Hiring a website designer is a big step. Prices vary widely, and many individuals are unsure of what constitutes a great website, as well as what it will accomplish to generate income. This post was written to assist you to understand how to hire a top NJ digital marketing agency and make the best decision for your company. I’ve seen customers spend money on ineffective and expensive website design services. Whether you join us or not, I want to help you prepare and understand your choices. Web design is a low-barrier business. To earn money, many individuals, freelancers, and even agencies enter the field. An inexpensive website, under $5,000 minimum, will not provide results that generate money. That’s the point. It’s an investment, not an expenditure. An excellent website showcases your advantages and creates trust and confidence in your visitors. Here are some things to know when looking for a web designer. What is the web design platform? Nowadays, web design platforms abound. And their performance and function vary significantly. WordPress, Drupal, and Joomla are top-tier systems with the greatest flexibility and can be tuned for excellent performance. Shopify is also a good choice for E-Commerce sites. The most costly websites are entirely bespoke, built from scratch, and are usually overkill for most company website requirements. Inquire about the web designer’s platform. This will give you a good idea of their status. Run if a web designer praises Wix. Most will use WordPress, the most popular and most functional platform. We mostly use WordPress but also use Shopify and our own CMS. Who pays for the website design and development? This is huge. From my experience and research, many freelancers and web design companies offer low-cost services but then upcharge for everything. So what seems like a good bargain ends up costing a lot more since basic features like contact forms and social media integration are paid for. It’s critical to clarify what is included, what is not, and how much the upcharge is. I’ve seen businesses charge ridiculous sums for simple tasks like putting up contact forms, like setting up a contact form. Why? It doesn’t take $500 to set up, but they undercharge to get you onboard and then overcharge on items you’ll need. A web design firm that isn’t clear about what is included and what add-ons cost is one you should avoid. Do they provide suggestions or simply create what you say? You need an experienced web designer. Opting for one that just produces what you want them to will not give the greatest outcomes. Do you know marketing? SEO? A CRO expert or a copywriter? So why would you employ someone who doesn’t take the time to optimize your website’s performance and conversion? Who will create your website? Is it internal or external? If in-house, is it built by an intern or a pro? This is common with web design firms. Did you know that most web design firms outsource smaller tasks to low-cost designers abroad? A website design agency may sell it for $5,000-$10,000 and then outsource it for a few hundred dollars. This is extremely deceptive and untrue. If you have a small company web design project under $10,000, your project may be handed off to an intern with little supervision. So, instead of an experienced professional web designer working on your website, you get an unskilled beginner. That’s what happens when you’re a tiny fish in a large pond. To guarantee you receive the greatest value for your money, companies like Radiant Elephant only take on a limited number of customers at a time. How to assess a web design firm. Portfolio web design Examine a prospective web design firm’s portfolio. Does the work look nice, inspire trust, load quickly, and make sense to a visitor interested in the product or service? Consult with former web design customers. The best method to assess a web design firm is to speak with a few clients. Recognized web design firms will have clientele willing to talk with prospective clients. Do they respond to emails and phone calls, and do they deliver on time? Hire a graphic designer or a web designer? Hiring a graphic designer to create your company’s website is seldom a good idea. Graphic designers are not marketers, SEOs, or developers. The pretty design doesn’t always lead to conversions. Web Design for Smartphones It amazes me how many fresh websites I see built by freelancers or agencies that aren’t mobile-friendly. And some dare to call it a surcharge. A mobile-friendly website is no longer a luxury, but a requirement. More than half of online traffic is mobile. Your brand will suffer if your website isn’t designed for mobile devices. The best solution is to employ a mobile-first web design firm. With bigger screen sizes, I add bells and whistles to provide a more immersive digital experience. Then there are mobile responsive vs a mobile website. It’s responsive to various viewport sizes. Changing breakpoints on one webpage. A mobile website is a distinct website that is activated when a phone is used. This is shoddy and indicates a lack of a contemporary strategy that follows the best standards. Preparations for hiring a web designer As a professional web designer, I know what the greatest difficulties are while creating a client’s site. And the organization is key. My customer paid my retainer 7 years ago but never gave me the materials I needed to start work. This is also the greatest hindrance to achieving deadlines. Here is a list of things to prepare before hiring a web designer. E-commerce If you aren’t paying someone to create your material, you should have this available. Projects are delayed due to content development. Having the foundation is critical, even if a professional site design firm tweaks your content for marketing and SEO purposes. Figure out the pages you want, you may add more, but this is a start. In general, aim to write 1000-1300 words for each page excluding product pages which should be about 800 words. Get the material ready to transmit, spell-checked. Website images If you wish to utilize unique pictures on your website, arrange them and prepare them for uploading to a service like Dropbox. Send pictures in the best resolution possible. This means you’ll need to either locate the appropriate file or pay someone to retake the header picture if you submit it at 400 pixels wide. Competitors sites Making a list of rivals’ websites and noting what you like and hate about them is a good idea. This may assist your web designer to grasp your desired style. Logo If you don’t have a logo or branding, locate a business that does. Your logo can’t be inexpensive. A decent logo should cost $1,000. Have a high-quality transparent.png version of your logo ready to transmit if you have one.