TIPS

If you decide to employ a web designer to create a website or page for you or your business it is important that you have a clear understanding of what your site can achieve and what features and products you should have included in the package. The design you decide upon should be a good advertisement for yourself, the services you offer or the business you run, and should do everything it can to bring in the customers and clients.

First of all, make sure you and your web designer understand what you want from the design process. Be clear in your specifications – ask for features you like or give examples you’ve seen elsewhere. If you want a particular graphic or style of layout, make sure you ask for it. If you want your site to be designed so that you can update it easily using a particular program or item of software, make sure you discuss the best solution for your needs with your designer (it may be a simple matter of uploading a system such as Word Press).

Another common problem experienced once a web design has been completed is that the client expects to automatically have hits (visits) to their site. If you want your designer to work on some advertising and search engine listings as part of the design process it is important to mention this from the outset. In some cases you may need to hire an internet advertising or search engine optimisation specialist rather than asking your web designer to do this for you.