This is asked on a regular basis, so thought I would make this thread to help people understand the steps.
Website Designer / Developer! What's the difference?
There is a huge difference, and will help you define who you would like to work with.
A website designer (or graphic designer) mainly deals with the graphics of a website, planning the design and the usability of the website.
A website developer is a code geek, likes to get their hands dirty and do the dirty of work of making the design come to life.
Finding a website designer who can develop is rare, my personal opinion is that they are two different types of skill which rarely do come together.
I personally recommend using a designer for the design, and a separate developer to do the build is recommended but this can make a project more expensive.
Website Designers! How to find One!
So you have decided your business needs a new website, and you would like to use a website designer / developer to develop this for you!
Finding a website designer / developer can be a fraught process, as there are so many around and there are no recognised qualifications, so how do you differentiate Web guy 1 from web guy 2?
Below are my main ideas on how to do this
Location
You can choose a website designer by location, so someone who is in local reach of your business. I personally recommend this option to many businesses as the processes when building a website can be made simpler with face to face meetings.
Skills
Are you going to be using a certain script / skill on your website (this would have come up in your plan), if so, then looking for a developer with those skills would be beneficial.
An example, you're looking to use WordPress for your new website, so you would look for someone who advertises the fact they develop with WordPress.
Portfolio
The main thing that will differentiate web guys is their portfolio. Almost all web designers should have a portfolio for you to peruse either on their website or by request (some clients may not want their work on their web guys portfolio).
When looking through the developers portfolio, have they done similar work before? Is their work of a high standard?
Clients
Ask any potential web designers for details for some of their clients, and then speak to them, find out how the project went, was it on time, was it on budget, was the webby easy to reach and was the job completed to satisfaction.
A previous client can reveal far more about a web guy than any other method.
Recommendations
Ask friends or other businesses in your local area who designed / built their website.
Look at competitors sites, see who designed it.
Getting a personal recommendation, is more likely to help someone to make a decision to buy than any other method so do ask around. A good recommendation is worth it's weight in gold for any service business.
Networking
Do you do business networking via a local club or one of the business networking organisations (fsb, 4networking, BNI, Chamber of commerce etc).
Ask members if they would recommend a webby, or speak to any webby's that go along, get to know them, knowing your webby on a personal level can help with making a decision to work with them.
Agency Vs Freelance
Now you have your list of ways to find your webby, how you do decide which type to go for? There are 2 main types of webby, an agency, which will be made up of a team of guys and gals who will cover a large range of skills (web designer, developer, marketer etc) and will be able to run the whole project themselves and mean you have a team to go back on.
Freelancers are generally a single person, working from home or a small shared office and generally have a limited set of skills e.g. designer. They will typically work as part of a bigger team for projects, where they will subcontract in work to do jobs they cannot do.
A freelancer is generally cheaper than an agency, but an agency will have a team of people behind them to work on the project.
A freelancer will have lower overall costs, and will be more specialised in their skillset and be able to be more flexible in regards to projects.
Choosing an agency or a freelancer will depend on your project, the budget and how you think you would work better, with a single person or with a larger team.
Conclusion
Choosing a designer / developer can be a minefield but if you do your research and plan your project it should go without too many issues.
There are many, many horror stories of webbies online, so my recomendation is to make a list of 3 webbies you would like to work with, then do your research on them individually (portfolio, client feedback etc).
This is a personal recommendation, but never pay for a project 100% upfront, always try and negotiate staged projects so you're semi-covered if something were to happen.
Always be vigilant and expect regular updates from your webby, with progress updates.
If anyone has anything to add, please do
Hi, nice tips. I would suggest also before to choose the right person, to interview him, to see if he have any knowledge about seo. Is better the site to be optimised from beginning , because after can be very painful to make seo to the site if is not optimised correct .
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N
neil@CamisOnline
- Original Poster
- #44
I think the tips listed are good, but I've seen so many websites that look good graphically but don't convey what the business is trying to do.
