How to find a website designer / developer?

[Ryan McFadyen]

You should always check a footer of a website you like, because the designer will be noted there

Not everyone does that.

 

[ZedS]

What's the difference between a web designer and developer?

Well, as a web designer myself, I focus on maintaining the visuals and performance of a website but design is my forte. For the purpose of smooth functionality, I use third-party highly trusted resources which do a fantastic job, and which have been tried and tested - and most are very flexible to suit client requirements as long as you the designer know how to tweak code and make edits to different scripts. I focus heavily on design but don't believe in compromising the performance of a website. I'd rather leave the developing to the experts and trust them with it, rather than meddle in something which isn't my field (at least, not when I'm working on client projects).

Web designing, for me, is about combining both sides (web design and development) and making them work flawlessly together.

Sorry, didn't mean to give out my resume there - just thought I'd tell it from my own perspective

 

[andorter]

Hi guys i have a great knowledge of internet but i have even gained that more from SamuraisSEO forum and even about IT too SamuraisSEO forum is a really very nice.

 

[hassel67]

You can find a developer through freelancer, elance and freelance.com

 

[indiefinch]

As a web designer & developer I hate websites such as elance where potential clients say what they need and then say "it shouldn't take that long and I don't wont to pay that much".

I much prefer clients to search on google for me, so they can see my website where I have my prices on, rather than trying to compete with other professionals from around the world on elance.

Also when you are searching on google, try and find a company close to where you live. That's the other down side to elance, you might find a web designer from India and if you need any changes it might take a while because of time differences.

 

[fisicx]

...so they can see my website where I have my prices on

Where are your prices?

 

[indiefinch]

Where are your prices?

To view my prices you need to select which service you want under the services button.

 

[Sterling_Brenner]

cheers for the helpful advice, lads. i'll be in need of a reputable web designer myself soon - just one that doesn't charge the earth.

 

[Ryan McFadyen]

cheers for the helpful advice, lads. i'll be in need of a reputable web designer myself soon - just one that doesn't charge the earth.

Well that depends on your definition of the earth, doesn't it?

Never ceases to amaze me how some people expect 4 weeks worth of work for just a few hundred quid. Not only does a lot of work go into creating a website but it's not minimum wage work, it's a business that needs experience/knowledge, advertising, equipment and has to pay a wage that can pay rent.

 

[evosolution]

Thank you for the post.

But I can do both, I am a designer and a developer.
Though developer in the early stage. But I can do codes.

 

[roger_retail]

Never ceases to amaze me how some people expect 4 weeks worth of work for just a few hundred quid. Not only does a lot of work go into creating a website but it's not minimum wage work, it's a business that needs experience/knowledge, advertising, equipment and has to pay a wage that can pay rent.

I agree. As a very skilled developer and poor designer I'm continually amazed what can sometimes be offered for so little. That said I've no shortage of happy clients who pay sensible money for a good service. When pitching for new work I'm more and more coming across the phenomenon you describe. I think it is because people don't realise what does and does not cost development effort and what you do is essentially opaque to them.

 

[Alan]

The problem comes from the customers have no idea of the work involved.

We can create a website in an hours work and we can create a website in 50 hours work.

Unfortunately customers get 'imprinted' with the lower end, and cant relate to the fact that they have to pay for 49 hours more work to get what they want.

Us web designers/builder need to take more time managing expectation -f you want just this it can be done quickly, but if you want something custom build it is going to cost an order of magnitude more..

 

[Thomas J. Griffin]

But **always** bearing in mind that developers have a code library that they're fiercely protective of (after all, they "learned" everything they know from the likes of stackoverflow) and outside of that code base they don't know how to even present a basic webpage.

But they want £50k a year

Frauds, 95% of them, trust me.

A ridiculous statement.

 

[Abrandinabox]

These are the sorts of questions you should be asking before you commission the work:

Questions for Graphic Designers

Can I see some of your previous artwork and designs for clients in a similar sector to me?

What’s the design process? How many concepts will I see?

Will I need to supply text and images? (This can vary depending on the nature of the project. While providing your own text and images will help reduce costs, professional photography services and stock photography can enhance the look of your design and engaging the help of a copywriter will ensure your branding remains consistent throughout your wording as well. Please note that when supplying images to your designer, they should be in JPEG format and 300 DPI. Images from the web do not reproduce well in print as the resolution is too low, but are perfect for websites.)

