Your website is the online face of your business and is quite often the first point of contact for your potential customers. People will choose whether they do business with you or not based on the first impression of your website.
You Need an Experienced Web Designer
While it’s sometimes fine to hire a start-up web designer, it’s more of a gamble – a gamble you shouldn’t take for your business. New web designers don’t have a track record or proof of experience, and might not know custom coding or SEO.
It’s smarter for your business to hire a web designer with years of experience and longevity in the web industry. A detailed portfolio of past client work will be proof of their expertise.
Check a Portfolio of Live Websites
The best way to see if a web designer knows their craft is to look at the work they’ve done. A portfolio doesn’t have to be flashy, it can just be a collection of different website links that show you what the designer can do.
But don’t trust screenshots of website home pages! You need links so you can see their work in action.
Make sure you can see the design on your device, navigate the website, and explore the functionality and complexity of each site they designed.
A portfolio can tell you a lot about a web designer. An impressive collection of past work is a good sign that a designer is a good fit for your needs.
Marcie Wolf of Abuzz Creative has 20+ years of website design, site development, and web coding.