Your business is in the market for a new website, you can’t be taken seriously without one these days and you want it online yesterday. Let’s get it online!!! Woaah there Speedy Gonzales, not so fast – there are a few important points you owe yourself the time to think about first. After all, your website is a business investment, so it’s a good idea to plan carefully.

If you are anything like me, you expect quality results out of your new website.  It’s important to do some groundwork before you reach out to a professional, and I hope these questions are useful to you:

1. What is the primary goal for your website?
   Please don’t say: “To have a website.” When you break it down to brass tacks, most anyone you ask wants to increase their online sales, increase online leads for their services, or to enhance their brand. These are all good reasons but still fairly generic. Your goal(s) for your website should be very specific to your business. Consider Frank, the local Italian tailor who wants to use his website to educate his audience about the caliber of quality he puts into his service, and also to bring more clientele to his store front.  It can't hurt to quantify your goals into some kind of numbers or benchmarks. Which brings me to #2.
    
2. Are your goals realistic? 
   How will you achieve $$$ (insert your favorite # here) sales in the first month your website is online? Even the most attractive, most well architected website will be lucky if it receives a trickle of traffic once it is online, without any additional effort. If no one knows about it, no one will visit your website. On the other hand, if you (or you and a consultant) do your research and execute a well planned online marketing campaign with reasonable goals, yes you can make it happen. But keep in mind if you want a slew of traffic overnight, you better be extremely popular already, be prepared to pay for it, or be prepared to be disappointed! Growth of quality, long term online traffic takes time and effort to build, but it is well worth it.
   
   
3. What are you willing to pay?
   Everyone has a different number they are comfortable with and you should know what yours is before you talk to a professional. It’s also important to know that every professional is going to give you a different number figure for the cost of your new website. It doesn't mean that one is right and one is wrong, because there are an unlimited number of styles & approaches to designing and building websites. Which brings me back to: It’s important to know your budget first. And the adage “you get what you pay for” holds true in web design and online marketing, just like in every other industry - but with the footnote that you better also hire a web designer for quality, reputation and best fit, not cost alone.
    
4. Do you know your competition?
   If you are a brick & mortar local business, you are now also competing online – your understanding of this is extremely important to your website’s, and in turn your business’ success. This goes double for online only businesses. Knowing your online competition is extremely important. Find out who they are. Get to know their websites. This means the pages, their messages, their voice, their selling points, etc. You get the idea. I can’t stress how important this is, not because I want you to copy their websites, but because you need to know what you are up against and where you stand.

There are a lot of factors to consider when purchasing a new website and a good web consultant will be able to guide the way with solid advice and recommendations, but it’s up to you to do some groundwork first. Don’t forget to have fun with it!

Wishing you the best in Online Success.

Finding a quality web designer to help you create a successful, professional website can be difficult if you don't know where to look. Don't settle for the first web designer you find if you're not 100% satisfied, there are a LOT out there and with a little research you'll find a web designer that perfectly matches your criteria. I hope these tips help you reach Online Success!
 

1. Find out who designed the websites that you really like.
   If you haven't started researching other websites to look for ideas and inspiration for your own website, you better get started now! Chances are if you really like a website, the web designer that created it has more really good work in their website portfolio. Find out who created those stellar websites and see if you like the majority of their work.
    
2. Ask your colleagues for referrals.
   If your colleague or friend has a successful website for their business and they are happy with their web designer's track record, ask them to refer you.  Referrals are good for both the web designer and you because you will both have already established more trust than you would have without the referral. Trust is an important key factor in choosing a web designer, and besides, you already know they do good work for your colleagues.
   
   
3. Place an Ad in Craigslist.
   Craigslist has sections called "computer gigs" and "creative gigs", where you can place a free ad for help with your website.  The best thing about craigslist is that there are a lot of web designers looking at the ads on there that you won't find elsewhere. Many will be local but keep in mind anyone can respond to your ad regardless of their location.
   
   
4. Browse Web Design Directories.
   Check out some web design directories for designers in your area, such as Xemion, Web Designer's List and Creative Hotlist to name a few.  There are a ton of web design business directories out there, just search around and you'll find more, you might even find one dedicated solely to your area.
    
5. Search Local Businesses.
   There are some really great tools out there to search local businesses in your area. I recommend starting with Google Local (maps) and Yelp. I guarantee you will find endless results of web design businesses in these directories. Some will even have reviews which will help you narrow down the list faster.
   
   

When you are searching for your web designer it's good to have a checklist of your most essential criteria (i.e. aesthetics, availability, professionalism, portfolio, etc.) so that you can narrow down your options quickly.  Also check out our handy downloadable checklist for hiring a web designer that is a must have in researching the right web designer.

Still not satisfied with your options? You might consider Niche Tank as your credible web designer, just read our web design testimonials and see what our wonderful clients said about our work :)

So you're ready to purchase a professional website for your business. You found some web designers with nice portfolios. Ideally you've narrowed down to a list of 2-3 professional web designers that you really like. You've calculated your budget. You went down the hire a web designer checklist. Now a few web design proposals land in your inbox. How do you pick the right web designer?

Here's what to look for in a quality web design proposal:

• The proposal is presented professionally. After all you want the same for your website.
• The proposal is coherent and understandable.
• The web designer demonstrates understanding of your audience and target demographic.
• A sitemap will list every page that your website will include.
• The proposed structural organization of your website makes sense.
• The proposal includes a scope of work. Details are spelled out for each page and feature in your website.
• The proposal presents a timeline.
• The proposal should explicitly state how many different design concepts you will be presented with and how many revisions you will be allowed.
• The cost of the proposed website and details regarding payments.
• Contact information for at least 3-4 references, whose websites also exist in the web designer's portfolio.

