How to choose a web designer, freelancer or agency
Mar 25 ’08
Before I launch in to this, let me just say that, really, there's no universally right way to choose the ideal web designer. There is no idea web designer. There's just the best way for you, and the best web designer for you. I hope that the thoughts I lay out below help you to clear up your right way is.
What you know
Some clients approach me saying that they want a website. Some say that they want a website that looks nice. Some say they want a website that performs functions x, y and z. Some say they want a website set in 12pt Verdana with a background that's exactly this shade of green, on a 960 pixel grid. And written in PHP with a custom CMS, please.
There's nothing wrong with any of these, although the last client always tends to give me pause, for reasons I'll discuss at the end of the article. I like to think of hiring a web professional the way I would hire a contractor to work on my house. Because, really, that's what you're doing: you're hiring a contractor to work on your digital house. Not all contractors are the same. They produce work of differing quality, in different styles and at different prices.
The problem for most home owners/clients is that the sheer number of choices is overwhelming; they don't even know where to start. If you want a contractor for your house, there's a very clear geographic constraint on the choice — the contractor must be in the same place as you, so they can come to your house to do the work. But with the web, that's not true; we're all just one e-mail away from each other. (6 degrees of separation? Hah!)
