Right here are some ideas in locating the right folks for the job and a few considerations to be taken into account.
1. Introduction
Many companies appear for any web designer as though they had been searching for a common commodity item such as a light bulb – i.e. All websites are equal and paying the 16 year old student on a personal computer course to construct the site will reap exactly the identical dividend as paying a specialist web development advertising agency malaysia. Other organizations often really feel they have to devote thousands upon a large number of pounds on a website for it to become productive.
Let us dispel these myths
Contrary to what numerous think, web design is only one component within the production of your website. Some web designers can talk day and night about how pretty your web site may be, but if it is not functional, user-friendly, or capable of assisting you meet your online goals, then all of the superficial beauty within the world isn’t going to assist it serve it’s objective. The design theme of a website is only a single component of developing a productive online presence.
Choosing a Web Designer is not an easy job! – Here are some suggestions…
There is a lot more to web design than just creating several web pages appear fairly if you’d like to succeed. You’ll need to think about your target audience, underlying message, content, desired responses, visitor impact, online goals, how you’re going to measure the achievement of the site and much more. There is so much a lot more to web design than just producing a few web pages appear quite
2. Defining Your Specifications
If you have no thought why you want a website or what you would like the website to achieve, it’s also to sit down and feel it by means of, rather than rushing to place up a “White elephant” that doesn’t serve a purpose. Each and every website need to serve a goal, and that is typically exactly where numerous websites falls brief. They serve no objective because the website owner by no means gave significantly believed to it. It really is not the website’s fault. A website is inanimate. It is only what you make it. The only life a website has may be the one offered to it by its designer and owner. If the human element doesn’t do a great job of defining the building blocks, the website will serve no purpose and eventually die a digital death. Each and every website must possess a distinct objective With that in thoughts, we’d suggest the very first stage would be to define the “Goals” of the website in relation towards the specifications and aspirations from the business or organisation involved.
Defining the Aim
Each website should possess a distinct aim or quantity of objectives that are measurable. A aim could be anything from communicating with buddies and associates through to creating income by selling goods or services online (e commerce). Your goal within the first instance may even be to possess a web presence so potential clients do not regard your organisation as getting backward! As soon as you’ve got defined a goal (or quantity of goals), it’s equally essential to define:
The target audience. i.e. Who you want/expect to visit your website.
The actions you would like to outcome from their go to. i.e. Making an online sale, acquiring them to make an inquiry and so on.
What advantages you are providing and receiving from having the website.
Defining the Key Functions (The actions)
As soon as the targets from the website happen to be established, it really is crucial to define the actions necessary by site visitors to meet the objectives. An action is any traceable sequence of events carried out by the finish user.
Examples may well consist of:
Getting in touch – either by phone, e mail or by way of an online form.
Disseminating Info.
Signing up for any newsletter.
Finishing a questionnaire
Commenting on a Blog
Downloading or buying goods
Using an online tool
Of course, you will find other intangible benefits that your website may well supply to an finish user that do not lead to direct “actions”… i.e. simply offering “peace of mind” to an current or potential consumer would be deemed as such. Should you haven’t currently done so, then it is also beneficial to take a look at the competitors, for tips, likes and dislikes.
Establishing Your Design & Development Preferences
Once you have formulated the goals and functional needs for the website, it really is time to start building a picture of how you anticipate the site coming together – with regard to structure and design theme. This doesn’t must be a definitive exercise – Your web designer should be able to add a lot of input and suggestions at a later stage, but it helps to have some ideas to feed into the specifications you approach the designer with in the first instance.
As follows are several that we really feel must be mandatory:
The website should adhere to recognised standards. The site must be written to conform and validate for the standards defined by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) – this will in turn, mean your site must be cross-browser friendly (i.e. Appear the same across various different types of web browser).
The website ought to be accessible. In web terms, this means that it conforms for the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA).
The website ought to be clean, crisp and fast loading.
The website should be simple to use and inoffensive (see below).
Our Tip: Straightforward to use and Inoffensive – The WOW factor
Webbies often get asked to produce a website with the “WOW factor”. The “WOW factor” is a term that means different things to different folks. Often, the person or business commissioning the website have grandiose plans for extensive animation, splash screens, cartoons, garish designs… This is not the WOW factor – A bold garish design with “off the wall” colour schemes could seem bold and innovative to some folks, but may really place off other site users – Find the happy medium.
If a person wants to buy a pair of shoes online then their mission is basically to find the desirable pair of shoes at the proper price in the quickest possible time. They don’t pay a visit to an e-commerce site to watch an animation of shoes tap dancing across the screen. Leave cartoons and needless animation that add zero value to those experts in their own field. Individuals watch the Simpsons for that type of entertainment. They likely won’t be visiting your website for (or be impressed by) to become “dazzled” by irrelevant attempts to stand out.
