Look at their working experience. You will need someone with all the techniques, tools and tricks that will help you prepare the website that you desire. The experience that they have is very critical in working for the website that you want.
The Creativity of the designer also plays a great role. The designer may need to help you with some of a bigger picture of the design that you desire, such as marketing, web copy writing and how to generate traffic. You might want someone who is very creative that can think of many ideas that they can provide.
The cost that the designer offers for their service. Depending on the status of your business, price can be a huge, if not deciding, factor in who designs and builds your website.
Ask for their portfolio. Take a stroll through some designers’ portfolios, taking note of things like layouts, colors, and logos. This is kind of like shopping for clothes – some options will catch your eye more than others. If you want a very modern website, it doesn’t make sense to hire someone whose portfolio looks like a flashback to 1995.
Designing a website for a small business with a limited budget is much different than designing a website for a large corporation. If a firm doesn’t understand your needs and how to fill them (one-on-one meetings, the ability to change things on your own in the content management system, follow up help after the project is complete), you might need to consider a firm more comfortable with working with businesses of your size.
Making sure that a company can plan out a reasonable timeline, or that they can follow the timeline you have in mind, will help the project go smoothly. And don’t forget to ask how the relationship between your company and theirs will continue once the project is closed.
You should have a workable and flexible team to work with. You should meet the person or people who you will be working with face-to-face, and know if any of the work on your website is going to be outsourced. Something else to keep in mind is the structure of YOUR team, and whether this company will work well with the people you know and trust to build your business. Will they consider the ideas or your board members? Will they talk with the designer who created your business card? If you need a company to play nice with other team members, it’s good to discuss that from the beginning.