We are a website design specialists

Your web designer doesn’t have to be local to you, but it is usually beneficial to use a company who is located in the same country.

Different working hours can cause delays which could lead to frustration if there’s a problem with your site.

No one wants to use a web designer that will be there one day and gone the next, so try to use someone that is well established.

We often receive enquiries from clients who had used someone just starting out but their project didn’t get finished as their designer had disappeared.

Ask your web designer if they provide you with a bespoke service based on your requirements, or a template already created that anyone else can use.

The latter may well be cheaper, but if you’re looking to stand out you will want to ensure your site doesn’t look exactly like a competitor.

Using a competitor as inspiration to create your own bespoke site is a good idea, but copying them is not.

This helps you to understand how you will get your ideas across and then end up with the finished result.

• How do you submit your design brief to them?
• How do you send them your website content?
• Can you make changes if you don’t like something?

You need to understand how easy to use it will be for you to manage moving forwards. Will you be able to edit your website content yourself, or will it be complicated so even minor changes require the help of a designer?

Another factor to consider is what happens in the future if you want to move to a new supplier. Is the platform transferrable between different website hosts, or is it a fully hosted service that can’t be moved?

More questions that lead on from this one:

• Is the platform regularly updated?
• Is it secure?
• What features does it offer?
• Is it SEO friendly?

Make sure you fully understand the solution you are looking at. As your business advances, will your platform advance with you, or will you need to start over again?

Every website needs a domain name – that’s your website address that appears in the browser – it’s how your visitors will find you.

You can easily register your own domain with a multitude of online domain companies, but sometimes it’s good to use a designer that does the lot for you.

All websites need hosting to be visible online. Your site files and database need to be stored on a (fast!) server in order to available to your customers.

Does your web designer also provide hosting? If so, who do they host with? How reliable is that website host?

Ask to see some other websites they host and see how fast they load to get an idea of the speed you can expect.

If you’re not web savvy you’ll no doubt need support at some point in the future after your new site goes live.

So, it’s important to understand whether you are just purchasing a design template, or whether your web designer will be there to support you throughout your website ownership journey.

Do they provide a support contract that allows you to contact them and ask for help working the content management system, or if you see an error on your site and don’t know how to fix it?

There’s no point owning a website if nobody can find it!

If you’re not an internet marketing whizz you’ll need help getting your website seen. A new site doesn’t just land on the first page of Google, it needs a lot of work.

• Does your web designer have experience with SEO (the process of ranking higher on Google)?
• Are they creating your site in SEO and mobile friendly formats?
• Can they help you build a presence on social media?