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How to Choose a Website Design Company

August 19th, 2009

The internet is full of web design companies pleading for your business. They all look great! Not sure which company to select? By following these simple steps, you'll be able to select the perfect designer for your business.

1. The search for a web designer. Unless you really feel that face to face meetings are a priority, there is really no reason why you can't hire a web designer outside your local area. Most people turn to search engines on the internet for their search.

2. The designer's portfolio. Once you stumble on a website that catches your interest, look for samples of their work. Freelancer or business, anyone who claims to be a web designer has design portfolio. Because taste is a personal choice, it's possible you won't "like" all of the examples in the designers portfolio. But even if you don't like the particular colors or theme they used for a particular client, look further into the design. Ask yourself these questions:

  • Are there designs clean and crisp?
  • Does the overall design have a professional appearance?
  • Is the navigation clear and easy to use?
  • How Is their language, grammar and spelling usage?

3. Check references. If you think the designer can do a good job for you, check their references. You'll find contact information for past clients in the designer's portfolio. They can give you their real life experience with the design company.

4. Selecting a web designer. If your comfortable with the references and like the examples in the portfolio contact the design company to discuss the requirements of your project. By corresponding with the designer via email of telephone, you'll learn a lot about how responsive and flexible they are. If you're working with a timeline and/or a budget, explain this and be sure they can accommodate your needs. Keep in mind that not every web design company has the capabilities to do what you need. Be sure to make your requirements clear up front so you don't get stuck with extra charges or delays.

5. Getting pricing for your website. Request web design quotes from your favorite companies. Make sure bids are comparable. One company may include website maintenance in the package and one may not. Some of these "extras" can be very valuable. Check item by item to be sure you know what your paying for.

6. Partnership. Engaging with a web design company should be a partnership. Let them work for you by offering useful information about your business and the image you want to portray. Participation on your part will contribute to an overall successful design that will meet or exceed your expectations.

Even though some of these steps seem obvious, its often easy to overlook the simplest things when we have a lot to do. We hope These steps will help you on your quest to find the perfect web design company.

About the author: Cindy Kelly is the developer of TheWebDecorators.com, a website design company that offers affordable website design services to small businesses.

Author: Cindy Kelly

 

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Being a webmaster is a much more important job than most companies would dare admit. Webmasters are responsible for the company web presence on every level, from the website copy to the web and email server administration. Additionally, webmasters are often tasked even more duties that should be considered unrelated responsibilities for the position of webmaster. These extra duties often will include online as well as offline promotion and marketing, search optimization, advertising, application programming, graphic design and/or brand management. The role of the webmaster has grown over the years and webmasters need to grow with the company's expectations or the website will not succeed. For instance, it is easy to get banned from the search engines for not knowing the correct methods to use to optimize a website for a better results ranking from the search engines for any particular search phrase.

This is why Webmastery is here, not just to offer direction and assist webmasters, but to do so masterfully, as you expect of yourself, or as your company expects out of you.
 

Since I am an American and know only American English and SEO methods, I specialize in American Webmastery. Hence the domain name, Webmastery.US.
 

However, please note that often both sides of the coin are presented here. Some webmasters swear by Linux and we offer articles by such authors to give insight to their creativity. Others are die-hard Microsoft software fans and use Windows based servers. Despite the bias, each system has its own advantages, and such articles are reprinted here for their positive contribution to those platforms, not to enforce their bias. It is we that have to make the final analysis.
 

This difference is even more apparent when I am showcasing and promoting white hat SEO (search engine optimization) and a black hat SEO article is published here, which method if followed could get a website banned from the search engines. The reason I allow it a small platform is to showcase its apparent and obvious idiocy in contrast to white hat SEO techniques. And as I cannot edit these articles in order to correct them, I let their illogicality and stupidity stand on their own for a time without any edits. But in case their spaminess is not apparent, I often do not let such articles stand long.
 

 


 

 

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