This is part 3 in the series In Search of a Professional Web Designer.

Make sure you also check out Part 1 and Part 2.

Now that you’ve found a web designer, how do you get the most of your web designer and ensure that you get what you want and need? I’ve got 10 pointers for you.

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If you’re coming in later in the game, you may want to read Part 1 of the series.

Ok, so you’ve found a lot of potential web designers out there. Now how do you choose one?

THE THREE WEB JOB SPECIALTIES

It helps to understand that the web design field is like any other: there are specialists for each aspect of the website process. Just as there are doctors who are general practitioners, endocrinologists, surgeons of one specialty or another, pediatricians and so on, so it is in IT and the web field.

Bear in mind, just because someone can fix your computer doesn’t mean they know anything about web design. And vice versa. Also, just because someone is a programmer doesn’t mean they know anything about web languages either.

When it comes to web design, there are 3 types of designers: graphic artists, web designers, and web developers (programmers who handle the non-artsy stuff). There may be some individuals who do a bit of overlap between each, but I would go so far as to say there is no one who is 100% proficient in all areas (and if such a person exists, most people can’t afford them).

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This is the first post of a series on finding, hiring, and working with web designers. This post is aimed at business owners that may be looking for a web designer to hire for a project or various members of management looking for a designer or small firm to outsource to. This series is also helpful for those who are deciding if they should hire someone else or do it themselves.

Some of you that are reading this blog already have a web designer (which may be me!). But many others will stumble here in search of a web designer. And you lost souls are probably feeling overwhelmed and not so sure where to start. Who better to tell you what to look for in a web designer than another experienced web designer?

So the first question is: how do you find one? More importantly, how do you find a designer of good quality?

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In his blog post, Paying Not To Be First, Jonathan Fields discusses why paying more for a service is better.

He makes a fair point: you’re paying more for a service because you are paying for the individual’s experience.

Reading this reminds me of a few things I should share about web designers and other freelancers. Remember, I base this on working in the field for 10 years; I’ve seen my colleagues do a lot of interesting things.

In his post, Jonathan has the “you get what you pay for” mentality. Bear in mind that this is often true. However, it can be equally false.

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This is a subject that doesn’t occur to most website owners. Not until they’ve unwittingly done something to attract the attention of a person with a lawyer. Or maybe even after their host has shut their site down.

A fair number of website owners even think they understand the legalities of owning a website. And again are surprised when a sticky situation appears.

You don’t have to go through that headache. So let’s arm you with some information about your website.

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