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Looking for a web designer? Find a professional web designer easily

By Marc Carson · Monday July 22, 2013

When you’re planning your next website project, it’s important to find a web designer who has a knowledge of current design and marketing trends. In my work as a web designer, I routinely come across people with website design projects who need help, and struggle to find it.

How NOT to find a professional web designer

• Issue a press release (few will read it)
• Send out an RFP for your project (unless you are required to). I have ignored many, many RFPs because they are often written in an ignorant way. Don’t do it!
• Ask family members (“your nephew is in high school but he is GREAT!”)
• Make unusual demands (working nights or weekends, for example—there is a lot of demand for web designers, so they’ll go elsewhere)
• Hire directly after an email conversation (meet in person, call them. See how responsive they are.)

OK, I’ll admit that was fun to write. I put all the annoyances out on the table. But what should you be doing then?

How to find a professional

Here’s a simple method that gets great results:

1. Write down your needs. Be as simple as possible. This person will be creating technology for you, so you should be open to different types of approaches.
2. Ask for recommendations from other professionals.
3. Google the names you were given. If they don’t show up in a Google search, this could be a bad sign unless the name is extremely common.
4. Look at each candidate’s work. Actually attempt to use a few of the websites in their portfolio. Did the websites behave the way you expected?
5. Is the candidate practicing what they preach? Is their website comfortable to read? Does it contain interesting content?
6. Talk to the candidates in person or on the phone. Briefly discuss your needs and ask them how they usually proceed from here. Tell them you are looking around but want someone who is reliable, responsive, and available for X amount of work (an initial project plus so many hours of consultation a month, or whatever you feel you may need.).

Be prepared to hear different approaches to your project. This is a new, fresh market compared to, say, choosing a plumber. Many professional web designers pride themselves on honing their approach over time, so you might find that two designers have completely different ways of doing things.

Now is also a good time to ask whether they provide training, consulting, and other services that you may need down the road.

What if they ask about my budget?

A web designer usually asks about your budget because they want to know:

• How serious you are about whatever you’re doing
• Whether you are committed to your marketing
• What kind of solution is most realistic for your needs

If you ask someone to pitch a project without even allowing them to know the ballpark for your budget, you are already in trouble. Do some simple market research, explain how you arrived at your ballpark, and tell them you can be flexible. If you can’t be flexible, be prepared to work with a less-experienced web designer. One of the greatest risks here is the fact that web designers are in demand, and by discriminating mainly on price you are unintentionally excluding candidates who provide high quality or reliability.

Of course, my own slant is visible here: I don’t believe cheap, low-quality websites are worth it at any cost. But I have built inexpensive, high-quality websites for people who knew their budget and wanted the best they could get.