How to Hire a Web Designer Guide
Hiring a site designer or consultant for the World Wide Web is a good news – bad news proposition. The good news is, most designers have only been doing so for four years or less, which makes for a fairly level playing field. The bad news is, website design quality and pricing are all over the map. Finding a good, reasonably priced designer who understands how to design a site that will sell your products is important and often difficult. Paying a lot does not mean you will get an effective, profitable website.
A recent article published on a leading Internet research site compared the effectiveness and design of large company websites (such as disney.com) to that of smaller businesses. In most cases, the larger company sites (often costing hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars) were ranked lower than sites costing under $10,000 because they were not easy for a consumer to use, had no way to search large sites or inconsistent design.
How am I going to hire a web designer?
So, small business person, what should you do? On one hand, you can not afford to spend thousands of dollars on a website. On the other hand, you don’t want to hire a 12-year-old who just left Best Buy with his/her first copy of XYZ Web design software. Or worse yet, a designer who “creates” sites by stealing the work of others.
If you want to hire an experienced, competent designer for your business or organization website, we recommend using the following guidelines:
- Be clear about your reasons for wanting a website and your expectations of what it can do for your business. Decide how many pages you will need and what you want your site to do (sell, inform, service customers etc.).
- Determine in advance how much of your total advertising budget you want to spend for the design, hosting and maintenance of your site.
- Do a search at Yahoo or AltaVista for designers who offer the services and benefits most important to you. If low price is your priority search “low-cost website design”. If you need a database search “database developers”. If you want to maintain your own site, look for “turnkey” designers etc.
- Examine sites created for businesses similar to yours. This will help you develop the look and feel of the site you want. (Plus, find out what your competitors are doing!)
- Visit the designers’ own sites. Is it well designed, does it look professional? Is it easy to navigate? Does it place well (top 30) in the search engines? (PS: We do!)
- Look for credentials. Does the designer belong to the HTML Writers Guild, International Webmasters Association or other organization that establishes ethical and design standards for Web professionals? (PS: We do!)
- Look for an expressed concern about your design needs. You need a site designer who cares how your site looks, functions and prospers.
- Visit the sites they have designed. Look at their craftsmanship. Observe the quality of workmanship. Do you find a lot of misspelled words, grammatical errors; busy backgrounds or different color backgrounds on each page; over-long pages; music, links or animated graphics that do not work; too many fonts and sizes, colors and blinking “things”; pages that mix four or more topics; unfocused, rambling text; no business contact information; attempts to process orders online without using a secure server; and inconsistent design elements? Any or all of these indicate a lack of design experience or professionalism.
- Contact a few of their clients. Ask whether they are satisfied with the designer and if they would hire him/her again. Ask if the original work and maintenance is done in a timely manner. And, how long it normally takes to get an answer to e-mail. (PS: Feel free to contact our clients!)
- If client names are not posted on their site, do a name search at Network Solutions. Type in the name of the designer and all sites they own or have registered will appear. Visit the sites and e-mail their owners. Click here to find a little more about what marketing can do for you.
- If design prices are not posted on the site, write and ask for a design estimate. Ask what specific design services their fee includes. (Be aware, prices not posted are usually high.)
- Compare the offerings of each firm to get the most for your money. Select three designers based upon the services they offer and your budget.
- How to make a final selection? Choose a designer who (based upon their work) is competent, listens to you, understands how to optimize a website, and attempts to understand the needs of your business. (PS: We do!)
- Look for a designer who will prepare your site keeping in mind quality workmanship, ease of use and security for your customers, enhancing the credibility and /integrity of your business and long range profitability. Get someone who will be in your corner, support you and work with you over the long haul and, stay within your budget. (PS: We do!)
- Remember, high-priced does not always mean competent. Skip the designer who seems to be too busy or just in it for the money. After your site is paid for, you may have a difficult time getting changes made – even if it is a part of your maintenance package.
- You and your site designer should have a contract for the work you want doing (PS: You will get a fair contract and a site planner.)
