10 Questions to Ask Your Website Designer
Ten questions to ask your website designer before you sign a contract! These questions should help your organization better assess your web designer’s experience, professionalism, and expertise.
1. Are you familiar with web standards?
This question is very important to ask because the web publishing industry is moving in this direction. If you find a designer who is unaware of web standards - or feels they are unimportant - the designer is likely to be an amature.
The correct response should be something along the lines of: “Yes, I code valid XHTML and CSS.” They might also ask you if you are talking about accessibility. If they can code pages that are accessible it shows their understanding of the web standards movement.
2. Do you charge all or part of your fees before the project is finished?
This is essential for you to know. The reality is that most web agencies and freelancers will charge part of the project as a retainer fee before the project even gets started. This is because a lot of work goes into the project before the first image is created in photoshop or a single line of code is written. You can think of this like the retainer you pay a lawyer to look into your case.
It is not professional however to charge 100% of the project costs upfront. The better agencies and designers are likely to charge two or three equal amounts as the project progresses, the last payment landing just after the project finish. Never the less, it is always good to know what a designer’s terms are before you get to involved in the project. (NOTE: a good designer will not likely know what he is going to charge until he or she fully understands your project, so you should give the designer as much information as possible before you ask this question).
3. Do you have another client who would would be willing to talk to me?
A good agency or freelancer should have more than one client who is pleased with their work. They should offer up an email address, or telephone number with the name of a person you can contact who will give them a good reference. This is key, because people in business are bound to get in disagreements and make someone angry. However, if they are a professional this should not be the majority of their clients. A designer who cannot offer you a good reference is someone you should steer clear of.
4. How often do you visit search engine optimization blogs and podcasts?
When it came to writing this question it took some planning. This is because every web designer in the world will say they are aware of search engines and that your site will rank well if you go with them. This is usually a flat out lie. The truth is that if a designer or developer does not frequently update their search information they are not savvy on what will work on the search engines this month or even this week. I once watched an organization spend upwards of 100k on a website that was built in such a way the search engines didn’t even list its pages. The developers of course said “we are going to build your website to work well in the search engines.” A good designer that is aware of search engine strategy will know what current standards are out there in the SEO community, and will know how capable he is at getting you ranked in the top search results. For instance in my company I am quite savvy when it comes to search engines, but even I will bring in another expert who does nothing but search engines if I feel the project needs it.
If the designer responds to this question with never, or sometimes, or changes the subject, you should immediately know to drop them and keep on searching for an honest one. The answer they should give would be “every week” or “I have my own search expert I deal with” or “I am not a search expert but I am very up to date on search strategies and can connect you with an expert as a part of the process.”
5. Will I be able to edit any of the content myself?
The answer in today’s world should always be “yes.” In fact, if you cannot update any of the content, or the designer cannot make that an easy thing for you to do, move on and find another designer.Solutions for this might include: “Yes with a content management system,” “Yes with dynamic forms,” or “Yes with a Adobe Contribute solution.”
6. How often do you use HTML tables to layout pages?
This question will help you know how up-to-date your designer/developer is. The answer should always be “Never.” Or something like: “Five years ago I did all the time, but today I use CSS for layout.”
The web underwent a major change in the way pages are created. Average people may not have noticed, but every web designer worth a penny knows that CSS is for layout and style, and XHTML is for describing content in a semantic way.
7. Do you use pre-purchased templates?
Now this is not always a bad thing. For a project that needs to be finished yesterday a template you purchase from a site like templatemonster is not a bad idea. However, when the agency or freelancer answers yes to this question, you should in turn ask: “Do you re-code the templates from scratch?” Because the code those templates deliver is often very, very, very bad. No designer worth paying should use one without some adjustments if not a complete re-creation of the design with all new code. You might as well design it yourself!
8. Do you use a shared hosting account, a Virtual Private Server, or a Dedicated Server to host websites?
This should tell you about the professionalism of the designer or developer. Many good designers use virtual private servers, many have their own that they re-sell. This is acceptable for small business and average church websites. At some point in the career of the designer the upgrade to a dedicated hosting platform should be made. This is not a make or break question because they may ask you what your preference is. But I will say that a dedicated server allows the development of applications in the back end much easier, and is usually the sign of a pro.
9. How long have you been in the business of building websites?
Now this seems like a no-brainer, and for the most part it is. Someone who has been in the industry for a long time is going to deliver a better product (one would hope) than someone who is just out of design school with no practical experience. Keep in mind that age doesn’t always mean more experience or expertise.
10. How can I advertise my website to make it a success when it launches?
Many designers fresh out of design school can create fresh appealing looks for a website, and many talented high school students can create very complex applications, but it takes experience to understand how the marketing and advertising will make a website actually work as a business.
Make sure no matter how they answer this question, that you are satisfied with the answer… which actually goes for all of the questions.
Your money may be spent better with someone you trust that can communicate value to you.
Good luck, and happy building!
