My friend and I are in the middle of trying to get up a sports-related, membership-style website.  Neither he nor I know one lick about how to design a website, so we looked around for someone to get the site up for us.  This brought me to several issues and questions that I thought would make for a good blog post. 

Where do you look for website designers?  How do you settle on one?  What factors do you use to select a designer or a company?  How do you wade through all the puffery and sales talk?

Here are 6 tips for finding a good website designer:

1) Familiarize yourself with key terms and topics.  To select the right designer or developer, you need to help them understand what you want.  In this regard, it helps if you can define what you need.  So familiarize yourself with words like “database,” “interface,” “data integration,” “visual design,” etc.  A certain level of understanding of these words and related concepts will help you communicate with potential designers.  The crucial element in figuring out which designer is best for your business is helping them understand whether or not they can get the job done. 

2) Review a designer’s prior work.  This is a no-brainer.  When you hire a nanny, you usually call and consult references.  When you apply to rent an apartment, the landlord will call your previous landlords and find out whether or not you were a good tenant.

Do your homework.  When you visit a website design company’s site closely review and examine its past work.  When you talk to a designer, ask to see their prior work.  Put in the effort.  That way, there will be no surprises in the end.

3) When reviewing a designer’s prior work, don’t be fooled by an attractive website.  Just because a site looks attractive doesn’t mean it works for you.  A site can be one heck of a flashy adventure, but the interface might be horrible.  It’s like falling for the good-looking jock who doesn’t have any brains. 

A website needs to function adequately and efficiently.  So don’t just look at its visual design.  Click on various links and items.  See how the website works.  If it sells a product or service, are those products or services laid out well.  Is the site clear?  Is it easy to purchase them?  Is it user-friendly?   

4) Use word of mouth.  My friend and I found a designer through an organization my friend was a part of.  He had seen his work, liked it, and suggested we talk to him.  Often, this is the best way to go.  A recommendation from a friend, acquaintance, or business associate is an effective way of finding someone because you get an honest and fair assessment of that person’s work.  You can also use word of mouth to find out how to find a designer or design company.   

5) Interview potential designers.  A telephone or face-to-face meeting is crucial in this process.  I prefer face-to-face.  You have to feel out and figure out the person or persons you might eventually hire.  This helps you get a sense of a person or company’s knowledge, work ethic, competence, ability to address challenges, and diligence.  Just because a lot of business is transacted over the Internet nowadays doesn’t mean that you should do everything over e-mail.  The ol’ face-to-face meeting and telephone conversations are still a priority and help build a long-lasting relationship.

6) Do online research.  Once you have narrowed down your potential designers or design companies, Google them or research them online via other methods (like social networking websites or LinkedIn).  Find out what others have had to say about them and what kinds of reputations (if any) they may have.

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