Will I own the copyright to all the artwork you incorporate? (The answer should be yes, but your designer will normally reserve the right to showcase your project for promotional purposes.)

How long will the work take? (This can vary depending on the type of design work being done. Clients usually have a say in dictating timescales.)

Will you show me some concept visuals first so I can decide which I prefer? (Your designer should answer yes to this question. During the design process, concepts visuals are usually presented to the client by email in PDF format. Once you are happy to sign off the chosen design, the artwork will be prepared. Different projects have different processes, so the number of concept visuals presented, and the number of rounds of revisions may differ. The designer should agree these terms with you before work is undertaken.)

Will you provide me with the original artwork files you create for my project? (Your designer should answer yes to this question and package up all the relevant files, sending them to you to use as you wish.)


Questions for Web Developers and Programmers

Can you set up and provide hosting for my website? (Hosting is often provided but at an additional annual cost. Your web designer/developer should present you with these details prior to starting work on the project.)

Can you purchase a domain name for my website? (Domains can normally be purchased and set up for you. An annual renewal cost usually applies. Your web designer/developer should present you with these details prior to starting work on the project.)

Will you use a content management system when you build our website? (If the answer is yes, this will allow you to update content yourself, quickly and easily without having to pay additional design costs to get updates made to your site. You do not want your site created in flash. Flash sites are all but invisible to Google, and sites created using hand-coded HTML require an HTML expert to update and maintain them, so a CMS system is a great option should you wish to update your site regularly and easily.)

Can you show me some examples of pages you’ve created? (Most designers will have a showcase of previous work.)

Are you comfortable creating custom forms? (You may need to be able to use your website to collect data, email it to you and/or republish it on your website.)

Will you provide me with all user IDs and passwords required to maintain the site? (Your web designer/developer should answer yes to this question.)

Will I retain ownership of the domain name and all content and code created? (The answer should be yes, although the domain name with usually have an annual renewal cost.)

Will you provide me with an itemised quote? (The answer should be yes.)

Are you willing to be paid based on contractual milestones? (Generally speaking you will pay the developer a percentage of the fee to start work on the project, then pay them the other instalments when specified milestones are achieved.)

How do you prefer to implement e-commerce solutions? How long does it take? Will I, or my writers, be able to add and edit products without your help once it is set up? (You should be able to tell your programmer how many products and services you need to sell.)

Will my site be mobile device-friendly? (Your site should be accessible by people on the move and deliver the same user experience.)

Questions for Copywriters

Can you show me other content you’ve written for other businesses in my industry?

Are you familiar with search engine optimisation and keywords in copywriting? Can you tell me about the process?

Can you give me a price for creating the content outlined here? (It helps if you have a written specification for the content that you want your writer to create including the number of pages, type of content and keywords required)

 

[OlegLola]

The problem comes from the customers have no idea of the work involved.

We can create a website in an hours work and we can create a website in 50 hours work.

Unfortunately customers get 'imprinted' with the lower end, and cant relate to the fact that they have to pay for 49 hours more work to get what they want.

Us web designers/builder need to take more time managing expectation -f you want just this it can be done quickly, but if you want something custom build it is going to cost an order of magnitude more..

I totally agree.

Building a working application or site is a hard labor that takes much time and efforts. The development process is as individual as can be. Even the most universal tools don't fit each possible situation.

Also a lot of clients are doing the same mistake – they are looking for the cheapest. It is a truly efficient path towards paying twice.

If your budget allows only the cheapest, it's better to call off the idea. It's not worth getting a non-working product.

 

[mariuszc]

If you are looking for graphic designers, then you can use the service mintia.com This is a site where you can post contests on various graphic designs and designers from around the world will send you their work.

 

[hassel67]

If you are looking for graphic designers, then you can use the service mintia.com This is a site where you can post contests on various graphic designs and designers from around the world will send you their work.

The criteria of this mintia.com is just like odesk or not. I mean what type of working style they follow?

 

[mikeee741]

It all depends on how good you want it. There are lot of low cost programmers if all what you need is an HTML page. But for more engaging web designed websites, you need to have a budget for it. Good things cost money, because also takes more time and skills, and sometimes is not easy to explain that to customers.

