services and products. However, it can also help to reel in new customers using online marketing tactics.
This includes using search engine optimization (SEO) and incorporating your social media into your website. So you should ask a designer whether they have relevant experience doing this.
It's also important to make your website accessible from a range of devices, so make sure you ask about creating a mobile-friendly website as well.
6. Ask About Their Approach to Website Design
Different web designers will take different approaches to website design. This might include offering businesses customizable templates. Or a designer might work collaboratively to build a website from scratch.
It is important to think about the kind of designer you want to work with. If you want more control over your website, then a collaborative approach is important. However, if you're happy for a designer to work to a brief, you should look for someone who wants to do this.
7. Check Their Timelines
Building a website for your business can take some time. Once it is built you will need to:
- Review it, give feedback, and request changes
- Connect your chosen domain
- Test run it with a sample group to make sure that it is easy to navigate
- Organize a launch for it
This means that there is a lot to do once your website is ready. To make sure this is all done in time, you need to discuss your timeline with your web designer.
They will be able to give you realistic deadlines for completing work on your website. That way you can find a designer that will deliver the work you want when you need it.
You can also test out how long a designer takes to complete work by seeing how long it takes them to send you a design proposal.
8. Look for Support After Your Site Launches
Creating a brilliant website for your business is all well and good. However, for this to work you need it to keep running smoothly.
This means that if your website does run into any issues, you need to be able to resolve these quickly.
This is why you want a web designer that can offer support, maintenance, and troubleshooting after you launch your site. If you do not have an in-house tech team this is essential.
Keep These Tips in Mind When Choosing a Website Designer
When choosing a website designer for your business, there are plenty of things that you need to consider. Knowing what you're looking for will help you find the website designer to best suit your needs.
Ready to have a brilliant web design experience? Then get in touch today to find out how the Aktiv team can help you realize your business goals.