Building a Web site is like building a house. As a beginner, you can do it if you spend time learning building techniques and how to use the necessary tools. An experienced professional, however, can produce a more polished product in a fraction of the time it would take you.
Skills and Experience
Web designers already know how to use the design software and scripting languages necessary to build an interactive Web site and how to size photographs for maximum resolution and minimum load times. So, their focus is creating a design that reflects your personal or business style and allows visitors to easily find the information they need.
What to Look For
Here are some questions to ask when choosing a designer:
- Are the designers’ sites professional-looking and easy to navigate?
- Have they created Web sites similar to the one you want?
- How many years of experience do they have?
- Will they be available to answer your questions and address your concerns?
- Can the designers handle future updates?
If you choose to hire a company that does Web design as opposed to a freelance designer, you may want to ask which designer will be working on your Web site and request samples of that designer’s work.
Materials
Unlike building a home, you will need to supply the professional Web designer with the materials, graphics and text, needed to build your Web site in addition to the plan you developed in steps one and two.
Once the project is complete, you can make a marketing plan to drive traffic to your Web site.