How to Find the Best Web Designer for YOUR Site

When considering whether or not to work with a web designer, first take close look at the company’s or designer’s portfolio. It’s important that you like the looks of websites they’ve made in the past. If you don’t like their work, it’s simple: Don’t call them.

Try to make a list of a few designers or firms whose work you like. Then, set up time to talk to them. During your discussions, the most important thing to find out is whether they are knowledgeable about marketing.

There are thousands of graphic artists who will be perfectly happy to make you a website, and there are tons of programmers who will do the same. But only rarely will they be able to make a site that is effective for your business. If you want to have the best possible website, what you need is a digital strategist.

How do you know if a designer you’re considering is also a digital strategist? First, inquire into their development process. If their process doesn’t have a “Discovery” stage-i.e., a stage in which they schedule time with you to discuss strategies and goals-then it’s probably best to walk away from that designer.

In short, the development process should include several stages:

1. Discovery
2. Information architecture
3. Graphical user interface
4. Design
5. Programming and testing

Do the designers seem like they plan to simply make a pretty site for you without first consulting you about your specific needs? If they’re not going to involve you in the process, there’s a good chance you’ll be wasting your money on a nice-looking but ineffective site.

Also, it’s extremely important that your web designer will be handing the PSD files over to you. The PSD files will allow another graphic artist to make changes to the design (if needed). If they’re unwilling to commit to this, run!

Other things to consider:

• Will you have the copyright to your site? It’s fine if the designer wants to have the right to put your site in their portfolio, as long as you’re the actual owner of the site.
• Are Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Marketing among the designer’s main concerns? They should be.
• Do they use a Content Management System (CMS) to make their sites? This is very important, as if there is no CMS you’ll end up having to pay your designer for every site update, which would quickly get ridiculously expensive.
• Finally, make sure that you’re going to own your own domain name. Don’t use a designer that wants to retain ownership of your domain. I’ve worked with clients who were being held hostage by a former site designer, and it’s not a fun situation.

Small Business Coach and Marketing Strategist, Jennifer Davey, is the author of the “Getting Clients Home Study Program”, the step-by-step guide to getting clients, building your business and making more income. Grab a FREE copy of her 14-Step Formula for Getting Clients and Report “What you Need to Know to Be Successful at Getting Clients” visit http://jjscoaching.com/free-report/

5 Small Biz Website Musts

There are add-ons galore when you find hosting. Don't get more than you need. 


I recently saw a tweet from a small-business owner who had just purchased a domain name and a hosting plan from a website company. 


"There are all these other products . . . which ones do I need?" she asked the Twitterverse.

Choosing a domain name and website hosting plan can be daunting enough for a small-business owner, let alone wading through the myriad add-on products offered by website hosting companies. Many probably give up without ever knowing that a few key products can make a big difference in how they present their brand and do business online.

I have a few tips to guide you through securing a domain name and choosing a hosting plan. Then I'll follow up with the five best products for a small-business website.

A. 

There are more domain extensions available than .com. You may want to purchase several extensions with the same name to ensure protection for your online brand. For example, you can add .biz, .net and .org and have them all forward to the same website. 

In addition, a new option, .co, launching this spring, is available for pre-registration. General availability is $34.99 per year, with domains available on July 20. You can obtain more information here. 

B. 

Decide the following: 

• How many domains do you want to host? You may only need to start with one domain, but if you know you'll need more than one website in the future, it's better to purchase a hosting account that supports multiple domains. That way you won't have to purchase separate hosting accounts in the future, and you'll save money. Purchasing several domain extensions (.com, .net, etc.) for the same website still counts as just one domain. 
• How much bandwidth and disk space do you need? The amount each business needs depends on the number of users who simultaneously access the site. For most new sites, the minimum amount of space--typically 300GB--is enough. However, if you anticipate thousands of simultaneous users, a 300GB plan won't suffice, and your site will crash. This might be the case if your company posts something that goes viral and is shared rapidly by users all over the internet. 
• How many e-mail accounts do you anticipate you'll need? A company needs at least one e-mail account for every employee. If you plan to grow, consider getting more than you need in the short term. Most hosting plans include e-mail accounts as part of the cost.

Knowing the answers to these questions will allow you to better evaluate the hosting plans offered and choose the right one for you. You can also call your hosting company for expert advice on how these answers translate into the best hosting plan for your website.

Once you have your domain names and hosting plan purchased, it's time to look at the other products that can help you build a strong web presence:

1. Private registration (WHOIS privacy): Every time you register a domain, your personal contact information is submitted to the publicly accessible WHOIS database.......

By Clint Page


Read the rest of this post at Women Entrepreneur


I'll add to this with a couple of tips on website design. As a graphic designer and brand strategist, my experience has been that the essential elements to the design of a website is: 

1. Start with a template: Many web programs online and as separate applications, such as Dreamweaver, offer templates to get you started. 
2. Know your brand colors and use these colors as background colors, navigation colors, and font colors. (but don't use too many colors, otherwise you may distract from the valuable content on your website). 
3. Create or have someone create a website banner. You don't have to have a lot of graphics on your website, especially when you are starting out. A professionally design banner that is branded will do a wonderful job of pulling the design of your website together.