How to find a website designer or developer?

If you follow these steps then you really can't go wrong. Firstly there are two major differences between a website designer and a website developer. A website designer will deal mainly with the planning, design and usability of a website, whereas a website developer is often more involved in the depths of coding and behind the scenes management. They often work on database solutions, and the mechanics of the website.

It is rare sometimes to find a two for one deal, as both use fundamentally different skills.

Website Designers! How to find One!

If you have decided that your business now needs a website, and you are looking for a website designer (or website developer) to accomplish this for you, then read on.
Here are the steps to think about -

Location:

Choosing a website designer based on their location or proximity to where you are living is a great start. This means that if you want to conduct face to face meetings, then it is easier to do that if they live nearby, rather than half way around the planet!

Consider the skills:

If you plan on using certain scripts, or CMS on your website, then finding a website designer who understands these systems would be more than useful. If you needed in depth and detailed work, then a developer would be a nice touch.

Do they have a portfolio? Are they able to show you some sites?

The important aspect of finding a good web designer, is finding one who has an active portfolio. It doesn't have to include every website they have ever built, but a web designer should be able to offer you some existing websites, or demo sites they have built, to look at.

What about their Clients?

A client referral is a great way of finding out if you are choosing a good web designer. Have they got clients that you can speak to, or feedback that they have no objection to you seeing - be that good or maybe bad!

Personal Recommendations:

Again this method is nearly foolproof - if you can get personal recommends from people so much the better.

Payment(s):

A good web designer will always charge some kind of upfront fee - after all they don't want to work for days on end and then not get paid anything at all! But a good web designer will usually ask for staged payments - anywhere between 35% and 50% deposit, followed by balancing payments as the site progresses. If someone asks you to pay the FULL AMOUNT upfront, then unless this is because they are going to be sending you all the files to a server they have no control over, it is probably a good idea to avoid these particular web designers.

Summing Up:

Check, and check again a web designers credentials. Make sure that you are happy with them, and that there is reasonable ways of being able to get in touch with them. If their website provides a land line phone number, a contact form, a registered address then these are all good signs.