Whether you're
building a website or a blogsite, the investment in a designer can be fairly
significant. It's at this point that many service business owners decide to cut
costs and have their 16-year old nephew design their site. This works out well
until something breaks (with technology, it's never a question of IF it will
break, only WHEN) and your nephew is out of touch because he just started his
first year of college and can't be bothered. What are you going to do?
To run an online business, your website is your key to success. People arrive
on your doorstep (site) like they might in a retail establishment, and decide
within 5 seconds if they're going to stay and look around or if they're going to
leave. It pays to invest some money in your site, as your site is the first
stop on the like, know and trust journey that prospects experience with you.
You need to be perceived as legitimate, as a "real" business, and as the
solution to the problems that ail your prospective clients. If you're not able
to design your own site, an experienced website designer can help finesse this
relationship with your visitors.
How can you determine if your designer will create a site that you like and is
useful? I've heard many horror stories over the years about the experiences
that services business owners have had regarding the creation and maintenance of
their websites. Here are 5 critical questions that you should have answered
before hiring a web designer:
1. Site Ownership. First and foremost, you should ask if you own the
final version of your site and the graphic source files. I've discovered that
many web designers do NOT work on a work-for-hire basis. Instead, they maintain
the copyright to the design of your site, so if you don't want to use that same
company for site updates and maintenance, for example, they will not release any
source files to another designer. Consequently, you will have to pay to have
your site redesigned all over again. At the very least you should obtain a
license to use the files in perpetuity and be able to make revisions to them in
the future. This same rule applies to any special fonts or special applications
developed for the site.
A second key issue in site ownership is ownership of your domain name. If your
site design includes purchasing the domain name for your site, be sure that your
domain's purchase is credited to you and registered to you as the administrative
and technical contact. Many times the web design company registers your domain
name and lists themselves as the contact, or actually purchases the domain and
is considered the owner. At that point it becomes almost impossible to get your
username and password for the account should you need to make any changes to
your domain registration or to even prove ownership. Purchase your domain
BEFORE beginning any work on a website.
2. Ongoing maintenance and hosting. Secondly, determine if you will be
locked into a maintenance contract or hosting contract with the designer. Are
they using any special software or application that will tie you to a particular
type of hosting service? This may not be problematic for you initially, but
ensure that you've got the flexibility to change your mind in case the design
company is sold, for example, and dramatically increases their prices. Once the
site is up, can you buy a program, like Adobe Contribute, for example, and do
simple site updates yourself or must you use their company for any updates?
3. Experience with similar companies. Thirdly, take a look at their
portfolio and be sure you like their previous work and that they have experience
in web design for companies like yours. Call 1-2 of their clients (from the
portfolios) and ask the client how easy the design company was to work with and
how satisfied they are with the final product.
4. Marketing experience. Many web designers are simply that -- great
web designers. They can make your site sit up and bark and run around in
circles, if you like. However, the newest, coolest, showiest and flashiest
technology is oftentimes NOT what you need to bring you the most traffic, get
your site found in search engines, and convert prospects to customers. Don't
fall for the glitz and glam that you see in a designer's portfolio. The best
sites are simpler sites with a clean design and distinct marketing elements,
like a clear call to action as seen in an email list signup box. If you can
find a designer who excels at both design and marketing, you have found a gem
whom you need to hold onto.
5. Return on investment (ROI). Asking a designer about the ROI for
their clients is somewhat sneaky. In essence, what you're doing is determining
their longevity (will they still be in business tomorrow), as well as their
followup strategy in terms of staying in touch with clients to see how their
businesses are doing. A web designer who stays in touch is one who's concerned
about your success and is one that is much more likely to create a website that
will produce profitable results for you.
The creation of your online presence can be a very expensive failure that takes
much longer than anticipated. Don't let yourself be the next victim! Before
hiring a website designer, make sure s/he answers these questions to your
satisfaction, and you'll be on the path to a profitable relationship with a
talented professional who can help your online business grow.
WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this blurb with it: Online Business Resource Queen (TM) and Online Business Coach Donna Gunter helps independent service professionals learn how to automate their businesses, leverage their expertise on the Internet, and get more clients online. To claim your FR*EE gift, TurboCharge Your Online Marketing Toolkit, visit her site at OnlineBizU.com. Ask Donna an Internet Marketing question at AskDonnaGunter.com.
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