10 ThingsYou Should Do
Before Hiring a Web
Designer
Created by William Ivory
Ask Around
• There are millions of web designers
worldwide that can help you create a
website, but if you are the kind of
person that wants to sit down with
someone in-person rather than on
Skype, your network might help you
find them.
Know your website goals and priorities
• Instead, search online for websites you like
and ones that could potentially represent
your brand from an image perspective. This
is also the time you will begin to draft an
outline of what you want your website to
accomplish, but we’ll get into that later.
Create a Vision Board
• Vision boards aren’t just for 20-
somethings who are unsure what they
want to do for the rest of their lives;
they also help new business owners
decide how to create the best look for
their business.
Make a Design Wish List
• Do you need a designer to build a website
from scratch, or do you have a site already
that needs updating? Both are entirely two
different conversations: one focused on
creating and executing a vision while the
other focuses on improving an existing one.
Budget
• The best resource to find out this
information is to ask other local business
owners in the area who they hired to create
their website, and the total cost involved. If
you find yourself loving a specific website
that isn’t local, reach out to the owner and
ask if they would mind sharing the contact
information of their designer.
Give Each Page a Purpose
• The best approach is to find websites in
your industry you admire and try to
emulate (not copy) their structure to
create something similar.
Establish a Creative Process Before the
Meeting
• Chances are you already are creating and
managing your marketing using tools like
Google Docs or Dropbox to manage files.
Since easy online collaboration is key when
working with a web designer, create a
folder online to begin gathering ideas and
storing key pieces of information they will
need to access for your project.
Your Copy
• A shared file is a great way to create draft
copy for multiple people to review
simultaneously. By using software to
track changes to the document, users can
view changes made in real time. This can
be a great way to speed up the creative
process.
Website sitemap
• This is the same approach you need
when planning your website. It
makes sense since this is your
brand’s digital story about who you
are and why you matter.
Web design agreement and contract
• When designing your website, it is
critical you and your designer are on
the same page regarding expectations.
Since you hired a designer chances are
your knowledge of all things web
design isn’t equal to theirs. Accept you
may not grasp the time involved in
designing a site.
THANK YOU