PixelSmith
WEB DESIGN
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BEFORE YOU CALL ANYONE
Ten Questions to Ask a Web Designer
Including me. Print this page and take it with you.
Hiring somebody to build your first web site is like hiring a contractor when you've never built a house:
you don't know what you don't know, and they do. Most designers are honest. A few aren't, and some honest ones
are careless. These are the questions that sort them out. After each one I've put down what a good answer
sounds like, and my own answer, so you can hold me to it.
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| 1 |
Whose name will my .com be registered in?
Some designers register a client's name in their own name, to make things simpler, they say. If you part ways
later you may find yourself buying your own business name back.
A good answer: "Yours."
Mine: Yours, at your address, with the renewal date written down for you.
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Can I see pages you've built, and talk to the people you built them for?
Look at the pages on your own computer, not theirs. Then ask the owners whether the work was on time and on
budget, and whether the designer answers the phone.
A good answer: addresses and names, offered without being asked twice.
Mine: I'm new on my own, and my first three client sites go up this fall. I'll ask those owners if you
may call them. My eleven years of agency work you can see on paper.
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What will the whole thing cost, written down?
Design is only one piece. There's the name, the hosting, the updates, the photographs. A price that leaves out
the monthly costs isn't a price.
A good answer: one page, in writing, with every cost on it, monthly ones included.
Mine: My prices are on my home page, and you get a written estimate
before I start.
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How long will my home page take to load on a modem?
Your designer probably has a fast connection at the office. Most of your customers are on a 28.8 or 56K modem
at home, and they won't wait half a minute for your logo to arrive.
A good answer: a number, in seconds, and a promise to keep it there.
Mine: Home pages under 40K: about fifteen seconds on a 28.8.
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What browsers and screen sizes do you test on?
A page can look perfect in one browser and fall apart in another. Ask to see it in both.
A good answer: Netscape and Internet Explorer, at more than one screen size.
Mine: Netscape 4 and Internet Explorer 4 and 5, at 800 by 600 and 640 by 480.
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Who makes changes, how fast, and for how much?
Your hours will change. Your prices will change. A page with last Christmas's hours on it in March does you more
harm than no page.
A good answer: a rate, and a turnaround in days, not "whenever I get to it."
Mine: $25 an hour, most changes done within two business days. Or I'll teach you to change your own
hours. It isn't hard, and I don't mind losing the fifteen minutes.
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Will I get a copy of every file, and every password?
The pages, the pictures, the password to your hosting account and the password to your name. If only your
designer has them, your web site belongs to your designer.
A good answer: "Of course."
Mine: Everything on a floppy or a Zip disk, and the passwords in a sealed envelope, on the day your pages
go up.
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What happens if you go out of business?
Small businesses close. You know that better than anyone. Ask anyway, and watch whether the question makes your
designer nervous.
A good answer: a plan.
Mine: I might take a job someday, or move. If I do, you'll already have your files and passwords (see
number 7), and I'll give you the name of someone I trust to take over.
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How will people find my page?
A page nobody knows about is a sign in a closet. Search engines can take weeks to list you, and anyone who
promises you the top of the list is guessing.
A good answer: search engines, yes, but also your own business cards, receipts, letterhead, truck and
Yellow Pages ad.
Mine: I'll list you with the search engines and write the words they look for. Then you put the address
on everything that leaves your building.
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| 10 |
Will you tell me what I don't need?
Plenty of businesses are being sold things in 1999 they won't use: animated graphics, chat rooms, and above all
online ordering. Taking credit cards safely on a web page means a secure server and a merchant account, with
setup fees and monthly charges, and for most small businesses the phone still works better.
A good answer: "You don't need that yet."
Mine: I'll tell you. I'd rather build you five good pages than fifteen you have to pay to keep up.
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These are questions for your designer. For the questions to ask yourself first, read
Before You Put Your Store on the Web, twelve questions from a hardware
store owner who put the family store on the Web, with fourteen months of honest results.
If you've asked me all ten and you like the answers, call me at (555) 555-0171 or write to
[email protected]. If you've asked someone else and you like
their answers better, hire them, and good luck to you both.
— Sheri Meyers, PixelSmith Web Design, Columbus, Ohio
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