Our own interpretation of the “WOW factor” is a site that is very simple to use, clean, crisp, user friendly, fast loading with great content. Basically, the site that delivers it really is underlying message quickly and concisely is the most effective. Google has the WOW Factor and you don’t see slow loading animation on that website. The WOW factor must mean Winning on the Web and nothing else.
Ok, so you’ve mapped out some objectives and needs… time to start looking for the proper guys to go ahead and implement the solution for you.
3. Selecting a Web Designer / Developer
Initially, the best place to begin is by putting together a shortlist of designers. You might choose to do this in any number of ways but here are some suggestions that you may wish to factor in:
The location of the prospective designer. This may or could not be a factor for you. Some people are happy to work remotely and others prefer some face to face interaction. When the latter is essential to you, then you will have to focus on designers in your local area.
The designer’s portfolio. This is usually a important factor in any shortlisting process. You might choose to favour designers who have worked specifically inside the sector you’re targeting, or you could just like other unrelated websites they’ve developed.
Independent Word of mouth recommendation. You might have received glowing reports on particular designers and their after-sales service. Don’t overlook this.
The size in the company. Generally speaking, the size of the company provides you with little concept to the quality or work they can produce or the services they can provide. Some SMEs prefer to work on a much more personal level with smaller providers or freelance designers with larger corporates preferring the opposite.
The cost – Most professional web designers tend to produce work on a bespoke basis, tailored uniquely for each client – and the vast majority do not publish prices. (We do). However, an initial discussion must be able to supply you with a “ball park” figure at least based on your needs outline. Some designers are also able to provide cost-effective “out in the box” solutions at a fixed price.
Tip: Get a fixed price quote rather than an hourly rate. Let’s face it… an hourly or daily rate is meaningless as a measuring stick when your consider it might take a single designer twice as long as another to complete exactly the same job.
Web designers will typically showcase previous work on their own websites, but be sure to consider that they are gearing a site’s design and structure to needs presented by another party that likely won’t match your own. It is much more important that you might be confident that they can implement your solution than perhaps reading too much into other design work that you might not necessarily like.
Another consideration you might ought to take into account will be the attitude a designer shows when you first make contact. You can frequently gauge whether they are genuinely interested inside the project and whether they are going to be proactive – and if they can offer a high level of support. Designers not offering a landline telephone quantity or a business address might be harder to contact when you’ll need them the most. Trust your instincts and exercise common sense.
Tip: Don’t base everything on price and make sure you compare “like” with “like”. Also, do not be afraid to share your budget with the designers during initial discussions and then see what they can deliver within it. Time is frequently wasted if you are discussing the project over days or weeks and then end up becoming miles apart on pricing expectations.
The much more info you give furnish the designer with, relating to your objectives, specifications and design preferences, the better. Also make sure that you discuss timescales and payment schedules (most designers will ask for a deposit upfront and a final balance payment when the project is completed. There could also be interim payment milestones for larger projects). Additionally, enquire about any recurring charges for support, future amends, web hosting, domains and so on. Neither party will want hidden surprises.
4. Questions You will be Asked
It’s always better to be prepared when you approach web designers… they will also have their own queries to establish a the specifications, gauge the work involved and furnish you with a quote.
Typical questions you may be asked include the following:
What does your company do?
What are the Unique Selling Points that your company has to offer?
What is the goal in the website?
How do you see the website evolving inside the future?
Do you’ve got any current branding? i.e. Logo, colour schemes or other marketing materials?
Who are your competitors?
Do you require e commerce or an online payment mechanism?
Can you provide links to other websites that you like from a design perspective?
Can you offer links to other websites that you like from a functionality perspective? (i.e. How they work)
What is your budget? Never be afraid to disclose a budget figure – it can aid a lot.
In the event you aren’t able to get an immediate quote, request that the designer gets back to you and establish a timescale for this to happen. As you can probably tell, choosing a web designer is not necessarily a straightforward process if you are seeking the proper fit for your project. The a lot more detailed research and preparation that you carry out, the better.
5. Going ahead
When you make a decision on proceeding with a designer, make sure to get the quote in writing and make sure the it’s clear that the copyright in the website is yours when completed. Ensure all charges (including any future and/or recurring charges) are spelled out to avoid any ambiguity and problems further down the line.
Ideally, once you wish to proceed, your web developer must create a test web address, where you can monitor ongoing development and provide feedback throughout.
Part of a wider strategy
Your website should integrate with and complement your other marketing activities. Promote your site address where you can. Consider putting it on your business cards, stationery, merchandise, delivery vans, carrier bags, customer receipts and on your shop front. Drive folks to your website through online adverts, search engine marketing and active offline promotion.