What Do You Need Before Investing in a Website Designer
There are many options for creating your website. You can DIY it yourself, buy a template you then edit text and photos yourself, or invest in a website designer to help you design your custom website for you!
Before you invest in a website designer, here are some things you need.
Your Business Should Have a Clear Purpose
Be sure that at this point, you know what you are doing within your business. You will want to head into the process of working with a designer knowing what your services are.
Within the first few months of business, many changes will often occur leading to many changes to your website as well. You may realize there is a service you do or do not want to offer.
You may give it a few months until you have nailed down your niche and you will really know what you would like to portray with your business when you invest in your website designer.
Brand Identity
You will also want to have at least a vision of your brand identity and the mood you would like your business to portray. You do not need to come into working with a website designer having this nailed down perfectly. Many designers will work with you on helping to bring your vision into words or a moodboard. (LINK TO POST ON HOW TO CREATE MOODBOARD). This will help the designer know exactly what you would like your website to ultimately portray and will boost your satisfaction with the final product.
Remember you do not need your brand totally figured out, just have some sort of vision that you can work on with the designer that you choose.
You are looking for a rebrand.
If you are looking for a rebrand of your business, think about what you would like to change from what you currently have. What do you like or dislike about your current website?
Have a clear vision of this so that you can address it with the designer. From there, they can continue to work on creating the branding you are looking for within your website.
Keep in mind your budget.
Remember that working with a designer will cost more than building the website on your own. Some designers charge anywhere from $800-$10,000.
Remember that you can select a designer within your specific price range, but be sure that you have a budget set aside for this. When you are getting quotes, many designers also price based upon the amount of pages or features that you add on. This can help you to stick within the budget that you have.
Choose your Designer Carefully
There are many website designers to choose from online for many different platforms. You do not want to choose just anyone, as some may not offer everything that you think you will need for your website.
Be sure to check into the following before selecting a designer to work with.
Referrals
Look around at websites that you really like the design of. Reach out and ask them who designed their website. (Sometimes, it will even say at the bottom of their website who the designer is. )
Ask other business owner friends that you know if they have any referrals of people that they know and trust. Do your research and see if they look like a fit for you. If they may be a perfect fit, reach out to them and ask them questions to get to know them more.
Reviews and Testimonials
On their website, they will often have testimonials from other clients. Feel free to reach out to their past clients. Ask about their experience or what they thought.
Also, browse through those websites that they have built in the past and see what you think of their style. Remember the designer will still create your website based upon your vision, but seeing what they can do is very helpful in making a selection.
Timeline
Talk with the designer about the timeline that they can deliver the final product to you. If you are expecting to have your new website with a launch you are doing in a few weeks, you will want to see if the designer has the availability and what their turn around time would be for your individual project.
Complete Package
Look at their website and see everything that they offer within their package.
Do they help you do work to create a proper brand or is that something that they expect you to already know prior to working with them?
What are their prices on making small changes to the website down the road?
Do they provide tutorials on how to make small changes on your own?
Do they design on the platform that you would like to host your website on?
Look at their full package of what your investment will bring you.
Pricing
Like we discussed before, hiring a website designer is more money than designing it on your own. Talk to them about their pricing structure and receive quotes so that you can choose someone who remains within your budget.
Having your website designed for you is a bigger investment, but it also provides branded design that speaks well to potential clients and helps convert into paying clients.
We also can also assist you with building your custom Squarespace Website. If you are interested in talking more about what this process would look like for you, reach out here.
Here are some sample websites that we have created.
