Find a Web Designer near you
The average rating for Bark Web Designers is 4.91, based on 257,304 reviews
5/5
based on 257,304 reviews
You’re ready for your first website – congratulations! But finding the right Web Design agency or freelancer to build your website can feel daunting. You want someone who understands your business goals but also the personality of your company. It can be hard to find the right balance of expertise and creative flair.
If you’re a business owner, it’s highly likely your day is structured around multiple important tasks you need to complete. With lots on your plate, understandably, time is a hugely valuable asset. Hiring an external Web Designer is a great way of utilising another professional’s expertise, to allow you to concentrate on the other elements on your to-do-list.
Furthermore, unless you’ve got relevant qualifications or previous experience in this sector, you may not have the full and necessary skill-set to design a site, which will help you to effectively achieve your key business objectives.
Below are 8 tips to consider, when finding a Website Designer to suit your business:
High quality portfolio
Website maintenance
SEO knowledge
Responsive design skills
Proven CMS experience
Budget
Timeline
Genuine reviews
When you’re hiring someone to design your website, you want to be sure they can deliver. Luckily, most Web Designers showcase a portfolio of their past projects on their website. You can also check to see whether they have experience building websites within your industry.
Even if they don’t have direct experience in your sector, by looking through their portfolio, you should be able to get a good idea of whether they work in a specific style which you like, and ensure their work is up to your standards.
When hiring a Web Designer, be sure to ask questions concerning if there will be extra or additional charges to keep your site updated or maintained.
It’s likely you’ll want to have the option to adapt or change parts of your website at some point, as your business develops and grows. Some designers will have stipulations regarding ‘site maintenance’, so it’s better to be clear from the outset what your contract with the designer fully entails, and whether routine updates or changes are going to cost you considerably more.
The reason companies typically decide to launch a website is to get their brand noticed and increase their customer base. A good web design company will have an in-depth knowledge of the latest SEO (Short of ‘Search Engine Optimisation’) tactics, giving your website a great start when it comes to getting ranked on search engines such as Google.
It’s always a good idea to look at the Web Designer’s own website. If they’re ranked highly by the search engines, you’ll know that they’ve got a strong working knowledge of SEO principles which they can apply to your website.
According to Statista, over half of website traffic comes from mobile devices. A mobile-friendly website design isn’t good enough though – what you really want is a responsive website design. A responsive design will look great no matter what device it’s viewed on, whether that’s a 50” smart TV, a pocket-sized mobile phone or even a tablet.
Again, you can test this out with the Web Designer’s own website, along with any other examples in their portfolio. Try viewing them on any devices you own to check that they have implemented a responsive web design.
A content management system (CMS) allows you to create, edit, organise and publish your web content without needing to know any programming. This means that you can upload your own content without needing to consult a web developer every time, saving you money in the future.
If you want functionality like blogs or a news section which will require frequent updates, look for a Web Designer who has experience using a CMS such as WordPress or Wix. If your business is e-commerce, an e-commerce management system like WooCommerce or OpenCart would be ideal.
Do your research and know what you’re looking to spend to get your website designed to match your expectations. You can reach out to different agencies and freelancers to collect a number of quotes for consideration.
Check to see whether the design and creation of your site is outsourced, or in-house, and use all of this information to help inform your decision on which designer or design team to choose. You can expect to pay anywhere from £400 for a small and simple design, through to £5,000 for more complex and larger websites. For more of an in-depth guide at how much you can look to spend when you hire a Web Designer, you can find out more in our handy price guide.
There may be some Web Designers who are able to design and create a website in a matter of days, while others may work to longer timelines, where it could take weeks or even months, depending on the detail or complexity of your brief.
Be transparent in your conversations regarding your key objectives and business trajectory, with the Web Designer you choose to hire. You don’t want your business to suffer because you’ve not factored in an accurate timeline of when to expect access to your website.
Most Web Designers will feature testimonials on their website which they have uploaded from their happy customers. However, it’s always a good idea to look for some impartial reviews of the company too so that you can be sure they’re genuine.
Sites like TrustPilot are great for checking impartial reviews. Alternatively, you can hire your Web Designer on a site like Bark, where you can see genuine reviews from all of their previous customers.
If you’re ready to get started with designing your website, find a Web Designer on Bark.
The average rating for Bark Web Designers is 4.91, based on 257,304 reviews
5/5
based on 257,304 reviews
Not sure how much it costs to design and build a website? Read our handy guide to find out just how much a website design service will charge based on your location, the complexity of the website, and more!
