Anyone knowing some HTML or CSS might claim to be a website designer. However, not all of them can craft a user-friendly site.
So,how to find a good website designer who can increase your company’s online engagement?
The first thing to look for is the web designer’s UI/UX practices. Pick some past projects from their portfolio and see if those websites are interactive and user-friendly. Also, always hire someone with good collaboration skills.
Finding a good website designer in a crowded marketplace might be challenging. You can use the following discussion as a guideline while hiring.
How to Find a Website Designer?
A good website designer prioritizes user-friendliness. They create fast and interactive sites that are easy to navigate. So, UI/UX practices are the first thing you should look for in a designer’s portfolio.
However, their past project isn’t the only thing you should consider. Ensuring the designer’s willingness to collaborate with you is also important. They should communicate well and be open to feedback.
Learn how to find a good website designer by evaluating these three factors –
1. Track Record
Hire a web designer who has finished at least five projects. They must’ve built these projects from scratch or made significant contributions.
A genuinely passionate web designer would also have one or more personal portfolio websites.
You might look for certifications and educational background on their resume. However, nothing speaks more about their skills than finished projects.
Explore the websites the designer has worked on in the past. If they look closer to your company’s vision, you know you’ve found the right person for the job.
The web designer’s personal site or marketplace profile should showcase the testimonials of past clients. You might also conduct research using social media.
Do most people they have worked with in the past have good things to say? Then it’s safe to assume you will be satisfied with this web designer’s services too.
2. UI and UX Best Practices
It’s essential to find out if your web designer can build user-friendly sites. So look for their UI and UX practices in the portfolio websites.
UI or User Interface is what you interact with on a website. Things like toggles, screen icons, etc. Meanwhile, UX means User Experience. For instance, A fast-loading website means good UX.
A good designer will use a fluid grid layout. They will also implement CSS media queries to increase the site’s adjustability with different systems.
In a fluid grid, the basis of the site’s layout is percentages instead of fixed pixels. As a result, the website can easily fit the screen widths of various devices. Moreover, they work similarly well with cursors and mobile touch.
You can do a simple test to confirm whether a candidate prioritizes user-friendliness.
Pick a site from one of their past projects a visit it from various devices.
Does their mobile site feel as good as their laptop or pc site? If it does, it’s a good sign. Check for consistency in their color and typography. Call-to-action buttons need to be prominent.
The use of whitespace in a site can tell you about the web designer’s creativity. These are the empty spaces on a website. Their effective use can help visitors properly focus on your site’s products and content.
Lastly, the website should load fast on all devices with good internet. Experienced designers optimize the code and images to increase a site’s speed. A fast site will always get better engagement than a slow one.
3. Communication and Collaboration skills
A competent website designer is good at listening, speaking, and writing. Otherwise, it will be difficult for you to collaborate with them on a project.
You and your stakeholders might not necessarily be a tech-savvy crowd. Maybe you don’t have any clue about how web designing works.
So, the web designer must be a good listener who can effectively empathize with you. If they can’t, the finished project won’t reflect your company’s goals and vision.
Speaking and writing are essential qualities for the same reasons. A web designer must be able to describe his process without little to no technical jargon.
It seems unfair if the stakeholders can’t involve themselves in the project they are investing in. The web designer’s communication skills are necessary to overcome this barrier.
Things to Consider Before Hiring a Website Designer
You have to consider two things when you hire a website designer. Firstly, what kind of arrangement do you want?
For instance, you can hire a freelance or a full-time service. Agencies are another good option.
Secondly, you must know what type of designer you want. Broadly there are two types- User Experience (UX) and User Interface (UI) designers. There are also designers exclusively for graphics and visuality.
Let’s consider the pros and cons of the different working arrangements-
1. Freelancer
How to find a cheap website designer who saves you overhead costs? It’s a freelancer. They work alone and usually charge an hourly rate. You can skip the taxes and management fees that full-time agencies charge.
The cost of a freelance web designer varies widely. In the US, well-experienced designers charge around $75/hour or more. However, you can also find cheaper services at $15-$30/hour.
A good strategy is to hire web designers outside the US from freelance marketplaces. You would find that many of them offer excellent skills and experience at much lower rates.
