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Find a web designer or else...

'Find web designer' - that's what many people type into a search engine when they need a web site built or redesigned.

When looking for a web designer online, you're sure to come across a variety of articles or eBooks on what to look for. We even have one here - How To Choose Your Web Designer.

After searching around the web to see what others were claiming you need to know, I realized that how we work here at The Site Builders is very, very different from how most other web developers do their job.

In fact, we stress so many aspects of your online marketing besides just the design, you may not consider us so much of a web design company as you do an online marketing company.

That's because we truly value and understand just how effective your web site can be in growing your business and building your bottom line.

In my research I found one site that is somewhat well-known for being an authority of various aspects of the web. There's an article on their site by a web designer and it seemed to disagree with how we approach web projects so , I felt compelled to hack it to pieces right before your very eyes.

Here's an example of some of the questions your prospective web designer is apparently supposed to ask you to be seriously considered for your project...

- What kind of info do you want on the site?
- How big do you think your site will be?
- Who are your users?
- Do you know which operating system and browser they are using?
- Will your site require any regular updates?
- Would you like to make the changes or updates yourself?
- Will you be selling something online?
- Do you need a database to store and retrieve data?
- Do you want to rely on search engines to send your site traffic?
- When do you need to get the job done?
- What is your budget?

These questions aren't what most business owners know the answers to. So it's easy for the business owner to go with their personal opinions or limited understanding and tell a designer what they want - whether it is what they need or not.

This type of questioning also, whether intended or not, can be a form of manipulating the client and maing them stupid. Clients don't appreciate this tactic and it's a good way to lose a project if you're not careful.

Let's look at these individually and see why I think they are largely invalid until the project is started and in the planning phase - not part of the analysis of whether a designer is right for you or not.

What kinds of information do you want on the site? How big do you think your site will be?

Most businesses answering the first part of this question, will answer it from having looked at their competition and assuming doing something similar is the right thing to do. WRONG.

This will only help you blend in with everyone else fighting online for the same customers and clients. Sure, do what you need to keep up, but always look at what you can do to differentiate as a priority.

The second part of this question is even more off track: How big do you think your site will be?

Most businesses will give an arbitrary answer if they have an answer at all. Your site needs to be as big as it takes to fulfill its' purpose - and it probably needs to grow to sustain that purpose.

It doesn't need to be tiny because you think that's an easy way out.

What if your visitors are expecting more? In that case what you want wouldn't align with what they want, and that's why they leave you and go looking for your competitors.

Who are your users? Do you know which operating system and browser they are using?

What kind of question is this?!? Your VISITORS should be your prospective customers and clients. Duh.

If they are not or you don't know or you're not sure, then part of your web site solution is to find out.

Again, the second part of the questions is sillier than the first: Do you know which operating system and browser they are using?

Of course, as a business owner you spend most of your day trying to figure this out, right! Ha! As if you have the time for such things...

Even businesses with established web design departments and staff, know they get a variety of browser usage - that's a given. But either way, the solution involves building a site that will work for all the major browsers.

There - problem solved.

Will your site require regular updates? Would you like to make changes yourself?

A business web site should be updated regularly - end of story. The days of setting and forgetting the online presence of your company are long, long gone.

Your prospective designer shouldn't ask you this, they should EMPHASIZE this.

And for the second half of this question, we FINALLY see a spark of logic. Would you like to make changes yourself?

This is definitely a good question to ask because if you, the business owner, or your staff isn't up to the task, someone needs to do it - and if the designer does it for you, it will most likely cost you at least a little.

Will you be selling something?

Uh oh...we're back to the brain dead questions already...

Of course you are selling something - you're a business, right?

Every business that's in business to make money is selling something. You may not be making a transaction online, but you are selling something, right?

But let's break this down even further...

What you're really selling is for a person to take the first step with you. Very, very few of your prospect will buy on first contact. So you're really just selling the NEXT step.

After that you're selling additional steps as needed until the prospect is ready to make a purchase - either online of offline. And your web site can and should be an integral part of making this happen regardless of where you deliver your products or services and where you take payment for them.

But most designers never consider this. They think selling online means you need a shopping cart and a credit card processing account.

Do you need a database to store and retrieve data?

As a client, how can I expect you to know this? Of course, if the project is a redesign of an existing project involving a database, I should know this answer already.

And if you are not yet using a database, I should be prepared to explain the pros and cons based on your needs, not ask whether you think you need one or not.

My job as a developer is to present solutions and explain the benefits and features of each possible scenario. Then based on your budget, a projected timeline for your project needing to be completed and a variety of other pertinent issues, help you to conclude what would be your best choices.

Do you want to rely on search engines to send your site traffic?

Who doesn't want search engines to send them traffic? This no-brainer should be included as part of the package.

The real question here is, If we can show you how to advertise online and have it pay for itself, would you want to consider that as a form of traffic generation?"

This, too may seem like a no-brainer, but whenever it comes to spending my client's money, I never assume they will agree with me. Besides, I treat their funds more reverently than I treat my own, so it's always appropriate to ask a client if they want to consider an expenditure if you can help them make it profitable.

