Choosing a Web Designer
Enthusiam. Make sure the web designer (or web design company) is enthusiastic about your project and wants to do it. This may seem odd now, but you'll know when you speak with a few designers, who is truly interested in your company and who is interested in your sale.
Design Experience. Confirm that the web designer has the experience that you are looking for by asking for URLS of previous work. A good web designer should have about 6 solid examples that he/she is proud of in multiple industries demonstrating a variety of design styles to suit each industry. Just because a web designer has 30+ websites doesn't mean they must be good, it may simply mean the web designer works a lot and produces template-type sites.
Understand that there is no right answer when designing a website. The web designer you choose will create a website and base recommendations off of their experience. If you do not like their past work, they most likely are not a good fit for your company.
Questions. Be ready to discuss your website objectives and company goals. The most professional web designer will do more than make your site look good. The designer will need to be briefed on your current marketing strategy, how you are going to incorporate your new or newly designed website into that strategy, and how they can incorporate their design strategy into the big picture. If a web designer doesn't ask many questions, how will they be able to understand your company enough to visually differenciate your company from the marketplace?
Personality. The key to a successful relationship is mutual respect and good chemistry. Not egos, attitudes, nor technology jargon. If you like one another, you will work well together, be able to effectively communicate ideas, and have fun!
Marketing Savvy. Once the website is up and running, you have finished phase 1. Just because you have a website doesn't mean people will know how to find it. Depending on your need, there are plenty of marketing options for you to choose from. Having a savvy web designer will help make this a smooth process and the site will be already designed with marketing in mind.
