4.
Vision – create a basic plan of the type of web site
you want. Do a search of other sites on the Web, to get a
rough idea of what type of site you are looking for, that
is unique to your business, (not just a copy of someone
else’s). Sketch your ideas out on paper, so that when
you contact your designer, you already have a good idea of
what you have in mind.
Decide what kind of web site it should be – will it be
an informational web site, a web site that will continue
to expand as you develop your business, or an e-commerce
web site with a number of products for which you accept
online payments?
5. Technology – if you want to use advanced
technologies on your site, such as flash, shock wave,
database integration, make sure your designer is familiar
with them and how this may affect your site. They are
often expensive to implement and may not be needed for you
to set up your business on the Web.
6. Contact – make
sure you can contact your designer by phone or email and
see how long it takes for them to get back to you. If it
takes a long time, then this may be an indication of what
your future contact with them will be like. Are they
helpful, professional, polite and friendly? I find this
always makes it easier to do business and less stress on
yourself, since you will want it to be a strong and stable
relationship.
7. Free Consultation – once you have a plan of
what you want on your web site (or even if you don’t
know where to begin), contact your designer for a free
consultation before you set up a contract. Most web
designers will give you a free consultation if they want
your business. This will help you clarify what is expected
in the design process.
8. Contract – make sure you have a contract drawn
up before you make any payments. It should state clearly
what is included in the contract e.g. how many pages,
links, graphics? Does it include marketing and maintenance
of your web site? If not, then ask what does it cost for
the extras. This can include domain name registration,
scanning and optimization of graphics and hosting. (see my
article “how to choose a hosting company” at
www.isitebuild.com/webhostarticle.htm)
9. Pricing and Payment – surf around the Web to
compare prices, so you have a ballpark figure of what to
expect for your site design. You can expect to pay half of
the full price up front. If they are professional, they
will accept credit cards for online payments. Do the
prices include submitting your site to the main search
engines? (This should be done by hand if it is done
properly). Don’t be misled by those that say your site
will be submitted to 3000 search engines by automatic
submission software.
10. Testing – your designer should test your site
before it is completed. Will it look good in Internet
Explorer as well as Netscape browsers? What screen
resolutions can it be viewed in? It should be able to be
viewed in all resolutions. Without extensive testing, your
site may not look good to a large number of your
customers.
11. Ongoing Support - support means that you know
you can contact them to get a prompt and courteous answer
to any question or concern you may have. Can the designer
grow with your web site? You may want to make additions or
changes to your site in the future especially if your
business is expanding. Does your designer have other ideas
for driving traffic to your site (since this is the
lifeblood of a successful web site)?
If you follow these 11 steps in choosing a web site
designer, you can then be reassured of great design and
support that will contribute to the ongoing success of
your business.
=========================================================
Herman Drost is a Certified Internet Webmaster (CIW)
owner and author of iSiteBuild.com
Web Site Design and Low Cost Hosting
(http://www.isitebuild.com)
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