What else should I know before I hire a web designer?
At the bare minimum, your contract should spell out the number of pages, product/service photos, the scope of the work, custom design elements, copyright ownership, total fee and payment arrangements, colors, graphics etc., who will handle search engine registration or promotion, a site maintenance agreement and completion date. (PS: Ours does!)
Free registration of your site with a minimum of the top five (or ten) Internet search engines/ directories should also be included. (PS: We do!) Registration with more search engines or placement in the top 30 listings (if they can deliver) will probably cost extra.
Be sure you are listed as the Administrative and/or Billing Contact on the Domain name registration records. (PS: We will do this for you.)
Should you pay the designer a percentage of your profit? That is entirely up to you. This type of agreement is often used to offset high design and/or maintenance fees. (PS: We DON’T do this!)
Your website can be either a tool to increase public awareness of your products/services or a means to sell them. Re-examine the usefulness or profitability of your site in six months. Some changes may be in order. (PS: We will do this for you!)
Be willing to wait for results. A website may not make you wealthy overnight. But, it will enhance your professional image and increase public awareness of your product or service. It is a relatively inexpensive, sensible and worthwhile business investment.
This is What You Shouldn’t Look for in a Web Design Service
The website is one of the business development sources of the client. Vendors of the companies usually ask for the online buying features on their website from the developer so they can grow their business.
But in reality, you don’t even know what you shouldn’t go for when you are looking for the website designing. This is the work of determination and hard work but there are few things you should consider at the time of looking for the website designer. Let us tell you what you should not see in the web design service so you will be able to build the website which has no bugs and errors in it. Click here to find more about web design surrey and other IT based skill sets.
Web development skills
A web design company can provide you better designs but they cannot provide you advanced development skills. The reason is that web design is a bit different than web development. You must ask them only what is compatible with their skills otherwise, you’ll not be able to find the perfect company. Web developers are not much creative in terms of design.
Knowledge only
It might appear strange but if someone shows you that they have plenty of knowledge and this is the reason for which you should hire then you must stay away from such company. The reason is simple that web design is not a field a knowledge only but it requires experience.
Without experience a web designer is nothing. It is just like a doctor who knows how to transplant a heart but doesn’t have practiced his knowledge ever. The same is the case with a web designer. There are many web designers who claim that they know all the web design languages but when you get your site developed by them, you find a lot of bugs and errors in it and this is where you realize that you must have hired someone with previous knowledge.
We are not denying the importance of knowledge but what we are trying to say here is that a perfect web designer is the only one who has enough knowledge and has practiced his knowledge at different platforms.
Experience but no advancement
If you find a company who claims that they have plenty of experience in the web designing but they do not have advanced knowledge then you shouldn’t hire them. Because technology is changing every day and new designs are coming into the world of internet.
If you hire such kind of company and get your site developed by them then you’ll definitely fail in growing your business because customers love to find latest design and style on your website. When they find the old dumb style on a website they never return to that website again thinking that it will not exist in the future.
Everybody needs some spice and some exciting looking features so if you couldn’t provide them what they want they would definitely go to someone else.
Unique Web Design Ideas for Your Website
Whether you are making a portfolio, launching your business, or promoting an app to potential customers, you like your website to stand out and be outstanding among the rest, while catching and holding the attention of your visitors as well. As anyone who has tried to create a site knows, that could be a tall order.
The first block normally occurs at the stage of idealization, often when you are not searching for web design ideas to deliver to your web designer for assistance. If you want to do something different with your design, it can be tough to think beyond the website templates we see often. For you to get your creativity flowing, following are some unique web designs ideas you can use:
- App Promotion with Information Resources from Unstuck
Unstuck is a kind of application, which helps get through times where they do not know where to start or what to do. As you scroll down the page, you are introduced to the idea behind the product and linked to other information they have put together. This makes for a good blend of useful information and product promotion – something, which can be difficult to balance devoid of getting off-focus or cluttered.
