What Should a Professional Web Designer Offer

What are the key elements to look for when comparing web site design firms? Obviously, you want to take a keen look at the web site design professional's portfolio. Look not just at highlighted customers but also at a complete repertoire ? one or two high profile sites does not constitute a portfolio. In addition, you should ask for a list of client recommendations, and you should follow-up with these clients, particularly when it comes down to choosing among three or four firms.

A professional web site design partner should be flexible, both in terms of how she manages accounts and how she responds to criticism and upgrade requests. Obviously, the more specific you are about timetables and creatives for your web site design, the better results you will get. However, there are times when you really need the input of an experienced web site design guru, and it's important to be able to trust your partner's judgment implicitly.

This brings us to the next point, your web site design associate must be good at leading her team and integrating her efforts with the work of your in-house creative staff. If your copywriters/editors are constantly getting into turf battles with your web site design partner's people, your e-commerce project could grind to a halt, and or you could waste precious days and weeks offline.

Many entrepreneurs think of web site deign partners as merely creatives and logistical coordinators. However, superior web site design pros also understand the mechanics of budgeting and long-term planning. If you give yourself enough headroom, don't try to launch your site before it's ready or splurge on graphics or multimedia presentations if there is no cash allotted in the budget, you'll have a much easier relationship. Make sure your firm of choice gels well with your associates and understands your mission statement through and through.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, your web site design point team should have an excellent track record at editing and instituting creative decisions. Timing is everything in the e-commerce business. If customers report technical problems, you want troubleshooting to begin almost immediately. A 24/7 on-call design force can pay for itself with just one emergency fix.

For instance, let's say your site goes down during the beginning of the Thanksgiving rush, and you have to wait until Monday after Thanksgiving to get it up and running again. You may lose thousand of dollars in sales. If, on the other hand, you pay a firm to provide tech support 24/7, you can avoid taking a costly holiday season hit.