A solid web designer should present you with a proposal that includes all of the above. As the client, its your responsibility to point out any omissions or details you want changed before you sign your name. On the same token, requesting revisions to the proposal should be respected by the web designer because, if necessary, it would strengthen your communication and understanding before working together. If the proposal is perfect on the first shot that's great too!

Good luck and I wish you the online success in your venture.

// Photo credit: Kevin Dooley

If you are in the market for a website you need to know how much a website costs. If you've started shopping around for a web designer you might be even more bewildered about website pricing than before. Shopping for a website can feel like shopping for a used car. That's because the internet is still a wild wild west.

So how much does a website cost? I'll tell you right now that the answer is not very complicated, but first you'll have to get inside the business mindset of a web designer. As an expert, believe me taking time to do your homework before you purchase a new website will pay off and you'll be well on your way to online success!

A web designer's business mindset.
We all know money makes the world go round, but I hope your web designer's first priority is to make a quality product. Understanding how a web designer approaches business can give you insight into how he will price your website. The higher a website's quality, the more chance your online business has for success. You want your web visitors to receive a pleasant user experience and a web design bestowed with your company's style and quality of product or service. Your web designer should be in tune with this line of thinking and should take the time to understand your business goals. Be wary of a web designer that doesn't.

Calculate your budget.
Before you even talk to a web designer you should calculate your budget. How much money are you comfortable spending? What is the maximum investment you would make? A website can cost hundreds of dollars to tens of thousands of dollars (or more). The bottom line is, you should have a price range you feel comfortable with as a good starting point.

When and why you should share your budget with a web designer.
There's a good chance a web designer will ask you for your budget before giving you a quote for your website's cost. I've seen a lot of potential clients get defensive when I ask this question and would rather see my estimate before sharing their budget. Very well, but I'll tell you why you should consider sharing your budget with a web designer right off the bat. Websites can come in various shapes and sizes, amount of quality, amount of detail and number of features.  Many web designers are capable of a wide range the aforementioned variety. There are a lot of factors (see below) that affect the cost of a website and without knowing your budget a web designer may be way off the mark when making a recommendation to you. Just by knowing your budget, a good web designer should be able to give you an idea about how much quality and features can go into your website. That's not to say that your maximum budget has to be what you will spend. Frankly, if you don't feel comfortable enough with a web designer to disclose your budget, you should probably keep looking until you find someone you feel comfortable working with. Watch out for yourself, but also trust your gut.

How does a web designer calculate website cost? A web designer will either charge by the hour or a flat project rate...

Hourly: Hourly web design rates can range from $25-$200. Hourly rates are usually comisserate with a web designer's experience. A higher hourly rate should indicate higher quality and more expertise. More experience should imply faster work and/or more quality per hour. A well qualified web designer may charge between $50-$100. A web designer can provide an estimate or quote based on the number of hours he believes your website will take to complete. The actual time taken to complete the task will likely vary at least slightly.

Project Rate: Project rate or flat rate is a single fixed cost for your website. Flat rate means given a pre-agreed definition of your website, the cost will not change. If halfway through the project you ask for new features not previously discussed, expect more cost added to the flat rate. A web designer will usually calculate a website's flat rate using the amount of hours estimated to go into the website. I recommend requesting a flat project rate if it's your first time working with a web designer because you will know ahead of time what you will be paying. You don't have to worry about the amount of hours going into your website; just focus on the final cost and deliverables.

Rate gotcha: It's very very important to be clear up front with your web designer about what you will be receiving. You should outline all of your expectations to your web designer.  It's better to give too much info than not enough. Make sure that the quote or proposal your web designer provides demonstrates his understanding of your requirements in writing. If this is not clearly outlined in detail, you have a good chance for mutual misunderstandings down the road about what should be delivered for the price you paid.

Website payments.
While not all web designers requre a down payment up front, it is a standard industry practice. Expect your web designer to request anywhere from 1/4 to 1/2 of the website's cost up front as an initial payment. Importantly this reserves your web designer's initial time to dedicate to your website and tells the web designer that you are serious about doing business. If you don't feel comfortable paying a specific web designer up front, keep shopping until you find one you are comfortable with. A website's cost can be split into one or more payments. The cost can be split over 2 or more payment terms, which coincide with the web designer completing milestones. Expect to make the last payment as soon as the website is finished.

Factors that affect a website's cost.
Your website's cost can vary greatly depending on many, many factors (web designer aside). Consider the following:

• How much time (detail) is spent designing and building your website?
• Is a logo also being designed?
• How much do you care about quality of the final product?
• Who is the competition you are up against?
• How many pages does your website have?
• What features are on each page?
• Is their any special interactivity?
• Are you selling products online?

Stick to your budget and your goals for the website. If your budget is too low for the amount of quality or size of website you require, consider comprimising some sections or features of the website until later. On the otherhand, if you don't feel 100% synced up with a web designer keep looking and don't give up. There are other web designers out there. Ultimately you should consider proposals from 2-3 web designers that you really click with, that really understand your goals and that can deliver what they promise. Remember you get what you pay for (most of the time). Don't expect a premium website for a bargain basement price. On the same token do your research and make sure you really are getting what you pay for.

Good luck and I wish you the best online success!