I'd consider starting with the copy and design first before anything else, then at least you'd have a detailed spec of exactly what you wanted the developer to develop.
There are many good marketers that can do a website design in the likes of photoshop. You can simply send the mockup out for quotes with individual designers and developers.
The navigation of the site is really important too and you want someone to spend time working with you to ensure that your customers can easily find the information that they need.
I'd consider starting with the copy and design first before anything else, then at least you'd have a detailed spec of exactly what you wanted the developer to develop.
There are many good marketers that can do a website design in the likes of photoshop. You can simply send the mockup out for quotes with individual designers and developers.
The navigation of the site is really important too and you want someone to spend time working with you to ensure that your customers can easily find the information that they need.
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There are some websites that do that job for you. You can post a job there and get offers. There, you can see that there are different projects for web design and web development. As myself I'm a web developer I would say that if you don't really care about the design a web developer can do the job Or if you don't have much complexity on your business requirement a web designer can do the job.
Cheers!
Cheers!
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I guess my problem comes down to limited resources ie cash, coupled with limited knowledge about web design.
I opted for a moonfruit site in the end because it gave me the template to work with, and the ability to take payments online.
I'm sure there will be plenty of people on here who say it was the wrong decision, but for the moment at least it works for me.
I opted for a moonfruit site in the end because it gave me the template to work with, and the ability to take payments online.
I'm sure there will be plenty of people on here who say it was the wrong decision, but for the moment at least it works for me.
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But assuming that you might not always be a freelancer and your aspirations might be to become an agency some day won't your aim be to still provide that personal service to your clients? But with the added benefit of different specialisms? I find your comparison bizarre.
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M
Marx
- Original Poster
- #50
I provide support to small business/sole traders and charities wanting to develop web-based services (ie a decent web site). I find that very few of them have actually considered what they want the site to do for their business and even fewer how they are going to measure the effectiveness of their site once it is up and running.
I hate to see people waste money on stuff they don't need just because they don't understand how things work, or because they get the hard sell from a company that puts profit before customers. One charity I am working with currently pays £300 a year for hosting a basic twenty page website and they have to pay whenever changes need to be made beyond the capability of the basic CMS.
There is much that people can do for free if they have some time, inclination and a bit of guidance. Just be careful who owns what. If you are spending good money on a site, you should have full access to it if you want to take it somewhere else.
I hate to see people waste money on stuff they don't need just because they don't understand how things work, or because they get the hard sell from a company that puts profit before customers. One charity I am working with currently pays £300 a year for hosting a basic twenty page website and they have to pay whenever changes need to be made beyond the capability of the basic CMS.
There is much that people can do for free if they have some time, inclination and a bit of guidance. Just be careful who owns what. If you are spending good money on a site, you should have full access to it if you want to take it somewhere else.
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You could always try http://www.webdeveloperjobs.co.uk/
Just did a search for 'web developer jobs in the UK' and it came up.
So you can use Google search results to learn where the people you want to employ will visit.
Just did a search for 'web developer jobs in the UK' and it came up.
So you can use Google search results to learn where the people you want to employ will visit.
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to a freelancer every job is personal, its 1 to 1.
even in a small company of say 3 workers, a job is just a job, it comes on your desk, you get it done then continue to the next job - thats not personal.
thats the point I'm trying to make, just my opinion.
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S
Successukdotcom
- Original Poster
- #54
Not necessarily. It depends on what you need your website to do and who you want to aim it at.
The key is to see if he offers you built in SEO. (Search engine optimisation) and the easiest way to test is to type in website designer and town. Then look at what is offered under the Google paid adds (usually the first 3 on the left side top)
Now under the unpaid listings the website designer/developer should be listed here unless you want to pay loads more to get your site optimised afterwards.
Our key words "website designer Spalding" works for us
Now at least if you pick one of these you can confirm your website is going to do something for your business as well as look good!
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What a load of rubbish. A freelancer or an agency can provide personal services; it depends on the providers intentions, culture and approach.