- Portfolio website with unique navigation
Website navigation is quite standardized and with good reason. For instance, people are used to getting links at the topmost part of the page so that’s where we tend to look for them. This is what makes this a typical website design engaging – not necessarily spontaneous but interesting to explore.
- Vertical designs from Woodwork
The website for Woodwork – a production, graphics, and film company – stands out from the rest not only because of its noteworthy portfolio but also they have done something, which appears relatively rare in the online world – they designed their website vertically. If you can see, the site scrolls in a vertical position and you can click on any photo, which catches your eye to learn more or see the video.
- Resume information in a one-page design from Kevin Lim
When we talk about putting your own resume online, it’s simple to set up your LinkedIn account and just call it a day. The site from Kevin Lim shows how a persona can share their resume online in a manner that is interesting and unique, and highlights both their personality and skills.
- How-to-instruction in a single-page design from Bullet Journal
Made by the famous art director Ryder Carrol, Bullet Journal must be your note-taking style, which Carroll tells in the single page website design. Showcasing his idea with simple explanations as well as diagrams, which updates as one progress through the directions, it’s a carefully made how-to-page.
Much like trend and fashion, web design is continuously changing with fads coming and going. When we talk about creating a website, which will make and professional impression, you’ll always do well to maintain everything on trend and up to date.
How To Get More Followers On Snapchat
Over the past years, snapchat has proven to be worthy of their presence on the powerhouse circle of social media. Moving from being primarily a kiddies messaging service to a well-recognized social media platform by allowing its users to share photos and a short video mixed with emojis, text, drawing and filters,
This practically provides some more intimate ways to share life histories and stories with friends and family better than Facebook.
Snapchat also provide lovely custom geofilters and opportunities for brand sponsorship.
All snapchat users know that discoverability has constantly been a challenge because you will need to follow some people before you can get the chance to view the rest of their stories and videos. Be sure to get snapchat streak after you send and receive messages from a friend.
If you are on snapchat for business reasons in other to promote your brand or you just connecting with friends and families. You still need to be available for easy discovery and followership.
Here is how to get more followers on snapchat
Learn Everything On How To Use The Features
When it comes to having a user-friendly interface, snapcha do not have the best. The whole snapchat learning guide is ok but it is better for you to practice the usage of these features. At least you wont be breaking any rule by playing around the features to discover what they can really do. There are video tutorials out there also that you can learn from also. Take you time and learn about the features.
Engage and Follow! Engage and Follow!!
Be rest assured that snapchat requires you to follow others before you can have access to their stories. To get more followers on snapchat, you need to engage those that are following you and also follow brands and people that interest you or write and post pictures that you like. In the cause of you following them, you will have access to their stories and also be able to send and tag to. So it will be a difficult game not to follow anyone and expect people to follow you.
Remember, the easy part is to follow others but the difficult part is to constantly engage them.
Have A Genuine Interest
Everyone on snapchat is snapping away and posting pictures but the question is always how do you get people to view your post and pictures and still have the feeling of coming back again? This is the very challenge must people face. The simple magic is not magic at all, you absolutely guessed right. Providing friendly content is the answer to why we hardly get followers. It feels and looks old, but it is the best way to retain and get followership on a sustainable level.
Be Careful With This
On snapchat there are two mode features that are Private and Public. What the private means is that there is someone or some people you will like to talk to and share pictures with privately only with them or the individual. While the public mode simple says that everyone will see what you share. Be careful about how you use this mode in other for you not to share your private pictures with the public.
This knowing how will not just help you get followers but will also help you sustain them your followers. So snap your way all the way up there with some good followers.
Choosing a Quality Hosting Provider
A webhost must satiate some quintessential requisites of hosting. Every webhost will have a plethora of plans and will put forth a myriad of features. You have to cut through these propositions and focus on the most significant elements.
Choosing a quality hosting provider is not a difficult task when you know what to assess and compare. Here is a brief guide that will help you to choose the best hosting provider based on your needs.
