Unless you have web design skills then it is a safe bet that you need to find someone to help design your website for you. All good and well but where are you going to find such a person?
For a start, you could try simply searching for one in Google. There are two ways you can do this. The first is to enter the search term ‘web designer‘ and then go through the results to see if any catch your eye. One thing to look for here is if any of the results bring up the designer’s own website. If they do it might give you a small preview of what their design skills amount to.
The second way to search on Google is to look for a web designer who is local to you. Type ‘web designer’ into Google’s search box and add your town, city or state. It can be very advantageous using local designers especially if your business only trades locally. They might have an insight into what local website designs have worked in he past. The other advantage is you may be able to meet face-to-face which is always a positive way to build a good working relationship.
The next place you look could online for a web designer is on freelancing sites such as Freelancer, Upwork, and PeoplePerHour. Don’t restrict yourself to looking at just these three as there are much more who have web designers available to work for you.
The benefits of using a freelance site are you can first read the feedback and the testimonials the designer has had from previous clients. The second is they should have a portfolio of designs or links to websites they have built, giving you an opportunity to assess their work before even contacting them.
Next, you could look at classified ads both online and offline. Sites like Craigslist will have plenty of web designers advertising their services as will local newspapers and the free classified ad magazines that often get delivered locally.
If your budget is limited you could make an enquiry at the local college or university to see if any students proficient in web design would be willing to help design your website for a small fee. Bear in mind you are building this for your business so if you go down this route make sure you check out the student’s previous work if they have any.
Another great way to find a web designer is to look online for designs that you like and see if the name of the designer or design agency appears anywhere. Many websites are happy for the designer to have a little tagline at the bottom of the home page to let visitors know who designed it.
If the designer’s name does not appear, contact the owner of the website and ask them, even if that site is a competitor. After all, you don’t have to tell them you are going to be competing with them, do you?
Last, but certainly not least, simply ask around your friends, family and business associates if there is anyone they can recommend who they know has designed a high-quality website in the past. Even if they haven’t had one created for themselves they may somebody else who has.