Likewise both a freelancer or an agency can treat clients as just a job and roll through them.
I would recommend posting a new thread to be honest. You'll get better responses. Also try places like www.sitepoint.com who have sections dedicated to copywriting.
I think they mean a person to write up descriptions, not a piece of software to create descriptions.
Not necessarily. It depends on what you need your website to do and who you want to aim it at.
The key is to see if he offers you built in SEO. (Search engine optimisation) and the easiest way to test is to type in website designer and town. Then look at what is offered under the Google paid adds (usually the first 3 on the left side top)
Now under the unpaid listings the website designer/developer should be listed here unless you want to pay loads more to get your site optimised afterwards.
Our key words "website designer Spalding" works for us
Now at least if you pick one of these you can confirm your website is going to do something for your business as well as look good!
So if I type in web designer with my towns name I will find a designer who will do my SEO's for me and if I don't I will find myself paying loads of my SEO's afterwards.
I was under the impression that searching a provider locally had the benefit of finding someone near you and that you would investigate the providers services when you read their site or talk to them about the project.
Asking about SEO and having a solid marketing strategy is great but your advice is all wrong.
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I've been "web developing" for 4 years however i still can't do above what i would call an alright design. i outsource the design side to a local freelancer who is very good at what he does.
I think its becoming more and more common that the two are split as creating a good unique design is getting harder and harder.
I have full respect for good designers.
I think its becoming more and more common that the two are split as creating a good unique design is getting harder and harder.
I have full respect for good designers.
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Don't get hung on the terms 'web designer' or 'web developer' it is not important - decide what it is that you want the website to 'achieve' e.g. x sales of y product from z market, or 'new members' or 'number of sales leads and talk to web companies that come up with good solutions. That is how I approach clients. I don't want a referral from them that they liked the shade of blue we use, rather that we helped them grow their business, by understanding their business needs, there target customers and also that their website paid for itself.
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You should always use a web developer who understands SEO and social network marketing. A page of text and graphics is not enough, however gorgeous looking. I can either use the designs supplied to me to build a site or call in a web graphic designer to get the look and feel but the underlying code is very important. I do feel there are too many designers who use a package to build your site and too often a template and do not understand the real nuts and bolts which is essential. Do not throw your money away on sites that cost too little as you get what you pay for. This is the biggest reason that you find the developer/designer can not be contacted for upgrades, after they took your money, as they really do not understand what`s under the hood, they were after an easy buck.
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Proof is in the pudding. If a website designer cannot compete at a local level how can he be good at SEO? Ergo it is a great and logical test
Web designers do the graphical look and feel. Their area of expertise is unlikely to be SEO. Also SEO is an on-going concern that either the business needs to do or they need to hire an expert. This expert may not be your web developer but the developer needs to understand good coding practises to make the SEO work.
Try not to look for an all-in-one solution and use a designer for design, a developer for development and a SEO marketing expert for marketing. This is not an area for saving money and looking for a bargain if you want a successful business.
SEO can take up alot of time too and can be costly.
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Or better still use a web developer that gives you a CMS where you get full control over the content, title tags etc. Then if you want you can do the SEO yourself, or if you don't have time, shop around for a SEO that is best for you. That way you are not tied into the Web developer / designer for your rankings.
lol @Media Agile, unless I mis understood you your two posts contradict each other - 1. always get a developer that understands SEO veruss 2. dont mix design, development & SEO
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I agree .
I found my website Guys from typing in "google expert web designers" as
.......
and my web makers had positions 1 and 2 on page 1 listings !! good enough for me i figured and at £ 30 a month a bargain ..
A good indicator people should use.. forget the hype they spew on here , facts speak bull walks as they say
The age of a domain is a factor when it comes to Google rankings, so the top ranked sites are often there due to their age - at least partly.
Also the term "google expert web designers" is searched for less than 10 times per month according to Google themselves, so ranking highly for that term isn't optimal and there will be low or no competition.