Just be prepared to back up your mouth.

When do you need to get the job done?

Here we go...another good question to ask - but it could be better.

What if the question was, "Do you need your site to reinforce or align with any upcoming other marketing that you may be doing or planning?

If the client is doing a trade show or has an ad running in the newspaper, the web site should be involved. If the President or CEO is speaking at a special event or a press release is about to hit the media, the web site needs to be involved.

Most designers don't think beyond their vision and their vision is usually only the design work, not the effectiveness of the overall end result.

What is your budget?

This question is only good for those people who go shopping for a car or a home or a week-long cruise without researching what they cost in general first. The problem with this question is it asks for an arbitrary answer that will be used to judge parameter that are not yet established.

Aside from that, the question IS good in that it asks to see if you have any idea what a web site costs to create. But as the client you should ask this question back - before answering their questions.

Ask, "Shouldn't the budget be based on what we're getting, how long it takes you to produce it, and how much responsibility you'll be taking to make sure it works not just to pay for itself in short order, but also to generate revenue, by creating leads, sales and more profit streams for our business?

That question will know most designers off their chair. In fact, when you mention 'taking responsibility', most will never talk to you again after that meeting. That's because most don't want to be held accountable for their web work producing measurable results in your business.

They don't know how to make it happen because they are designers, not marketers.

So if you opened a browser window to your favorite search engine and typed in, "Find web designer", and landed on a web page with this type of questionnaire, would you be impressed with how effective they might be at delivering a real online solution for your business?

But wait, there's more...

After that list there were a few more paragraphs of text in the article and then a new set of questions that you're supposed to ask yourself as you browse the designer's sample sites...

- Is it very easy to find info and to get back where you started?
- Do you like the site's navigation system?
- Are the pages accessible (with no broken links)?
- Is the page layout and overall design consistent?
- Are there Contact and Site map pages and can they be found easily?
- Is there enough relevant info on the site (eg. details about the company, their location, what they do, their staff, their policies, etc.)?
- Are things aligning properly?
- Is the text easy to read?
- Do the pages load fast?
- Is the page text short, so it's not necessary to scroll horizontally, and there's little or no vertical scrolling?
- Are there links that open onto the same page?
- Is there a portfolio the public can view?
- Does the site include any technical background or history on the designer?
- Does the site use the right colors?
- Are all the page titles appropriate and informative?

The author of the article says that hopefully the answers to the above questions will be 'yes'. This designer doesn't stop to think that there may extremely good reasons why some of these answers should actually be 'no'.

Even worse, because the answers to these questions are totally subjective with every site having different parameters and reasons why it functions as it does, you are apparently supposed to be able to accurately judge any sample a designer's portfolio based on the same design criteria and functionality issues across the board.

Here are my answers to these wonderful questions...

Is it very easy to find info and to get back where you started?

The real question is, are you analyzing the site from the viewpoint of a visitor who is looking for answers to their problems or questions, or are you looking at the site as if you are buying it?

Site info should direct visitors down a path toward a result. site info should be strategic, not random, and not arbitrary 'brochure' text.

Do you like the site's navigation system?

It's not whether you or I 'like' anything about the site. Of course, no one wants an ugly-looking site - that's a given. But whether you like it or not, whether WE like it or not, it's not about what we like.

It's about whether or not it gets the visitor to do what we need the visitor to do.

Does the visitor get where they need to go to make a buying decision or take the first of many steps toward a buying decision?

Does the navigation control where the visitor goes to guide them where we want them to be?

It's not about what we 'like'.

Are the pages accessible (with no broken links)?

If the site you happen to be looking at has a broken link, how will you know it it happened just now or last year? What if the business who owns the site just now made a mistake in their updating of some of the pages and broke a link in the process? It

Is the page layout and overall design consistent?

How do you know to judge this? If there is an inconsistency, would you recognize why and whether it was done on purpose or accident?

Are there Contact and Site map pages and can they be found easily?

Good question. These are essential.

Is there enough relevant info on the site (eg. details about the company, their location, what they do, their staff, their policies, etc.)?

This is a marketing question in disguise. There are two basic types of sites. One is the standard 'brochure site' that most businesses have that does very little for their bank account. For a brochure site, yes, you do want general company information - that is expected from a standard business site.

For the other type of business site, you want as little of this info as possible because it detracts from the goals of the site.

Are things aligning properly?

What 'things'? Is this possibly another ambiguous question? Yes, menu items and text areas need to be aligned, but this is such a vague and general question it usually answers itself immediately - as soon as you see the page. You don't need to be told to look for this.

Consider this...what if things were not aligned properly and because of it, the site generated sales and leads and profits by the truckload?

Would you give a flip if "things aligning properly" or not?

Again, this is 'design viewpoint' question, not a 'results-oriented' one.

Is the text easy to read?

Also a good question - essential.

Do the pages load fast?

