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The Price Is Under $1,000 Bucks If you're receiving quotes for a website under $1,000 bucks, chances are your candidate is either in a different country or an amateur that won't build a website that works. We all wish we could get a bargain for success, but that's not how good marketing & design works. Stop being cheap, you get what you pay for. I'm assuming you don't go to McDonalds expecting a high quality meal. It's a LOW standard.
Your Web Designer Is Related To You One should know never to hire a relative to work for you, never mind work on your business. In most cases, a relative will give you a massive discount and if they are a real pro the work will end up on the backburner and not be given the same quality the rest of their projects have. Yes, even if you're family will do this.
You Are The Web Designer If you have years of experience and knowledge and are an actual pro, awesome! If not, you shouldn't be building your own website. When you're hiring a cook for a restaurant, do you give Joe Shmoe a shot that cooks a mean over easy egg on a Sunday morning? No. You give the guy with the proven resume or degree the shot. The same goes for the website. You are not the pro. Websites are complex and constantly changing.
They Don't Ask Any Questions If you find a designer that lists pricing on their website, chances are they are ripping you off OR themselves. Reason being, every project is different. You should hear questions about your industry, your company goals, branding, type of marketing you are currently doing, etc. that will make a difference in pricing. The website should be built around what is currently working for you and your company story with new marketing implemented.
It ain't all about looks Yes, looks matter. But the same goes for humans (or pets), you can be beautiful on the outside but mean and ugly on the inside. A dog can look extremely cute, until you approach and your ankle is getting chewed off (that escalated quickly). Look, design is a PART of the overall working function as you only have seconds to get a visitors attention. The rest is proper marketing and placement of call to actions. You can have a beautiful website, but if there's no conversions, what's the point? That's like having a beautiful store with no cash register to bring in revenue.
Mobile Is CRUCIAL Don't let anyone downplay the importance of mobile web design. It is 100% a necessity in this day & age as on average (based on my actual client data, however it fluctuates based on industry) 60+% of all visitors are viewing your website on a mobile device. MAKE SURE both desktop and mobile are done and are done well. Check all functions using an actual phone to ensure nothing is missing or out of place.
They're not us! Just kidding! In reality, there is a lot of good companies out there. It's just not easy to find. I compare it to contractors. A few bad apples give the industry a bad wrap.
There's some free information to guide you on your decision to finding a web design company that is the best fit for you. Just don't let the dog chew your ankle off ;) - Scott Riley