The biggest problem with hiring freelancers is the lack of professionalism. They lack the commitment a full-time position holder has. So, they are more likely to suddenly quit a project or miss deadlines.
2. Web Designing Agency
If your company has the budget, go for a web designing agency. They offer more trustworthiness and reliability. Unlike most freelancers, agencies guarantee continued service even after the project ends.
Moreover, you are getting all your web design solutions from one place. Therefore, you don’t have to hire separately for user interface, user experience, and graphics design.
High costs are why many small business owners want to avoid web designing agencies. Designing a simple custom website costs around $15,000-$30,000.
Complex websites can cost upwards of $50,000.
3. Full Agency
Web designing is only one of the services a full agency offers. They can take care of essentially everything your websites need. Such as web development, digital marketing, SEO, content, etc.
You should seek the service of a full agency if this is the first website your company is building. It will save you the hassle of hiring each service separately.
The problem here, too, is the high cost of service. Bills can creep up to six figures for complex projects. According to their service, there are two types of web designers you can hire-
1. User Interface Designer
If you want to improve your website’s fonts, color, menu, and buttons, you need a UI designer. Their mission is to make your website more aesthetically appealing to visitors.
They will use wireframes and prototypes to illustrate their design idea. Web designers don’t need to be expert coders. However, a good UI designer would have decent Java, HTML, and CSS knowledge.
2. User Experience Designer
While a UI designer improves the appearance of your site, a UX designer increases its usability. They ensure the visitor can easily perform the various functions your website offers.
You must hire a UX designer if your customers often complain about difficulty using your site. Sometimes, you might get feedback that the website loads slowly or that the buttons and menus are unresponsive.
Where Can You Hire Website Designers?
There are several online marketplaces where you can hire freelance web designers. Agencies also use these marketplaces to find clients or redirect employees to their websites.
Hiring from these marketplaces has many advantages. For instance, you can read honest reviews and ratings for the services. You can also compare the rates of various web designers.
Some of the top sites are –
1. Upwork
This is one of the largest online marketplaces for freelancers. You can browse through hundreds of web designer profiles on this platform.
A well-maintained Upwork profile showcases the designer’s past projects and the reviews they received.
The platform provides responsive customer support and safe payment methods. You can use their Time Tracker to evaluate the progress of a project in real time.
Many young and talented freelance web designers on Upwork offer services at a $10-$25 hourly rate. More experienced and highly rated designers charge around $80/hour.
2. Fiverr
Website designers create various gigs to offer their services on Fiverr. These gigs can be as cheap as $5, depending on the scope of the job. The platform offers a money-back guarantee for unfinished projects.
Fiverr gigs can be perfect if you want to make a few improvements to your website but don’t require a full service. You can get decent web designing gigs at $50 in this marketplace.
3. 99designs
Wondering how to find a creative web designer? 99designs can be a good option for you. The platform exclusively focuses on professionals who work to increase the visual appeal of websites.
You can browse the profiles to find designers whose styles match your goals. Many talented designers on this platform can help you optimize your site’s visual elements.
Watch out for These Red Flags While Hiring Web Designers
So far, you have learned what signs indicate a candidate is a good website designer. Now take a look at this list of red flags that tells a designer isn’t up for the job-
- Their websites look flashy and beautiful but have poor functionality.
- Offers service at unimaginable cheap rates. It means they will cut corners and compromise the quality of the projects.
- They charge inconsiderably high rates. This indicates they might add unnecessary features to squeeze money out of you.
- Doesn’t have basic skills in markup languages (CSS, HTML, JS)
- A web designing company that doesn’t have a contract. Such a service is unlikely to deliver the project on time.
- Incomplete portfolio or no significant past projects to show.
- Isn’t open to feedback and collaboration.
- The web designer doesn’t promise a continued relationship once the project finishes.
- A web designer agency whose own website doesn’t rank well on Google.
Final Thoughts
A good website designing service is a rewarding investment. It can dramatically increase people’s engagement with your business. Thus, converting a greater percentage of your site’s visitors into paying customers.
Hopefully, you understand how to find a website designer.
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