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When you hire a group or a person to create you a new website, please consider these helpful tips:
1. What is your goal? Selling your product or service, getting the word out about your association or sharing information, an online gathering place for your family, club or church. Whatever your goal is, define it clearly, before you talk to someone about creating a new website. This will get you a better result.
2. What is your budget? Share with your consultant how much you want to spend. By defining up front what your limits are will help the designer choose a technology path that you can afford. Don't go too cheap, you will likely get what you pay for and it will not do what you want it to. Make it a realistic number, we have to eat too.
3. Hire a professional! It's a nice idea to hire a friend or relative to work for you, but will they do what is best for you? If they're a skilled web developer, then by all means, talk to them, see what they've done before, but just because they are "good with computers" doesn't mean they have the skills you need. I can tell you from personal experience that it's typically not a good idea. I have made good money over the years, recreating websites originally made by friends or relatives. How much business is lost every year because of a poorly design website?
"If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur."
~Red Adair
4. Don't be fooled by good looks! Some designers specialize in multi-media websites, typically using lots of flash that look really nice. If most of your customers visit your website from print or other advertising by typing in your domain name, then flash is fine. However, if you want traffic generated by search engines, then flash is not so good. Flash and other multi-media sources are graphic images, search engines search for text on a website and if they don't find it, then your website gets a lower ranking that one that does have relevant text.
Choose someone that has created websites that you like.
5. Will you get found? SEO or Search Engine Optimization is the phrase used too easily by some web designers. If they guarantee top search position immediately, beware, there are ways of getting to the top temporarily, however once the search engine discovers how it's done, you could disappear altogether. When we create a website, we use SEO optimization good practices so that your website will legitimately get traffic you can use, not just a bunch of useless "hits".
6. How to maintain your website? Once your website is complete, how will you make changes? Is there a "backend" Content Management System (CMS)? If not how much will it cost to make changes? A CMS will save you major dollars over the life of your website.
7. Getting Started! These are questions you will need to ask of the person or company you choose:
- How much will it cost (get a quote in writing including the cost of hosting the website)?
- If I start today how long will it take to complete?
- What do I need to provide to get started?
- If I have a question or a problem do you support your work?
- Do you or your staff do the work or do you sub-contract?
Obviously there are more factors for your business or organization to consider. These are just some suggestions to help you get a better result and be happy with your website going forward.
Good luck with your project and I hope you're happy with the result, whoever you use.
Dennis Hoyle
Grand Rapids Creative
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