Choosing a web designer is a very important decision. Web developers have the ability to shape the way you or your company is perceived online. Depending on the terms, this can be a potentially long-term relationship so these three things should be taken into account:

Personality

Availability

Quality

Personality

When it comes down to it, businesses are just people dealing with people and if those people don’t get along, the business relationship probably will not prosper. Its critical that you get to know your web designer before signing any contracts to try and prevent personality conflicts down the road. If the web designer has written articles, take the time to read them. Definitely meet with the designer in person if possible and if not, at least call them on the phone prior to signing up.

Availability

Just because a web design firm is open for business does not mean they will be able to get to your project right away. If you have a near-term deadline, make sure you ask for an estimate of when the project would be able to get started and for when it might be finished. Any web design worth its salt will tell you this information up-front. I once took a car to a body shop who completely sold me on their service with quality, but they couldn’t get me in for at least two weeks so I went somewhere else. However, there may be a good reason why a firm may be busy, such as their quality. So if you have a short-deadline you really want to try and ride the line between quality and availability.

Quality

The last one may be the hardest to quantify. Quality to some means that a web site works well. Quality to others means a site looks good. The old saying, “beauty is in the mind of the beholder,” is true here as well. That being said, there are some general guidelines if your gut instinct is not already helping you with your decision. Take a look at the firms portfolio and ask yourself these questions:

Do all the websites look the same?

Are they pleasing to look at?

Do they look professional?

Answering these questions to yourself will help you in your decision process. There are other things to consider such as price, but that is more of a personal preference or budget issue that is fixed at a certain range. I will say that for the most part, you do get what you pay for. Larger firms charge more for more experience that comes from having a broader team. Smaller firms may charge less due to less overhead, but they will have less experience due to having less employees. Larger firms may turn away a small site, but small firms most likely will be happy to serve you. Also smaller firms tend to give better customer service partly because they have to and you’re dealing with someone with authority, most of the time who is the owner. I hope this helped you in your quest for a new or better web site designer.

Telablue is a web design and SEO firm. We serve customers by offering web design built around search engine optimization (SEO). We also offer branding assistance by creating logos, choosing colors, and helping to shape an identity. Our objective is to create sites that are user-friendly and professional looking. Get to know us at our initial face-to-face meeting and view our portfolio to make sure you’re comfortable. We want you to be happy and we want you to do well online. To find out more email us. Thank you for your time and we look forward to working with you.

Telablue is primarily an online marketing firm that uses good design and SEO to promote your site and ultimately lead to conversions.  Any time a goal set forth by a site gets achieved, that is a conversion. This could be anything from signing up for a newsletter to emailing for more information to buying a product.  Our design methods and SEO techniques will be geared towards whatever goals you create for you website.  If you haven’t already started thinking about it, ask yourself these questions.

What is the purpose of my website?

What am I trying to accomplish?

Why do I have (or want) a website?

Answering these questions before meeting with a web developer such as Telablue or any other web developer will help you get the most out of the time spent together.  And if you haven’t answered these questions before-hand, a good web developer will ask you these questions during an initial briefing.  We’ve gone into more detail about how to choose a web designer in this article.

Although methods search engines like Google use change often, content is still king. The easiest sites to market are those with lots of text about the company and the products or services they offer. Many times, businesses choose to hire copywriters for the sole purpose of helping to write articles for the website. These articles are either about the company or about a product. Another reason for using a copywriter may be to write an objective press release. Press releases are usually one of the best methods to get the word out about a new product or promotion and are a key to any SEO plan.