Hiring A Custom Website Designer

Hiring A Custom Website DesignerHiring someone to build or promote your website costs considerablymore than building it yourself, but it can be a good way to quickly getyour site online and start doing business, especially if the site youintend to build is relatively complex or you need to implement ane-commerce solution. Obviously, if you decide to hire a custom websitedesigner, then you will want to make sure the website designerspecializes in the skills you require. That means learning to ask theright kinds of questions - both of yourself and your candidates.

There are three primary types of small business website designers and developers:


  • Custom Website Designer- These are typically individuals with a great deal of creative talentwho specialize in the look and feel of your website. Custom WebsiteDesigners will typically focus on user interface issues, but will notventure much past the HTML of the site. Most designers will not doheavy programming or get involved in business processes or e-commerce.You can typically find good website designers for small business in the$25 - $40 per hour range. A typical small business website may costsomewhere between $2500 and $5000 to design, and you will beresponsible for writing the site's content.
  • Web Developer- These folks are typically more expensive than website designers andmay or may not be able to assist you in the user interface design or"look and feel" of your website. They focus primarily on theprogramming and development of more complex websites and web-basedapplications. You will want to bring in a developer if your siterequires building a custom database, you plan to have some sort ofspecialized functionality that you can't purchase off the shelf fromyour web hosting company, or you need to implement an e-commercesolution, and you don't feel comfortable with doing it yourself. CustomWeb Developers will charge between $35 and $100 per hour depending onthe type of service you require and how large the project is. A verybasic e-commerce site will cost at least $10,000, with more complexsites running much higher..
  • Search Engine Optimization Specialist- Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing are bothhot markets right now with lots of snake oil salesmen who would love totake your money. A good Search Engine Optimization specialist will beable to show you examples of sites that he or she has optimized, anddemonstrate how that optimization has led to increased traffic andsales for their clients. You can expect to pay monthly retainersbetween $500 and $2500 for a competent SEO. Those that charge less areprobably not giving your business enough attention. With SEO the truetest of ability is results. You should start to see improvements inyour site's positioning within 90 days of bringing on a Search EngineOptimization expert. It isn't good enough to be "ranked" on someparticular term, you are hiring these people to bring in qualifiedtraffic.

So, depending on the type of website you areputting together, and what sort of help you think you'll need, you maywork with several different types of consultants. The most importantthing is to try to identify your needs up front and plan the site asthoroughly as possible. Believe me, web developers and designers make alot of money off of entrepreneurs who do not plan out their sites wellenough in advance. The changes and redesigns can quickly add up toquite a bit more than what the sites would have cost if they had beenplanned out correctly from the beginning.

If you feel thathiring a custom website designer is not your cup of tea, and you wantto try to do it yourself for less money, take a look at our section on "How To Build A Website". You can do it yourself; you just have to take it one step at a time.

If you don't know any "techies" to help you build your website, you can find one at Elanceonline.com.This site allows you to post a job and have qualified professionals"bid" on it. You can also browse through service providers that haveposted portfolios online and select a vendor based on their past work.Either way, this site provides an efficient way to put you in touchwith qualified technical resources without undue effort on your part.

Inany case, you will want to make sure you have a detailed scope of workagreement and contract in place before you start working with adeveloper. There is nothing more frustrating for either you or yourdesigner than to have a miscommunication about what exactly you expectto receive and how much your developer expects to get paid. Make sureyou get it all in writing!

In conclusion, you should hire aCustom Web Designer or Developer if you feel that you are too busy ornot capable of creating a quality site yourself. There are three typesof site developers: Custom Website Designers, Web Developers, andSearch Engine Optimization/Marketing Experts. If you do not havetechnical contacts to do the work, you can find qualified professionalshere: Elanceonline.com.You should make sure you have your ideas organized about your website,and you should make sure you get a contract with a detailed scope ofwork signed by your consultant before work begins on your site.

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