Seven Qualities to Look for in a Good Web Designer

Choosing a web designer is probably the hardest decision to make. Especially if you don’t understand anything about web design or how the Internet works.  You can make a lot of mistakes and waste a lot of money. So how do you know what to look for when you seeking a quality web designer? Here are a few things I would look at when evaluating a web designer.

1. Portfolio - Viewing a web designers portfolio will give you a good idea of what kind of work they’ve done in the past and what they may be capable of doing for you. Important questions to consider are: Do you like what you see? Has the web designer done work similar to what you want done? Do you feel confident the designer can design your site in a style and look you’re after? Are the websites easy and intuitive to navigate?

2. Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)- It’s what separates a good web designer from a mediocre one, so you’ll want to make sure you’re web designer is using CSS and not tables for their layouts.  Why?  Because CSS allows you to make site-wide changes with a single change the the style sheet. This is important so you don’t have to manually update each and every one of your thousand page website.

3. Content Management Systems (CMS)- CMS is all the rage. Will your web designer be using one for your site? By using a content management system, your web designer gives you control over your static content (and sometimes dynamic content too). This means you can edit the content when you want to through an administrative back-end. This can be important because without a CMS, you’re forced to request changes to your website through your web designer. That’s more money for them, and a longer wait time for website changes for you. Not a good deal if you ask me…

4. Functionality - What kind of functionality do you require?  The Internet is all about dynamic content these days–sites that change and update constantly.  Static pages still serve a purpose, but you’ll want to make sure you’re web designer can create the kind of functionality you require–things like dynamic content pages, rss feeds, commenting, rating systems, and memberships.  Not only is it necessary that your web designer be capable of doing these types of things for your site, but they should be able to tell you if and why you want to do these things.  A good web designer will be able to guide you through the process of defining the types of functionality you want, while keeping the site practical and realistic for your target audience.

5. Programming Language- One question that may or may not be important to you is, “What type of programming languages will you be building my site in?” If you’re in an area where this is important, then you better take a look at the different languages and make sure to utilize one that fits with your target audience. A developer may choose to use PHP/MySQL, Ruby on Rails, or ASP/.NET just to name a few. But there are also additional types of coding, like Javascript and AJAX, that can be used to create certain functionality for your website, if a web designer knows how to use them. This requires some research, but a good web designer will be able to talk to you intelligently about their choice in programming languages and why it’s a good match for your project.

6. Organization- Is your web designer well organized?  Do they return your calls promptly?  Do they meet deadlines?  If it takes your web designer 3 days to get back to your initial request for information, and 7 days to get you a quote, you may want to reconsider that web designer if promptness is important to you.  The best web designers I’ve worked with get back to me within 24 hours, and if they can’t, they let me know.  The worst web designers I’ve interviewed take their time calling me back and often cancel or try to reschedule our first meeting minutes before it’s scheduled to take place.  Whatever you do, don’t write off these types of behaviors as one-time things. Usually they’re indicative of a personality type that you’re going to have to deal with for the duration of your project.

7. Personality-  After you’ve reviewed all the technical qualifications, personality plays a role.  If you’re going to be working with a web designer for a month, or two months, or on an ongoing basis, you want to get along with them.  If certain personality traits or things that are said unsettle you, or give you pause, listen to your intuition.