How To Hire A Web Designer for your business! by Lee Quessenberry, IrishNinjas.com

1. Web DESIGNER | Developer What To Look For When Hiring A…

2. Introduction Developer or Designer? What? Why? Technologies To Inquire About Usability For Users It’s Your Website, But It’s Really Not… What Works For My Business? Who’s Responsible For Updating Content? What’s It Cost? Really? Contracts and Paperwork

3. Designer or Developer Designer – Clothes Designer, Interior Designer, Designer Jeans? What is a Web Designer? Developer – Property Development? What is a Web Developer? Who should I choose?

4. Designer Web Designer vs. Graphic Designer Can I have my cake now please? Yes you can eat it too, but be careful. Web Designers do web with a little print design along the way. Print (Graphic) Designers can do web design, but be careful or your site will read like a phonebook advertisement.

5. Developer make me a sandwich SUDO make me a sandwich GOTO 10 Return NULL; What the hell is that guy talking about? I don’t know but he’s kinda creepy. Advantages of Development Downfalls of Development… Loading… Done.

6. Avoid Pitfalls Engage your audience, but don’t blow them away with too much verbiage Make sure your designer/developer is good at what they do. Request portfolio work Avoid “Jacks of all Trades” Experience is not everything. Make sure the experience is decorated with new trends and technologies. But my nephew is really good at computers. I’ll just use him.

7. Designer vs. Developer What are your requirements? What is your budget? What is your timeframe? Why Reinvent the Wheel? I’ve made my decision

8. Technologies to Ask About CMS (Content Management System) Google Analytics MySQL / PHP Flash / Javascript jQuery Graphical Editing Hosting Options

9. Usability for Users Navigation – Where is that link I saw? Above and below the fold Visual Cues Iconic Navigation Layout – What users expect to see Slideshows – Maximize real estate for massive amounts of content Taxonomy – (Tagging and Categorization)

10. Usability vs. Beauty http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/08/23/a-design-is-only-as-deep-as-it-is-usable/

11. But it’s MY website… Yes it is, but that’s about it. Your site is for your customers. Your customers have 6 to the nth degree ways of using a website. Design for your crowd, not for your personal tastes. But I really want a feature from the 1990’s that was really cool. NO! Your designer still loves you, but you need to let him breathe.

12. No seriously! It’s my website! Stay involved, but try to meet your designer’s requests halfway. I really like this XYZ feature from XYZ.com. It can’t be that hard to implement right? Define Roles. Set Goals. Pay Tolls. Get Results. Yes it is your website, but it’s built for thousands.

13. What’s Good For My Business? Are You Selling a Product? Are You Providing a Service? Is Your Site Going to Process Payments? Is Your Business Completely Internet Based?

14. What’s Good For My Business? I want a purely informational site I want an eCommerce site I want a community driven site I want all of the above. Get it done fast…

15. WOW! I love it! What now? Who will maintain the new content? Didn’t we already discuss who when we defined roles? I want this whole new feature to the site. What do you think about that Mr. Designer? But, I thought that was included? Ohhh! Okay. I’m stuck, please help…

16. Man That’s Blunt! Avoid “Yes Men” Engage in conversation Avoid Printers in Web clothing Ask for CMS Please try to tread lightly with Flash and/or animations. Get involved! Ask Questions! Set aside a budget

17. How Much Does It Cost? Different Approaches Free! – Don’t get excited, because the developer definitely isn’t Trade! – Maybe, but is your service or product something the dev is interested in? Didn’t think so Cheap! ($0 - $900) – Looks Cheap, Feels Cheaper, Doesn’t Attract customers. Designer didn’t care. Moderately Priced ($1200 Base Price) – Are the features there? Have we defined roles? That sounds pretty good. Expensive – Get a few quotes, see what has the best features, ask around, avoid yes men, and by all means ask several providers. Will the site include video and hours of development for custom features. Okay cool, that seems fair.

18. Rates and Fees Fairly Priced Hosting / Maintenance - $20 - $30 per month. Fairly Priced Hourly Requests - $65 - $95/hr Site Design - $600 - $1000 for a custom themed site Content - $35/hr for custom copywriting Content - $50 - $75 per page for styling and placement Custom Programming - $75 - $150/hr depending on size of project.

19. Contracts and Paperwork SIGN A CONTRACT! It protects you and the designer Expect to pay half of the estimate upon beginning the project. Keep copies and hold your designer accountable for balances and payment receipts. Ask questions, but please pay promptly to avoid conflict. Your website is as important to your business as water and electricity. Define roles and make sure they are delivered by all people involved

20. In Retrospect Ask Questions. Get Involved. Do Research. Review Portfolio Work. Request Contracts. Define Rolls. Listen To Your Designer. Interact With Your Audience.

21. Beautiful Sites http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/01/22/35-beautiful-and-effective-ecommerce-websites/ www.libraryinjonesboro.org www.jonesboroplasticsurgery.com www.kingbenson.com

22. Ugly Sites http://v5.jasongraphix.com/index.php http://www.ericburch.com/ http://www.jonesborobowl.com/