A year ago, I was asked to hire my first junior website designer. I imagined that the process would just be me looking through some portfolios, hope to be wow-ed, schedule some interviews, and then voila, we’ve got a new team member! 

Of course, it wasn’t as easy as that. 

When looking for a new designer to hire, it’s more than just looking for an amazing portfolio. There are several other factors that would contribute to someone successfully joining and fitting in with the team. And it gets a tiny bit more complicated when you’re looking for a freelance designer to build you a new website. Because you expect that you’ll be training an employee; a freelance designer on the other hand, you expect they’ll have the expertise to help and guide you through this new project.

So how do you find a website designer that’s perfect for you? What are the qualities that you should be looking for? It’s not a one-size-fits-all kind of thing. It would be great if they were referred by someone you trusted, but just because that designer created an amazing website for your friend’s portfolio, doesn’t necessarily mean he/she will be able to do the same for your brand new app. 

To help you with your decision, here are 7 things that I learned you should consider when hiring a website designer.

Don’t have time to read the whole article? Skip to the summary.

1. Portfolio

Do past projects match the style that you are going for? 

Hopefully, at this point, you generally know how you want your website to look like. Do you want it to be feminine and modern? Fun and colorful? Dark and sleek? 

If you’re still unsure, there are several ways to figure this out. You can choose to consult with a brand strategist. You can do your own research and look at competitors’ websites. See which ones you don’t like and take note of those that resonate with you. Doing so will help you become more aware of what you’re looking for in portfolios. 

I do acknowledge that designers can be versatile and work with more than one style. So it is still possible to hire a designer even though his/her amazing portfolio does not yet contain the style that you want. However, it will be easier if you work with someone who is quite used to creating websites that are similar to your goal.

What was his/her role in each project? (e.g. design lead versus junior designer)

One website can be built by a number of people. That number can be one or five or more. 

Hence, just because a website is included in a designer’s portfolio, doesn’t mean he/she solely created it. It doesn’t even mean that he/she created the majority of it. So it’s important to know what role the designer played in completing the portfolio piece. Did he/she design one page or the whole thing? Was he/she responsible for just designing or did he/she develop it as well? 

2. Pricing

Do you have the budget to hire this designer?

When hiring a website designer, it is important to know that design fees will vary greatly with experience, skillset, location and other factors. Some designers will charge by the hour; others will charge per project. 

On the other hand, a website, like most things, will be valued differently by different people. A small, newly opened mom-and-pop shop won’t prioritize a website as much as a big corporation. Due to this, a big corporation will be open to spending more on a website. 

When you’re looking for a website designer, you’ll find affordable and expensive options, and some in between. The key is to find some balance between your budget and the designer’s fee.

Remember this quote: 

Good & cheap won’t be fast
Fast & good won’t be cheap
Cheap & fast won’t be good

3. Process

How long will it take for him/her to complete the project? Is it within your timeline?

It can take 1 day or 1 week or several months to finish building a website. This depends on a number of things such as content availability, project size, and designer’s skill level.

An experienced website designer would be able to estimate how long a project would last due to the amount of work he/she has completed in the past.

Are you able to take a sneak peek at his/her process? Is it something you feel comfortable working with?

Experienced designers would also be able to describe to you how his/her creation process works. Because they’re used to working with clients, they would already have an established plan on how to start and finish a website. This would include when payments are due, how they collect content, how many revision rounds are included in a contract, and how the final website is turned over.

4. Schedule

When can the designer start working on your website?

You’ll find that some designers are immediately available for work, while some are booked for months. Depending on your deadlines and expected launch date, this can qualify or disqualify a designer whom you’ve been considering.

5. Features

Do you require any special features? Does the designer have the ability to deliver these special features?

It is quite common not to know what special features you would require for your website. So in order for you to figure this out, I advise that you list down all the things that you must have in your website and share this with the designer.

For example, it is common nowadays to see a website with micro animations; how engaging it is to watch different elements slowly enter and move across the screen as you scroll down. However, not all designers have the ability to animate websites. So if this is a must-have for you, then you must also make sure that the website designer you’re hiring is capable of it.

6. Platform

Do you prefer to have your website built on a particular platform? (e.g. Squarespace, Wordpress, Webflow, etc.) Is the designer capable of building a website on your preferred platform?

This is another thing that clients are not commonly aware of and that’s okay. In connection with the special features, just share with the designer the things that your website absolutely cannot live without. After all, it is the designer’s responsibility to know the limitations of the website building platforms he/she works on.

For instance, an eCommerce website would need to be connected to a payment processor, such as PayPal and ApplePay. However, if you want to use a payment processor that is not commonly used worldwide, like Gcash in the Philippines, then you would need to inform the designer. This is because certain website platforms are incompatible with it (e.g. Squarespace), while others allow it (e.g. Shopify).

In this case, if you mention that you’re planning on building an eCommerce site, an experienced eCommerce web designer would have the initiative to ask you which payment gateways you need. And he/she will advise you if it’s within his/her capabilities.

7. Communication

Was the designer able to respond to your queries after a reasonable amount of time? Are you able to clearly understand one another?

Are you able to clearly understand one another?

Last but definitely not the least, be observant whenever you communicate with a potential designer. As we all know very well, it’s not all about skills. Attitude is an important aspect, too.

The way a designer responds to your inquiries and/or emails should give you a hint if this professional relationship is a good choice. And if the designer is exhibiting red flags, it might be better to move on.

To recap, here the 7 things to consider when hiring a new website designer:

1. Portfolio - Do past projects match the style that you are going for?

2. Pricing - Do you have the budget to hire this designer?

3. Process - How long will it take for him/her to complete the project?

4. Schedule - When can the designer start working on your website?

5. Features - Does the designer have the ability to deliver the special features you require?

6. Platform - Is the designer capable of building a website on your preferred platform?

7. Communication - Was the designer able to respond to your queries in a clear and timely manner?

Did I miss something? Let me know what else you look for in a designer.

Cheers,
Abby Castro