In this day and age, your business website is just as important as your brick-and-mortar location if you have one. It serves as the first point of contact between you and your potential customers. Experts say that you have 50 milliseconds to make a good first impression on your website before users form an opinion about whether they want to stay or leave. As such, if you want to improve your conversion rates while boosting your brand credibility, it’s worth it to commission professional web design services so that you can achieve your business objectives through your site.
But not all web designers are made equal, and if you want to make the most out of your investment, you should choose a good web designer who has the knowledge and experience needed for your specific industry. There are other traits that distinguish competent web designers from their peers, and you should be on the lookout for people who truly have a knack for their work. This article details six traits that you should seek out before inking a contract with a new web designer.
Niche Experience and Skill
A good choice of web designer for your company should have sufficient experience designing websites for your industry. This is especially important if you’re working in a niche sector or are thinking of creating several local lead generation websites. A web designer worth their salt would consider your branding and content before implementing their work. Their knowledge of your industry should also play into key decisions like how to engineer the most enjoyable and seamless experiences for your customers. For example, if you run an ecommerce store, your web designer should have some good ideas about how to lay out products on the page in the most appealing way.
Keep in mind that this doesn’t necessarily remove younger web designers from your potential candidate list. Experience and skill are two different aspects of work quality, and you should consider both when selecting the right designer for your needs. If you want to work with a new designer, try to gauge their skill level or the overall strategy they use when creating a website–and then see if it aligns with your company goals.
A Clear Development Process
Excellent web designers have a clear development process. Regardless of experience, a great web designer knows exactly the steps they need to take to craft a high-quality website for you within a given time frame. These processes are constantly refined with time, so much so that veteran web designers can easily determine what your company needs and how they can help you fulfill particular business objectives. This works to your advantage if you’re pressed for time and need an exact ETA on your web design.
Adaptability
Industry standards are always changing, and your web designer should be as nimble as the ever-evolving business landscape. Your brand may go through a complete revamp, or you may decide that a certain branding element is no longer serving your business. Either way, your website should reflect these branding changes, and your web designer needs to be able to adapt as well.
Adaptability also refers to the ability of your web designer to change certain elements of your website, including a poorly designed existing UI. If they can work with what they have and transform it into something better, that’s a green flag for you and your company.
Great Communication Skills
Expert website designers take the time to explain certain web technologies and terminologies to you so that you can make the best decision for your business. A great web designer will never assume that you understand jargon or believe that your word is “law.” If, for example, you want a certain website feature that may inadvertently affect the customer user experience, a website designer will point this out to you so that you are fully aware of the possible effects of your decision.
Professional web designers are fluent in their knowledge and can communicate this to each client. Work with someone who’s confident and honest about what improvements your website can use, as this will help you achieve the best possible result together.
Curiosity
Great web designers understand that their industry is constantly evolving. They are always curious about the newest updates on their specific skill. This includes attending regular refresher courses or reading up about website design whenever they can.
You may be able to pick up on whether your web designer is a curious sort. How did they respond to your project? If they’ve never worked in your industry before, did they appear willing to learn about it? What are their views about website design in general? Their curiosity could likely translate into passionate, thoughtful work that you will be grateful for.
Integrity
Lastly, you will want to work with a web designer who can set and meet deadlines and is communicative about any potential setbacks. This requires a certain level of integrity–where professionals are focused on the quality of their work and the standards that they set for performing well, rather than just a paycheck. Not all projects run smoothly, and a good web designer will inform you in advance whenever they encounter any problems. Not only does this reduces frustration on your part, but allows you to make the necessary adjustments to your timeline.
Professional web designers also include a provision in their contract for continued services for maintaining your website. This ensures that your site is functioning properly and that every web feature or element is optimized. If the terms are clear—and if they stay faithful and attentive to the terms that they agreed upon with you—you’ll have found excellent people to work with.
By no means is this list exhaustive, but it should give you a good jumping-off point when looking for the right web designer for your needs. No matter what industry you are in, your website should be given the right attention so that you attract, convert, and maintain a good relationship with your target market.
Partner with a full-service agency like SearchWorks.PH for professional web design services done with this high a standard. To learn more about the projects we’ve worked on and what our satisfied clients have to say about their experience with us, get in touch with SearchWorks now.
