As important as it is to have a fully functional and user-friendly website for your customers, having a sound and skilled engineer/designer is no less than crucial.
That’s because, as a long-term endeavor, the job of a website designer is never completely over as long as your app or website stays in use.
When choosing a web designer for your project, it is important to pay close attention to a variety of details.
Things such as creativity, imagination, and seamless communication are just some of the factors that you should consider when choosing a website designer for your business.
As far as their technical skills are concerned, they should have a high proficiency in programming languages such as HTML, JavaScript, and CSS and a great hand in basic graphic design.
Likewise, there are other factors and skills that cannot be overlooked when you’re out looking for a professional website designer.
Why You Need the Best Website Designer
While there are several factors involved in designing, developing, launching, and marketing a website from start to end, the website designer has a special part to play.
As intuitive as it is to use/operate Shopify, there are many professionals out there who can help you do that with better efficiency and skills especially should you lack the necessary technical knowledge.
With ample industry insights, professional Shopify development companies can help you unlock the full potential of your store like choosing the best design, tools, and templates (among other things) for businesses of all kinds.
Be it a small company or a large corporation, these development firms can meet all your Shopify needs regardless of the scale and audience of your business.
Plus, they can do that at very affordable prices as there’s not a lot of technical input needed to be able to use Shopify. In fact, this is what makes it so popular in the first place, even in the long term.
Still, if you find it too challenging to use Shopify on your own, you can always approach a professional website development company or a Shopify expert.
Here’s what you can get by hiring a good Shopify developer:
- Expertise and experience.
- Full customization.
- Unique features and functionality.
- Seamless integration of Shopify apps and third-party softwares.
- Best SEO practices.
- Round-the-clock support and maintenance.
- Scalable design.
- Time-saving.
- Cost-effective.
As you can see, Shopify development agencies can help you build and operate the perfect online store that is easy to maintain, scale, and customize.
To make the most of it though, you need to be well aware of your online store requirements.
Defining Your Website Design Needs
Every website is unique in terms of its usage, functionality, and audience.
It is also what usually defines the scale or scope of a website according to which you can further design or develop it for end-users.
The higher the scale of your business, the more complex or extensive a website design is likely to be.
In general, though, some of the rather common aspects of a website design include:
- The Layout includes the architecture and grid system.
- Typography starts from the font selection to its size and hierarchy.
- Proper color scheme that resonates with your business or brand.
- Navigation and intuitive design.
- Responsiveness and mobile-friendliness.
- Graphics and visual design.
- Adequate white spacing.
- Original and relevant content.
- Consistency and uniformity across all the design elements.
- Speed and faster loading times.
- User-friendly interface (UI) design.
- User experience (UX).
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
While meeting all these parameters, a good website can have as many pages as you like depending on your business requirements.
For instance, Home page, About Us, Products and Services, Contact page, Case Studies & Client Testimonies, Careers page, Blog page, Search box, and so on.
Needless to say, you can add Terms & Conditions, Privacy Policies, and any other Government or Legal regulations page that you want your customers to be aware of.
That said, there are many ways to find the perfect match for your website design goals.
Where to Look for the Best Website Designers
Website designers could be of several types or categories depending on the services they provide.
For e.g. an in-house team that works solely for your company on a full-time employment basis, an independent website design agency for a full suite of professional services, and freelancers who offer their services on a project-by-project basis.Let’s take a closer look:
1. Freelance Platforms
There are many freelancing platforms where clients and freelancers of all niches including website designers can be found.
Some of the most prevalent include:
- Upwork is one of the largest freelancing platforms that offers a wide range of website designers at both project-based and hourly rates.
With a strong client base from all around the world spanning from small-scale businesses and startups to large-scale enterprises, Upwork provides a long list of web designers for all sorts of projects.
- Freelancer is yet another famous freelancing platform that enlists professional website designers for a wide range of digital solutions.
What makes Fiverr rather unique is the way it lets you hire people including web designers using contests and traditional job postings.
Another appealing feature of the platform is the milestone payment system that lets you bifurcate the payments depending on the different phases of the project.
- Fiverr is a widely used freelancing tool that revolves around setting up gigs for specific services like website designing at set prices.
Due to the fixed pricing, it is ideal for small and quick projects like website fixes or landing pages. Or for those looking for affordable project-based pricing.
- Toptal is a high-end freelancing platform that allows businesses to find the best web designers, developers, and other professionals.
With rigorous screening and highly skilled professionals, it is your best bet for long-term and highly complex projects.
The only catch is the higher cost of work compared to other platforms.
But if you can afford it, rest assured, you will get the best quality of work.
Along with these, there are other top-tier freelancing platforms that you can use too e.g. 99designs, Behance, Dribble, PeoplePerHour, and so on.
Those looking for more advanced and premium services can always go for full-service web design agencies.
2. Web Design Agencies
Hiring a full-time web design agency for your projects is somewhat easier compared to nailing an ideal freelancer.
All you have to do is, go to Google or any other search engine and start researching the top website design companies, preferably someone locally.
As a full-time service provider, website design agencies are perfect for larger and long-term projects that require expert insights and collaborations.
It is for this reason, that most big companies and firms tend to prefer them over individual freelancers.
Some of the crucial benefits of hiring a website design agency include:
• An end-to-end solution from conceptualising to design & development to hosting and maintenance.
• Years of experience and expertise.
• Long-term 24/7 support.
• Seamless collaboration and alignment with your company’s vision, values, and goals.
3. Referrals and recommendations
Yet, when it is about finding the right partner for your website design and development, it is important to not make any hasty decisions.
Which is why you should utilize every medium that you have at your disposal be it online research, your professional network, word-of-mouth from friends or family, review sites, or freelancing platforms.
In that, online reviews (like Clutch) and client testimonials certainly play a major role regardless of who you choose.
So make sure to make good use of it.
Important Things to Consider When Hiring a Website Designer
Now that you have an idea about all the ways you can hire a professional website designer, let us turn our attention to some of the most essential aspects that you should consider.
• Your project’s goals and the scope of your business.
• Relevant experience and expertise.
• Strong portfolio with a successful and diverse work history.
• Design and Creativity.
• Communication and collaboration.
• Timelines and milestones.
• Essential technical skills in SEO, website development, coding, and marketing.
• Client reviews and testimonials.
• Tools and technology stack (such as WordPress, Wix, Shopify, and Weebly).
• Security and data privacy.
And most importantly, the cost, whether project-based or hourly rates.
To give you an estimate, the hourly rates for a web designer may range from as little as $15/hour to $100/hour with an average rate of $40 to $75 per hour.
Conclusion
Due to the widespread use of all things digital, the need to hire website designers for businesses is not going away anytime soon.
As the key link between a brand and its audience, it is the very design of your website that incites a feeling of business loyalty in potential customers.
It is what keeps bringing them back for more and more products and services in the first place.
Therefore, when choosing a professional website designer for your brand, make sure to go no holds barred, even if it means paying a bit more to obtain the desired results.
With tonnes of freelancers and website design agencies all around, your quest to find a suitable designer will not be in vain.
All you need to do is have a clear understanding of your goals and requirements, and you should be well on your way to finding the perfect web designer for your business.
Ready to transform your digital presence? Choose tecHindustan for custom web design solutions that fuel your growth. Bring your vision to life today.