Comments on: What Clients Need To Know When Hiring A Web Design Company

By: Doug C.

Doug C. — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 09:31:41 +0000

Glad to hear it, Brian. Is it a job you think would be a good fit for you? What did you think of the people?

By: Brian

Brian — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 16:32:48 +0000

Thanks everyone! The interview went well, and I was able to put all of your answers to use. I think together, we covered the most important aspects on this topic. I will post the article here when it is published. Thanks again! Brian's last blog post..Video Tut #2 - Quickly Create a Post-It Note in Photoshop

By: Marcos

Marcos — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 00:56:57 +0000

This is one of the richest discussion I’ve read in some time!… Brian, I’d love to see the result of this. Please let me know when and how can I read the article… seems very interesting!.

By: Chris Figat

Chris Figat — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 20:38:07 +0000

Also be sure you’ve got a firm or designer that’s well-versed in a variety of web technologies and can tell you what you need, not sell you what you want. Too often clients with very little web experience have often heard lots of web buzzwords or have been told by others what they need, whether it be a Flash intro or a complex database-driven solution. A good designer will talk with you, evaluate your needs, and not be afraid to disagree with you on what you think is best for your website. They should also understand how your website impacts your overall brand and be able to give you examples of other clients who have used their online presence to strengthen their brand.

Interview sounds fun, good luck!

By: mayhemstudios

mayhemstudios — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 19:25:26 +0000

Clients should know what they will be expecting in deliverables and how much the project will cost. This can be accomplished with a signed contract and 50% deposit before starting any project, with the exact details of what the client will be receiving.

The client is expected to provide the signed contract with the 50% deposit. Plus, provide the designer with all the content, photos and anything else related to the project.

It’s also a good idea to get some background information about your client before starting on any project. It will help to met client goals and expectations. Using a creative brief will help accomplish this.

A creative brief lays out the visual design directions to explore and the objectives of the project. Using the information on the form to make sure that we are both focused and are on the same page throughout the creative process to deliver the clients message.

A few things to consider on what should be included in a creative brief.

+ Client information
+ Client budget
+ Who are you?
+ What do you do?
+ What are your goals?
+ What is your budget?
+ How would you like to be perceived?
+ Who is your audience, demographics?
+ Who is your primary competitor?
+ What do you want this project to say about you?
+ What’s your favorite/least favorite color and why?
+ List logos you like and why?
+ What would you like produced?
+ What keywords describe your business?

By: Brian Yerkes

Brian Yerkes — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 18:55:49 +0000

Delighted with these responses! I have organized it all and hopefully will deliver a strong answer during the interview. Thank you for your help, I agree with everything that was mentioned above. Nice to see the different perspective on what is most important to you guys, I bet it says a lot about how you market yourself. You have varying ideas of what is most important. Interesting discussion.

Thanks again

By: Rajesh Pancholi

Rajesh Pancholi — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 15:27:22 +0000

What Clients Need To Know When Hiring A Web Design Company?

Use your instinct, first impressions count when meeting any supplier. Track Record – Portfolio is cool but was everything in the portfolio created in-house….. Skillsets of those working on the project, try to speak to the individuals rather than just the salesman/woman if possible, ask if they can sit in for a moment or two…

Reliable testimonials from reliable sites and not there Friend or Mum. What sort of questions do they ask while the initial conversations take place. Do they ask you what you want to achieve or are they bombarding you with IT talk trying to oversell their services. Do some research yourself so you know which direction you want to move in.

Contract, does it feel fair, maintenance costs and turnaround of these changes/amends, will they be as supportive once you paid for the initial work. If you want to move the project away for a particular reason how will this be handled.

Are they looking at the big picture or just the project in hand. Over time needs change and grow.

And most importantly take the time to speak to more than one agency to compare responses, if you have the patience and time off course.

Oh bugger what do I know, excuse the rambling

By: Marcos

Marcos — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 02:34:25 +0000

I think the article wants to dig more in the strategic side of starting a web project than just choosing the best designer on the web. There are projects among projects and web-designers among web-designers. The most important thing to know before hiring a web designer is “What we want with this project specifically? What strategy is been followed by the decision of building or rebuilding a website” The further election of a candidate have to be ruled by the exact needs of the project: “Do we need to put more accent to the image aspects of branding or rich and dynamic content?, do we need to have close relation with our customers?, do we need new customers?, we want the customer to return? what about catching customer information?”. In the websphere we have great graphic designers with some programming skills, good programmers with really good taste for image, designers that love Adobe Flash and find standards restrictive and designers that love standards and hate any form of proprietary technology. Of course the portfolio will tell you this, but many times those are questions that are never formulated in any management team. The important thing to the company is to know that the designer, programmer (or designer-programmer) and the company itself are stakeholder with the same amount in play when it comes to develop the project.

By: Brian Yerkes

Brian Yerkes — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 01:29:09 +0000

Excellent answers so far!! Thank you for adding your comments

I am putting your answers together to get ready for tomorrow, keep them coming!

By: Tamar Wallace

Tamar Wallace — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 01:17:37 +0000

While a good portfolio is important, as is a quality resume and authentic testimonials, I think it’s very important to make sure that prospects not only read the contract thoroughly, but also be sure that they understand it fully.

Things like who will be updating the site once it goes live, who owns the copyright to the design/layout of the site and any images/photos used, and how to handle any technical issues that may arise in the future are all very important to discuss and know up front.

In order to avoid issues down the line, it’s also important to anticipate future needs. Maybe right now, the company only needs a few pages. But in a few months, they might want a blog, or a more dynamic website with a database, RSS feeds, etc. So it’s a good idea to prepare now for the future. Ask a lot of questions, try to think ahead, and make sure the site is developed with the ability to expand later in mind. It might cost a little more upfront, but in the long run, it’ll save a lot more money than having to have the site rebuilt from the ground up later.