You can choose shared or dedicated hosting. Shared hosting is cheaper. Dedicated hosting is more reliable but it is often too costly for small to medium businesses, especially startups. Shared hosting has its merits and demerits. The first element you should focus on is uptime.
It doesn’t matter what plan you opt for, how much bandwidth you need and what kind of features the webhost offers. Nothing will be of any use if the webhost fails in ensuring uptime. Many webhosts promise 99.9% uptime and some even guarantee 100% uptime. Find out if a webhost actually ensures that kind of uptime. You may have a ton of great features but your website may not be live if the webhost doesn’t have the infrastructure and expertise to keep the servers live and running at all times.
Focus On What The Hosting Provider Promises
The second element to focus on is if the webhost delivers exactly what it promises. There are numerous instances wherein a hosting company has offered unlimited bandwidth but has capped it nonetheless. Don’t fall for promises that the hosting companies wouldn’t honor. Companies like HawkHost deliver on their promises. Very few will actually tell you what they would deliver.
It is easy to oversell, hard to over deliver. This doesn’t just apply to bandwidth or storage but also to customer service and more. If a hosting company can only offer live support for twelve hours, then they should not claim to have live chat or email support twenty four hours a day. It is easier for everyone to do their job when the claims are not hyped up.
Is The Hosting Scalable
The third element is scalability. Any hosting company with average infrastructure would be able to offer you reasonable storage. You need to know if the hosting company can offer scalability, from 1TB storage to 5TB for instance, from 100 emails to 500 emails or perhaps from normal antivirus security to SSL certification. As you grow your business, you would need to make your online presence formidable. That wouldn’t happen with adequate support from your hosting provider.
Final Hosting Thoughts
It’s tought to choose the right hosting provider with so many choices out there these days. Hopefully this article went a long way in helping you make the right decision when it comes time to host your site.
AndBreak Top Ten Financial Blogs
Looking for good financial advice online isn’t easy. With several thousand money blogs and websites to sift through it’s easy to get lost. Blogs can be a great resource for finance tips and just about anything else you can think of. One of the best perks of a blog is the unbiased advice and stories of experience. Also, with the ability to comment on articles, videos, and slides it’s easy to contribute your ideas or see what others are thinking with a warm community feel. Check out these top 10 finance blogs for starters.
10 – Bible Money Matters
http://www.biblemoneymatters.com
The topic of “money” is the second most popular topic in the Bible. This blog integrates faith and finance. Pete does a great job of providing his readers with solid financial advice with an emphasis on faith. You’ll find loads of content that is easy to navigate and you won’t feel bombarded by Bible versus. You can learn more about Pete and his family’s journey to get out of debt on his about page. Bookmark this site!
9 – The Digerati Life
http://www.thedigeratilife.com/blog/
This cool name for a blog is in fact dedicated to finance. You can read more about the name of her blog on her about page. Silicon Valley Blogger (SVB) has been in the game for a few years now. An entrepreneur at heart she launched Digerati Life as an experiment and since getting bit by the blogging bug has stuck with it. You’ll find her site very aesthetically pleasing and easy to navigate. Don’t forget to check out her special deals as well.
8 – Free Money Finance
http://www.freemoneyfinance.com/
Looking for years of great content? This blog has a long history of great advise. The author knows what it is like to struggle at the bottom with not much money. Better yet he knows what it is like to raise to the top through adversity and he wants to share his success principles with you. Make sure you read his rags to riches about page.
7 – Wealth Pilgrim: Money Management
http://www.wealthpilgrim.com/
This blog gets straight to the point and introduces you to several great posts with a minimalist style. The Wealth Pilgrim also does a nice job of advising small businesses. Make sure you read about Neal Frankle. His story is sure to inspire you. Anyone can be financially successful at any age.
6 – My Dollar Plan
http://www.mydollarplan.com
This blog has a dedicated staff focused on helping your with personal finance. My Dollar Plan is one of the best resources I’ve found for expert guidance for taxes. Now is the best time to check out this blog. Read up before you file your taxes. You’ll find it’s a great resource, don’t forget to bookmark this site.
