Every web designer has a different approach to creating a website. An important part of choosing a freelancer or agency is to understand their process, and why they choose that route. You’ll want to understand how they navigate the initial consultation or discovery session. How do they create value in this to kick off a great project? How do they create an effective UX strategy? How do they design and present their mockups? What process do they use for developing the website? How will they support you after the website is launched? Getting an insight into their process will determine whether they approach the project in a fashion that suits your business.
A detailed project proposal is essential for any website project. The proposal should include an outline of the scope, price, deliverables, timeline, and terms. Having a breakdown of all of these in an easy-to-read document helps by giving an idea of what you can expect. An effective proposal is a great insight into the project. It can essentially work as a comparison tool if you are speaking to a few different freelancers or agencies.
A responsive website is more important now than ever. In 2022, about 60% of all web traffic happened through a phone. That number is only set to increase as time goes on. This means that the responsiveness of the website should be considered an integral part of the project. Understanding how the designer or agency will ensure the website functions equally on all devices is crucial. Ask about their process of designing and testing websites for responsiveness and what tools they use.
Cybersecurity is essential when running a website. Visitors to your website expect their data to be kept secure, and trust that you are doing your part in protecting them. As technology evolves, cyber threats become more advanced. It is important to choose a designer or agency that creates secure websites and will continue to take preventative measures to protect your website.
SSL certificate: Does the website come with an SSL certificate? This encrypts data that is transmitted between the website and its users, helping protect sensitive information. It is straightforward and essential to have one.
Secure hosting: Is the hosting provider secure? A good host will provide firewalls, malware scanning and intrusion detection.
Regular updates: Will the website be kept up to date? Out-of-date software, plugins and themes are more susceptible to cyberattacks. Updating the website with the latest versions available will help minimise your vulnerability.
Backups: Do they provide regular backups of the website? If the worst happens, and the website is compromised, it can easily be restored quickly and easily with a backup.
As a small business, updating and maintaining your website might be a difficult task. Without a web designer or marketer on your team, it can be tricky to find the time or expertise to maintain the website. In today’s digital landscape, it is important to keep your website up to date with new content, services, products etc. Everybody reading this likely has competitors that customers can go to. By maintaining the website, the chance of this happening can be minimised. Not all website designers and agencies offer support or maintenance after launch. Asking questions about this early on will help you decide whether they are the right option for you.
Updates, security, and backups: as mentioned in the previous section, these are all very important areas to consider.
Technical support: if the website does have an issue, how will they help you? Do they provide 24/7 support? How long does the support last and what does it cover?
Content: Can they help you with updating your blog, services, products etc.? Some designers and agencies will provide a guidebook to help you with this process. If they do, but you still face issues, will they be there to help you out?
A busy designer can be a great thing, it can show that they are doing their job and working on projects. However, if their availability doesn’t match up with your requirements, it will cause issues. Can they answer questions when you need them to? Does their schedule allow them to meet a deadline for an upcoming release? How often can we check in with each other to make sure things are going smoothly?
Every business and web designer has a different preference for communication, and the answers to this are subjective. Some may prefer to be updated regularly. Others might not want that and trust the designer to make the decisions needed. Either way, this is an essential area to cover early on when choosing a web designer. Even if you aren’t a business that wants a lot of communication, it is important to consider if the designer will be there when you need them to be.
It’s not uncommon for a client to want some changes to a design. If the designer misses the mark, how will this be handled? Will you have to pay extra than the original price to get the results you want? When hiring a web designer, it’s important to ask about their revision policy, this may be included in their project proposal.
How many rounds of revision are included in the project
What is considered a revision? For example, will a change to a font size be classed as a revision?
What happens if we go over the agreed revisions? How much does extra work cost?
How will revisions be handled and will they affect the overall deadline of the project?
A great website is accessible to everybody. It’s important that nobody is excluded due to having a poorly designed site. An effective designer will have a plan in place to tackle accessibility. It’s a good idea to ask them about their approach.
Do they understand the accessibility guidelines?
Do they use accessible design principles, with easy-to-read text and alt-text for images?
Do they create websites that can be navigated via a keyboard?
What tools do they use to test the website for accessibility?
A website design shouldn’t stay the same forever. As the business grows, the website will need to be scaled. As Technology advances, new features and capabilities for websites will be released. As customers' needs change or the market shifts, market positioning may change. All of these changes require an adaptable and scalable design. Ask your potential web designer. Ask if they have considered growth, market shifts, and emerging technologies.