But if you're happy with them and your site is ranking highly you've done well.
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hi
it is so interesting to answering you
web designers basically design the web pages, how webpages would look up and feel.
how it will become interesting but
web developer developed the web pages by means of coding through HTML, PHP, JAVA, DOT NET etc. it relates to coding inside the pages but design related to the look only
..........................
it is so interesting to answering you
web designers basically design the web pages, how webpages would look up and feel.
how it will become interesting but
web developer developed the web pages by means of coding through HTML, PHP, JAVA, DOT NET etc. it relates to coding inside the pages but design related to the look only
..........................
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It should be noted that the fatal flaw with systems like oDesk/Freelancer/etc is that previous customers can only accurately rate certain aspects of a professionals job.
I love receiving feedback from my clients but by definition they are not web design/development professionals and can't speak on the subject with authority. They can like my work, like my service, like my prices and be completely satisfied with the whole package but they wouldn't be my first port of call to secure my PHP login systems.
I like that my mechanic fixed the exhaust on my car but as I'm not a mechanic I can't say with certainty if he actually did a good job or just polished a turd well enough to convince a laymen like me.
If you want quality work look for professionals that are respected by their peers. Go to forums that are dedicated to the industry and look for the people that offer help and are listened to, feel them out, ask them to explain something complex to you. Don't just rely on some previous punter saying they liked them because they were fast.
I love receiving feedback from my clients but by definition they are not web design/development professionals and can't speak on the subject with authority. They can like my work, like my service, like my prices and be completely satisfied with the whole package but they wouldn't be my first port of call to secure my PHP login systems.
I like that my mechanic fixed the exhaust on my car but as I'm not a mechanic I can't say with certainty if he actually did a good job or just polished a turd well enough to convince a laymen like me.
If you want quality work look for professionals that are respected by their peers. Go to forums that are dedicated to the industry and look for the people that offer help and are listened to, feel them out, ask them to explain something complex to you. Don't just rely on some previous punter saying they liked them because they were fast.
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Another flaw I discovered, certainly applies to elance. I got someone to do some work that they did so badly that it did not warrant paying. They happily refunded the deposit and cencelled the job. Guess what - you can't leave feedback on jobs that get cancelled / refunded!! AFter that experience I am very wary of these services.
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Just to divert back to the original question here; I can categorically state how NOT to find a good website designer/developer and that is by believing somebody is up to the job simply by the wording of their posts and apparent intelligence on a forum.
I've spent the last few months learning the hard way and may very well disclose the situation in full on here (you'll be shocked) should things not take an unexpected turn for the better by the end of the day.
I would now only ever select a designer through personal recommendation from a trusted source as well as potentially even wanting to speak to previous clients to help gauge their opinion as to the level of service they received.
This sector is full of cowboys and chancers in my very humble opinion (and it is humble), there's a lot of dirt to sift through before finding anyone to be trusted. I'm sorry to lay down a blanket statement like that but unfortunately that's my current stance - I only hope it improves once i'm able to move forward.
I've spent the last few months learning the hard way and may very well disclose the situation in full on here (you'll be shocked) should things not take an unexpected turn for the better by the end of the day.
I would now only ever select a designer through personal recommendation from a trusted source as well as potentially even wanting to speak to previous clients to help gauge their opinion as to the level of service they received.
This sector is full of cowboys and chancers in my very humble opinion (and it is humble), there's a lot of dirt to sift through before finding anyone to be trusted. I'm sorry to lay down a blanket statement like that but unfortunately that's my current stance - I only hope it improves once i'm able to move forward.
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I strongly disagree with that now I've had first hand experience. Again, for me at least, I would now only ever work with somebody who comes highly recommended and then some.
On a more personal note, it would seem my situation is in the process of correcting itself. Said 'developer' has issued credit notes and will reimburse me in full over the coming 7 working days.
The only issue is, they failed to meet every other deadline that was set so I'd be gob-smacked if this proves any different!
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