Choosing a web designer can feel overwhelming. You need to make sure they are the right fit for your business. So, how can you work out which one is the right fit for you?
Ask yourself a few questions first
While you might want to get started looking around at options, the first step is to stop and ask yourself what you actually need and want. Have a look around at the kinds of websites that you like, and what you might want to have created. What do they look and feel like? Is there specific functionality that you want? Coming to potential designers with a list of a couple of websites that you love and why will help them give you a more accurate quote and will also make you a fabulous potential client.
Secondly, what is it that you need? Do you just need a simple website, or do you also need branding, stationery, templates, and/or email marketing? Not all places will offer all the services, so going in and knowing what you need will help you work out if they are a good fit for you.
Look at their website and portfolio
Honestly, the amount of web designers who have terrible-looking websites is shockingly high. Have a look at their site and their portfolio. You’ll often get a pretty good idea of the kind of work they create, and if it’s going to fit with what you’re looking for. And if what you’re looking for isn’t displayed, get in touch with them and ask for examples of work like what you’re hoping to have created.
Check out their reviews online
People don’t leave positive reviews if they haven’t liked the experience. So check out their Google reviews, Facebook reviews or LinkedIn reviews. Often the way people talk in their review will help you know what the experience might be like with that designer. We’re very proud of how many of our clients have loved working with us. We work hard to make the experience a good one. You can see our Google reviews here, Facebook reviews here and LinkedIn reviews here.
How much do they charge?
If you got quotes from 5 different Canberra web designers for a website, you’d likely get 5 very different prices. For a small business, 5-page website, I’ve seen the prices range from $1,500 to $20,000. These prices vary based on many things, including:
- Are they going to use a template, or create something custom for you?
- Are they solo freelancers, or are they an agency with high overheads?
- Are they creating the work themselves, or subcontracting to overseas workers?
- Are they just starting out, or if they’ve been in business for a while?
Our prices start at $5,500 for a 5-page, small business website and this is because we custom design all your pages, build them for you ourselves, and make sure the best standards are used to keep your website running fast and being optimal for SEO, but we also work from home and therefore don’t have huge overheads, so we can keep our prices more reasonable. We have been running Endure since 2013 and have continued to upskill and grow in our knowledge on how to create a beautiful, custom and also functional website for many Canberra small businesses. If you want to learn more about our web design services you can click here.
Will you be able to edit your content after it’s built?
We’ve had several clients come to us from agencies who’ve built them a beautiful website, but they have no ability to update or change content themselves, and they were therefore tied to that agency moving forward. Make sure you ask what happens after the site goes live.
We create our websites using WordPress and create a custom child theme that will allow you to update and change your content yourself. We provide individualised training videos for you, so you can follow along and we give you 3 months to keep asking any questions, and we’ll keep adding to your training library. And you’re not tied to us, you can choose to host and manage your website yourself once the site is built. We do offer services to do that for you, but if you’d like to do it, we can add training videos so you know how to look after your site yourself.
Where are they based?
While it doesn’t really matter where your web designer is based, many of our clients have said that they find comfort in knowing that we could easily have a coffee together. We live and work in the Tuggeranong Valley in Canberra and as anyone who lives here knows, you can get to anywhere in Canberra in about 20 minutes. So we’re more than happy to meet up for a coffee with you. We don’t outsource our work either
Do they offer free consultations?
If you’re asked to pay upfront just to chat with them, that’s a sign that they might end up costing you a fortune. Check out if they offer to do a free zoom with you. We offer a free 30-minute zoom, and it’s a great way for both of us to get an idea if we’d be a good fit together. We’re more than happy to give you free advice about your site, even if you don’t choose to work with us moving forward.
So when you’re thinking about who you should work with on your website, keep in mind that you’re likely to be involved with this person for a while and you want to make sure it’s a good fit. Think about how you like to work and ask them if they are ok with that. There’s no point in starting the journey only to realise halfway through that it’s not a good fit.
If you’d like to chat with us and see if we’re good fit for you, get in touch.