This is another relative question based on your own computer setup, but still one to consider. Ten to eighteen seconds should be the max, with only a few exceptions (determined by what a given page is supposed to do).

Is the page text short, so it's not necessary to scroll horizontally, and there's little or no vertical scrolling?

Again, how much text is on the page is determined by what the text needs to do. This article will continue until the point I'm making is fully made. I won't write a short article just to have a short article - especially on a subject as important as this.

(By the way, I do write short articles, too).

Are there links that open onto the same page?

These questions seem to be going into the realm of you needing to be a web designer or web master yourself to be able to choose who to work with. That's crazy!

If you see a bunch of crappy sites with broken links and messed alignment in someone's online portfolio, just leave.

Is there a portfolio the public can view?

Why this question wasn't the first one asked, I don't know. I didn't write the original questions.

Does the site include any technical background or history on the designer?

Call me stupid, but this info only goes so far when it comes to being able to create a site that puts more money in your bank account. Few technical experts have real marketing know-how.

Does the site use the right colors?

Just what are the 'right' colors? This is another question that is totally based on each individual site. If you as a business client knew all these answers and could spot all this in an instant, you'd be doing your own site.

Are all the page titles appropriate and informative?

This is a trick question that apparently tricked the author. Page titles can be the title in the browser that is vital for how the search engines rate that page, or the page title on the body copy.

The average prospective client following these questions doesn't know exactly what is being referred to here, much less the real value of asking the question in the first place.

The author goes on to mention additional considerations including whether you go with a freelancer or a larger company, the pricing and possible guarantees, references, etc. These are definitely issues to also consider.

The REAL questions to to be asking...

The problem I have with most of the questions I've covered is that you are expected to know what you are doing when you ask those questions. And you can't possibly know the correct answers to most of those unless you are already a web designer of have managed the production of a few web site projects. They are highly subjective.

If I was a business owner or manager, I'd ask more hard-hitting questions.

If I'm paying real money for great results, I'd let the designer ask all their questions first. When they were done I'd ask if they had any other questions before I ask mine.

Then I'd ask...

- Can we get a site that will help us make more money?

- If so, how will what you create for us make us more money?

- How many streams of income can we expect to be getting from the site you create for our company?

- How much work will it take on our part to help you get it created and then to maintain it afterwards?

- Will you train us in keeping the site up-to-date ourselves?

- Will you be providing a timetable or schedule for production of the site that we can hold you to?

- If you don't keep the schedule, will you be charging us the same pricing?

- Will you be around after the project is completed in case we have problems and need additional work?

- How can you ensure this?

- Will there be any additional fees that come out of nowhere after the project starts?

- Will your work include the search engine optimization and submissions to the major search engines, or will that be something we have to pay extra for after the project is done?

- When were you going to tell me about this?

Do I sound cynical or abrasive? I hope so, because I am - but only in this regard...

I'm really tired of getting phone calls from visitors to this site who are looking for web design solutions - not because they are wanting help, but because web designers are still running this crap on unsuspecting clients and their clients don't know any better.

By the time I get the call, I'm told they've spent $2,000 or $10,000, or more, and got diddly squat. They need their site done over, but they don't have any money now.

Sorry Charlie, I give at the office.

Or even worse, they tell me, "We just found your site and realized that the designer we're working with right now is clueless because it's taking forever and we really don't understand what's going on. What do we do?"

In many cases, there's not much they can do to avoid paying the designer at least something for their trouble. I gladly give callers my advice, but I can't get between them and their designer until the project has been settled or finished.

Face it, most designers are designers. That's either what they are trained to do or what they've learned on their own after buying a computer and off-the-shelf software.

There's tons to learn in this area to become even fairly proficient, but no matter how you look at it, most of it is still not 'online marketing'.

It's visual 'design'.

Don't blame them for not being marketers, but don't pay them as if they are, either.

You can't expect to get marketing results from a designer because that just doesn't happen in the greatest majority of the cases.

What can you do?

The next time you type "find web designer" in a search engine, be willing to ask the hard questions. It's your money at stake, not the designers' and chances are, you won't find the answers to match your questions at their web sites.

If nothing else, be wary of designers who don't focus on the bottom line of your site - that is, how the site will pay for itself, AND how it will generate additional income for your business for years to come.

The days of having a nice-looking, nicely designed web site that will do anything really valuable for your business are long gone.

If you think an attractive web site is all it take to convince people to do business with you, you're dreaming. Sure, you may get some inquiries, but you have no idea what you're missing out on.

If you think a 'brochure site' is going to cut it nowadays, you're about 5 years behind the times. Your smarter, wiser competition may be using stealth marketing to the degree that you have no idea how or why they are so successful online.

Chances are you don't even know for sure whether they are successful online or not.

You need a site that effectively achieves measurable marketing goals whether you are one person or have one thousand employees.

Business web sites are all about making money - not just about looking good and not just getting by with as little as possible.

Results are the priority over design. You can have a nice looking site and have it be effective, too. You just have to decide which is more important for you and be willing to stick to your priorities.

Warmly,

Vince