 

[harriet1008]

• A web designer is a graphic artist who develops and styles objects for the Internet.

• A web developer is one that develops applications and functionality for the Internet.. It is typically found..

• Web designer have creative mind and web developer have think logically and methodically, because they are both different, one is developer and another one is designer...

 

[hassel67]

Post the requirement on classifieds and job portals.

I agree to you that posting jobs and classifieds is finest way to find out the website developer or designer.

 

[dxlwebs]

the benefit of finding a web designer / developer in one is that we know the sites we build inside and out it allows us to build sites specifically for you, it also means that we don't use free scripts like Joomla which can be very confusing if you wish to use them your self, I always build systems with back ends that the owner of the site can use, why should i charge you to add a page to the site when you could do it your self? you say what features you want and i build it then you can do what you want/need to, with out being scared off by all the functions that Joomla, Druple and WordPress have, it also means that you get it SEO'ed for your niche in the internet and not just a general factor, meaning more clicks more search results.

i found a lot of web designers charge the same amount of money to design a site but do very little work, good for them bad for you, when possible you should always use a design/developer better end results but make sure he really can design.

 

[PDC]

We had some bad experiences in the early days with adverts on those bid type websites.

We found going on personal recommendation, plus looking at the companies work and portfolio, to be more more successful.

 

[hassel67]

We had some bad experiences in the early days with adverts on those bid type websites.

We found going on personal recommendation, plus looking at the companies work and portfolio, to be more more successful.

Yeah i agree to you that biding is not so helpful for advertisement your recommendation is good. I would one thing that client reviews and feedback is important.

 

[jbazely]

Theres some really useful information in this thread. Having had 2 websites completed for my company in the last 5 years there is a massive difference in the quality when you have a good company. Definitely agree on the web developer vs web designer points, they are 2 completely different skill sets and few people have both.

I would strongly recommend that anyone looking to get a new website pays a little extra for an in-built content management system (CMS), we have WordPress. My old website didnt have one so it was a case of loading fillzilla and directly changing the html code or using something lke Dreamweaver, which is not easy if you use it infrequently (in my opinion). The other option is that you go back to the company that originally designed it for you and pay their fees for what can sometimes be basic text changes or re-formatting.

I used a couple of guys local to us and they did a really good job (Splendid Apple) and were really good at explaining what everything cost etc and provided a 'menu' before work began so we could choose what we wanted, and discuss why we would need more etc.

 

[bizPageDirectory]

Hello Member,
There are plenty of options to find a website designer / developer which are mentioned below.

1. Placement Consultants
2. Local web directories
3. Advertise in newspaper especially in job column.
4. The company can upload in online jobs websites so that if any candidate is interested he or she can contact human resource department.
5. Evaluate the Needs of Your Online Business Presence
6. Prefer face book , DS, SBM , you tube , orkut, E -mails etc.
7. Ask your friend if he is in same sector.

Thanks

 

[derick32]

Great ideas, Mate. Thanks for the share. In my opinion the best way to find web designer/developer for the job is to post a detailed (a much as possible) description of the person you are looking. It also helps you assure that the person you're going to hire has the skills and expertise for the job.

 

[makeusvisible]

With this being such a long thread, we thought it might be worth putting an InfoGraphic together to sum up the process of commissioning a new website.

Source:http://www.makeusawebsite.com/blog/the-business-owners-guide-to-commissioning-a-new-website/

 

[da-technic]

I can be a middleman in creation of websites, I can find people who will do sites - cheap,fast, and quality, I Responsible for the work and control the whole process! email me and I'll help you!

 

[joeptsearle]

Great points raised, most people make the mistake of using developers because they are friends or part of their networking group; pick an agency based on merits not friendships!

Amen to that!
I had so many problems with this and ended up paying out the rear end for poor service (no regular contact and slow progress) and a pretty hefty price to pay for something that really, if I hadn't been lazy could have done myself in a couple of days!

 

[Robertfowler29]

You have missed one important thing for a web designer. It's the creativity through which a website can get a special attention. A web designer should have some creativity in mind. With new design styles and layouts, a website can easily get the attention of people. It can also help in the increase of traffic for a website.