5 – The Oblivious Investor
http://www.obliviousinvestor.com/
Check out this young man’s blog. If you read his about page you find that he’s had some of the best investor training available. Now he is taking it a step further buy writing a book series so you can have sound financial advice with you at all times. This blog is easy to navigate and clutter free. Look here for good cliff notes on investing.
4 – Moolanomy Personal Finance
http://www.moolanomy.com
I really enjoyed reading the Featured Reviews on this blog. Moolanomy offers a great mix of financial advice topics. All the info found here is also very well organized and it’s easy to find what you’re looking for. The community section might be the best part of this site, where you can ask questions or look for answers.
3 – Financial Highway
http://financialhighway.com/
Are you looking for many different viewpoints? Financial Highway has a collection of six different writers who are all trying to help you be financially successful. They admit that money won’t buy happiness but used wisely is the key to success. Check out their blog and see if you agree.
2 – Frugal Dad
http://frugaldad.com/
You’ll find that Frugal Dad has a good sense of humor, which is refreshing when reading about financial management. This blog is consistently ranked very high for one solid reason, great posts! You won’t have to search long to find something interesting on this blog. Put Frugal Dad at the top of your list.
1 – Free From Broke
http://freefrombroke.com
Stop living paycheck to paycheck! That is exactly what Craig did and he became Free From Broke. This is a great resource to find relevant financial tips that aren’t out dated. You’ll want to check this blog regularly and bookmark it to make sure your getting the best money management tips and maximizing your money.
Other Blogs?
If you know of any other great personal finance blogs share them below.
We’re just getting warmed up. Search this site with the Google search bar at the top of every page or see what’s popular over to your right. Plus share a comment and get a “Kudos,” or “High 5.” After all it’s fun to share and bounce fresh ideas around.
Head back to the home page.
How to find good music beats for your next song
Anyone can be a composer today. You’re no longer required to go to the music schools or conservatories to pursue a music composition degree. The best part is all the material is available to you online – and mostly free of charge.
The fact that you’re not an educated composer doesn’t make composing music any easier. You’re in the same creative dilemma which music beat you should use and how to get to the source of the greatest music beats in the industry.
Luckily, we came up with several ideas on how to find a good music beats for your next song – and we hope you will make a next great hit!
Define your budget
Before you rush off to the Internet in search for your next great beat, make sure you decide whether you will be paying for the beats or you’re going for royalty-free beats. The difference can be huge, especially if you’re just starting your career. The quality isn’t the issue here – most paid beats are of average quality, while free beats can be surprisingly good. However, don’t judge any book by its covers: if you have the chance to listen to it before you download it, that would be a great thing.
Next thing you want to do is browse the Internet. The first stop is YouTube. There you can find great beats and great producers who might be willing to help you out – free of charge or in exchange for your services. Whatever you choose, make sure you know exactly what you’re looking for.
Look for beats directories
Another great place to start is online beats and sample directories, such as BogoBeats. The trick with these is this: they are putting more effort to their beats collection than YouTube thus providing the better quality content. The downside of these beat directories is that they require some fee in order to download beat that you need. Recently, I ran into Musicblip, an online archive of loops and samples that offers a free of charge listening to the beats prior to purchasing.
Even though online community has its advantages – especially when it comes to speed and the creative process of uploading/downloading and processing beat – you should also check the old vinyl record stores. In the old days, these were the treasury of any musician/composer that aimed to be the greatest in their field. Take a day off and go to the record store – you will be amazed how many great beats you can find there!
Take a trip to the field
If you like to experiment and have spare time to do your research, then you should take a field recorder and head to the countryside. It may sound crazy to the “modern” composers/producers, but field recording is a smart source of a great music beats. Not only you will get exotic and unusual sounds directly from the nature, but you will get a high quality material to work with in the studio.
About And Break!
Hi, I'm Julius. I first started blogging over two years ago. On andbreak I hope to provide you with in-depth information on Internet marketing.
Learn more about Julius