During a discovery session, the goals of the business should be discussed. An effective designer will take consider the future of the business when building the new website. For example, a business may be thinking of expanding and releasing a product range in the next 2 years. In this case, e-commerce functionality should be considered in the site design. The host must be suited for e-commerce. The way that product cards fit onto the home page should be thought through. By thinking about the future of the website, scaling becomes much easier. It becomes frictionless and less stressful as there will already be a plan in place.
Hosting: Is the host suited for scaling?
Scalable design: How will you plan for expanding the website? Will the layout accommodate growth?
Growth of business: What measures do you take so that our website can grow? how will you work with us to ensure that we are prepared to manage growth?
The approach to designing a website can vary depending on the industry. You want to be sure that the designer you choose can adapt. They must be able to learn about your business and the industry it serves. It’s important to ask about their methods of research. For example, a great designer might use industry reports, competitor research and customer insights. These will be used to gain a macro and micro understanding. They would then be structured into traditional business frameworks such as PESTLE and SWOT. They would then be used to create a unique website that addresses customer problems and desires.
The ability to research and understand the industry is as important as being able to design a good website. Without a knowledgeable approach, the website will get lost in a sea of competitors. There is a risk of having a website that doesn’t address customer problems.
What is your research method?
What sources do you use?
How does your research differ across industries?
How will you utilise your research?
By asking about a designer's process, you can gauge how thorough they are with their work. Their process can give an insight into how they solve problems. Sometimes collaborating with a third party isn’t as smooth sailing as we would hope. It's great to know the measures they take to overcome barriers. Asking a designer to explain their latest project can give you a recent and real-life example of the way they work.
Another benefit of understanding their process is that you are in the loop. You know what to expect in the project. Most designers will have a timeline and structure for each stage of the project. This is usually included in a proposal, but there is no harm in asking them to walk you through it.
Some areas to ask about their process and problem-solving:
What is your process from the discovery session to the launch?
Can you tell me about a barrier you overcame in your last project?
How would you handle a change in direction halfway through a project?
Having a nicely designed website is great. But it is only part of the package. On average, we have about 15 seconds to grab a user’s attention. If half of those seconds are spent waiting for the page to load, you won’t be off to a great start! Website speed and performance are very important in user experience and SEO. Search engines will favour fast-loading websites, and so will visitors. When speaking with a designer, be sure to ask about the actions they take to ensure fast loading times.
Do you take any measures to provide fast loading times?
What is your process?
What tools do you use to analyse the performance?
A website that is difficult to navigate is a huge turnoff for visitors. If they struggle to find what they are looking for, they will go elsewhere. It's a designer’s job to make the user experience frictionless. Visitors must be able to find and absorb the information they need easily. Asking about the process for User Experience is key.
How do you gain an understanding of the target audience and their needs?
What is your process for developing a positive experience on the website?
What steps do you take to produce a clear sitemap, information architecture and wireframes?
Launching the website for some designers is the end of the journey. For the client, it’s only the start! Some designers will send you the files and let you launch the site yourself. This can be a tedious task. Some support along the way is crucial for businesses without a web developer or marketer. Ask about the designer's launch and delivery process. After the site is launched, you might face some problems with maintenance. Some platforms can be difficult to navigate. Ask about the post-launch support. Will they be there to help you if you face any problems?
Delivery process: What is the process for delivering the website? Do you offer any training or resources?
Launch process: Do you help with launching the website? Will you help connect it to the domain and host?
Post-launch support: Do you offer support packages? What will happen if I can’t maintain the website, will I be able to get help?
Your website must be GDPR compliant! Having a functioning cookie consent pop-up is a must. It is important to ask the designer if they provide this. Without it, your site will not be GDPR-compliant, and you will be collecting user data without their permission. The process differs between each site, depending on the data collected. Using google analytics and Facebook pixel requires different permissions from a site that doesn’t use them. Be sure to ask about the type of compliance you need to follow.
The goals and objectives of the website should be laid out early on in the project. A discovery session should outline the purpose of the project and the client's needs. By having the goals clearly defined they can be referred back to. Ensuring that the project is meeting the goals. Ask the designer what measures are taken to ensure goals are met. If they aren’t initially met, what steps will be taken?
Feedback session: in a feedback session, the goals can be revisited to check whether mockups, wireframes or content is meeting the goals. ask whether feedback sessions are something they offer
Mockups and revisions: does the designer offer multiple design options? Are revisions a part of the package? By offering both of these options, different paths can be explored and changes can be made to work that isn't meeting goals.
Testing: how can we ensure that it will meet the visitor's needs? What sort of testing do you carry out to ensure customers are happy?
