How to Choose Your Web Designer
Friday, May 2nd, 2008Now you have decided you need a web designer, learn how to identify good web design and discover the best way to choose a designer.
Transcript
Slide 1: HOW TO CHOOSE YOUR WEB DESIGNER
Step 4: What to look for when you need help making your website
Slide 2
- Step 1: How to set your website goal
- Step 2: How to identify and target your market
- Step 3: How to write your content
- Do you need a web designer?
- Step 4: How to choose a web designer
- Step 5: How to choose your domain name
- Step 6: How to choose a web host
- Step 7: How to launch your website
- Why completing your website is not the end
- Step 8: How to promote your website
See the complete guide at www.realfreewebsites.com/website-plan
Slide 3
There are an ENORMOUS number of web designers to choose from So how do you choose?
Slide 4
Web designers fall between two extremes….
Slide 5
Design-oriented- Looks great
Function-oriented- Looks bad
Slide 6
Design-oriented- Works badly
Function-oriented- Works great
Slide 7
Find a designer that combines both: Design and Function
Slide 8
To assess whether a designer is any good, you first need to be able to spot:
GOOD design
Slide 9
Good design achieves the goal of the website
Design is all about communication
Does the website’s design help to convey the message?
Slide 10
Good design works well in all browsers, on all operating systems and at all screen resolutions
Test the design on different computers with different settings. Does the design still look good?
Slide 11
Good design is visually appealing to the target market
Design is not totally subjective
Certain designs will appeal more than others to the target market.
Does the target market like the design?
Slide 12
Good design is easy to use
How easy is it to find what you are looking for?
Is the navigation user-friendly?
Slide 13
Good design is fast-loading
How quickly do the pages download? -It should not be more than a few seconds
Slide 14
Good design is search engine optimized
Are there effective page titles?
Does the code contain Meta tags?
Are the internal links keywords?
Is text (not pictures) used for the important content?
Slide 15
Good design is universally accessible Is the website accessible to disabled users?
-Ask someone disabled to test the website
-Use automated testers (e.g. Cinthya Says)
Slide 16
Good design pays attention to detail
There should be nothing that looks out of place
Do all the page elements work together? E.g. Complementary colors, similar icons
Does everything on the page line up perfectly?
Slide 17
Should you hire a design freelancer or a company?
Slide 18
Freelancer:
More personalized service?
More resources?
Company:
Less expensive?
Faster service?
Slide 19
No clear distinction
Increasing overlap between freelancers and companies E.g. freelancers working together
Slide 20
Making the choice
Slide 21
Website portfolio
This is the obvious place to go to see the quality of work
Study the websites and look for evidence of good website design
Slide 22
Testimonials
Take these with a grain of salt, but it’s always good to see what others say
Consider contacting website owners through the portfolio page
Slide 23
Free Quote
Most web designers will provide you with an approximate quote for free
Ask questions and see how helpful they are
Find out what they consider important in web design
Slide 24
It is worth taking your time in choosing. A good web designer will offer in-depth knowledge and experience that will help you throughout your website development
Slide 25
You’ve now seen how to choose a web designer. This is part of a series of presentations on the process of good website design. See the complete guide at www.realfreewebsites.com/website-plan
Slide 26
Need Help? Ask the experts at guiding you through website development: www.realfreewebsites.com
May 13th, 2008 at 10:41 am
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