Hiring A Custom Website
Designer
By Matthew
Coers
Hiring someone to build or promote your website costs
considerably more
than building it yourself, but it can be a good way to quickly get
your
site online and start doing business, especially if the site you
intend to
build is relatively complex or you need to implement an e-commerce
solution. Obviously, if you decide to hire a custom website
designer, then
you will want to make sure the website designer specializes in the
skills
you require. That means learning to ask the right kinds of
questions96
both of yourself and your candidates.
There are three
primary types
of small business website designers and developers:
- Custom Website Designer These are typically
individuals
with a great deal of creative talent who specialize in the look
and feel
of your website. Custom Website Designers will typically focus
on user
interface issues, but will not venture much past the HTML of the
site.
Most designers will not do heavy programming or get involved in
business
processes or e-commerce. You can typically find good website
designers
for small business in the $25 - $40 per hour range. A typical
small
business website may cost somewhere between $2500 and $5000 to
design,
and you will be responsible for writing the site's
content.
- Web Developer These folks are typically more
expensive than
website designers and may or may not be able to assist you in
the user
interface design or93look and feel=94 of your website. They
focus
primarily on the programming and development of more complex
websites
and web-based applications. You will want to bring in a
developer if
your site requires building a custom database, you plan to have
some
sort of specialized functionality that you can't purchase off
the shelf
from your web hosting company, or you need to implement an
e-commerce
solution, and you don't feel comfortable with doing it
yourself. Custom
Web Developers will charge between $35 and $100 per hour
depending on
the type of service you require and how large the project is. A
very
basic e-commerce site will cost at least $10,000, with more
complex
sites running much higher..
- Search Engine Optimization Specialist Search
Engine
Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing are both hot
markets
right now with lots of snake oil salesmen who would love to take
your
money. A good Search Engine Optimization specialist will be able
to show
you examples of sites that he or she has optimized, and
demonstrate how
that optimization has led to increased traffic and sales for
their
clients. You can expect to pay monthly retainers between $500
and $2500
for a competent SEO. Those that charge less are probably not
giving your
business enough attention. With SEO the true test of ability is
results.
You should start to see improvements in your site's
positioning within
90 days of bringing on a Search Engine Optimization expert. It
isn't
good enough to be93ranked=94 on some particular term, you are
hiring these
people to bring in qualified traffic.
If you feel that hiring a custom website designer is not your cup of tea, and you want to try to do it yourself for less money, take a look at our section on How To Build A Website. You can do it yourself; you just have to take it one step at a time.
If you don't know any techies to help you build your website, you can find one at www.elanceonline.com. This site allows you to post a job and have qualified professionals =93bid=94 on it. You can also browse through service providers that have posted portfolios online and select a vendor based on their past work. Either way, this site provides an efficient way to put you in touch with qualified technical resources without undue effort on your part.
In any case, you will want to make sure you have a detailed scope of work agreement and contract in place before you start working with a developer. There is nothing more frustrating for either you or your designer than to have a miscommunication about what exactly you expect to receive and how much your developer expects to get paid. Make sure you get it all in writing!
In conclusion, you should hire a Custom Web Designer or Developer if you feel that you are too busy or not capable of creating a quality site yourself. There are three types of site developers: Custom Website Designers, Web Developers, and Search Engine Optimization/Marketing Experts. If you do not have technical contacts to do the work, you can find qualified professionals here: www.elanceonline.com. You should make sure you have your ideas organized about your website, and you should make sure you get a contract with a detailed scope of work signed by your consultant before work begins on your site.
About the author
Mr. Coers
specializes
in helping entrepreneurs build effective web businesses. His
website,
contains useful articles on website
design and website
planning.
Copyright Matthew Coers
Article Source: http://www.goarticles.com/
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