If you are undertaking any type of business venture, or even pursuing a personal goal that requires self-promotion, chances are you will need to consult with a web
designer. After all, these days it is almost a necessity to have a website if you want to compete in the marketplace, no matter what your angle.
Web design can be a tricky subject. It comes with its own language, and makes order of a world that you may know nothing about. Here are seven things no web
designer will ever tell you:
Skip Flash Intro
your designer put the hard work into creating a fancy flash intro for your site, then chances are that designer wants to show off the work, and won’t tell you how easy it is to create an intro skip option for visitors who don’t have the patience or interest in sitting through the intro. Keep your users in mind. Ask for the skip option.
Spec Design
Spec work is when a designer submits completely prepared design proposals to you, for free, before the real work begins. The purpose is to give you an idea of what the designer is capable of, in addition to providing you with some creative design options. Web designers usually don’t put an offer for free work on the table voluntarily – but you can ask for it, and it’s advisable that you do.
Maintenance Updates
If your designer bills you on an hourly basis, you need to know that most maintenance updates are simple and take less than a half hour to complete.
Content Management Systems
Once your website is up, it’s actually possible to cut your design bill down by updating the site yourself. A content management system (CMS) is a tool that allows you to make updates from a simple interface, and it pays to have a CMS – it just doesn’t pay your designer.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
It’s not enough to have a fancy website. That site needs to be optimized to be ranked by search engines, or no one will be able to find it. Your web designer should be trained in
SEO. Unfortunately, not all are.
Branding
Your designer is interested in developing good design – not necessarily in your brand. However, it’s your brand that’s most important, and your designer should design your entire site around it.
Marketing
Web designers are not experts in marketing. As a matter of fact, they may not know anything about it. It’s your job to market your site – not theirs.
When it comes to hiring a web designer, you’re pretty much putting your trust in someone to accomplish things that you don’t necessarily understand, which puts you at a disadvantage. Not sure you even know what to ask, or how to critically analyze your budding website? This inside look at the world of web design should help.
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