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Hiring a Web Designer

You have several choices when looking for a web site design company for your online business. Don't spend too much time worrying about whether you're contracting with an individual or a large company. In most contracts, large companies specify that they reserve the right to subcontract the work anyway. You may studiously avoid hiring an individual working from home in Thailand, and it turns out that's exactly who got the subcontract anyway. The advantage of using an established company, of course, is that responsibility for the quality of the work rests with them.

Where to Look for Custom Web Site Design
Most small businesses looking for a web site designer to employ in-house have little trouble finding candidates, particularly if they're located in a large metropolitan area. Job seekers post their resumes online with employment services like monster.com. Still other use freelance employment services, particularly if they prefer to work from home. Many small businesses find web site designers on Craig's List.

Whether you're looking at resumes online or interviewing a candidate in your office, be sure to ask the prospect for a portfolio of web sites that he or she created. Be specific if you're planning an e-commerce site, asking to see samples that include catalog shopping or databases or whatever features you're interested in for your own site.

Freelance sites have an added advantage. They often require candidates to post portfolios of their work. Alternately, you can take out a membership in a freelance site, post your specifications, and review the bids you receive. Your membership will include the right to review portfolios of promising candidates.

What Web Designers Expect From You
Experienced web site designers may send you a form to fill out or interview you on the phone. Before they give you a cost estimate, they'll want to know:

• what type of site you want: e-commerce or general information site
• whether you want a new site created from scratch, an upgrade or a redesign
• whether you're launching a new business or adding an online component to an established business
• your best estimate of your level of knowledge about web site design
• what content you'll provide: text, photographs and graphics, audio, video, layout requirements, a site map, etc., or whether you expect the designer to provide some or all of the content
• whether you have a registered domain name or need a new one
• the level of site maintenance you'll require
• the focus of your site (your goals and purpose)
• what advanced features you'll require (such as streaming audio or video, database management, security and/or a shopping cart)
• your timelines for final delivery
• your budget range (a small site for limited services or a few products may cost less than $1,000 but large projects may exceed $10,000).

Provide the most accurate information you can and don't promise content that you can't deliver. You're better off getting a realistic estimate than entering into a contract that ends up peppered with change orders. Changes are likely to send your costs skyrocketing and they'll certainly nullify the deadline for completion.

Web Design Contracts
A good contract protects both you and the designer. You can avoid delays by studying standard contracts in advance and list the changes you want promptly. You can even supply the contract, if the designer agrees to forego the use of the company form. Print out a sample contract that you can find online with a simple "web design contract" search.

The following items are standards in web site design contracts:

• a list of the services the contractor provides (many include a fixed number of hours of telephone consultation at the beginning)
• who (you or the contractor) supplies text, graphics, video, etc.
• a list of the graphics enhancements they supply, such as a masthead with your company logo, navigation buttons, etc.
• whether they install your web site with your web hosting service, or whether they will serve as your web host
• the list of browsers with which your site will be compatible
• whether they submit the pages to search engines, optimize your content and provide marketing assistance
• whether they will provide a link to your company e-mail address on each page
• who supplies the site map
• the technical features you need such as a shopping cart or visitor response form
• the dates of delivery of any files that you agree to supply
• hourly rates for maintenance and client changes
• a completion date, based on the deadlines for content delivery being met on schedule
• a fee schedule, including a down payment, although small jobs under $1,000 may have to be paid in full at the outset
• the right to subcontract part or all of the work
• disclaimers, transfer of copyright and other standard legalities (most designers retain the copyright for content they supplied until the project is paid in full)
• their refund policies if you abort the project prior to completion.

Once you have a copy of the contract in hand, you'll be in a hurry to sign it and get started, but you'd be wise to slow down and have a lawyer review the terms. A lawyer can do this for $200 or $300 — well worth the price if you're spending thousands on your web site.

What Can Go Wrong?
If you did your research and hired a good contractor, you can still end up with a disappointing product. The bottom line, of course, is that you have only three choices if you don't like the results: swallow your disappointment and use the site anyway, demand all or part of your money back (good luck!) or sue the contractor.

You can save yourself money and headaches if you anticipate what can go wrong and avoid the common traps:

• Never, ever miss a deadline. If you've agreed to supply content by a specific date and you don't send your text, graphics and other files on time, the company is free to renegotiate all deadlines. If your content is extensive or you're right in the middle of a catalog change, wait until you're ready before you begin the project.
• Send polished content. Hire an editor to proofread your text. Check your photographs, audio and video to make sure you won't have to make changes later. If you do, you'll add to the cost and delay completion.
• Mark your calendar. All benchmarks and deadlines are specified in the contract. You have no excuse for missing a date, so give yourself (and your employees) plenty of time to review the work. If you have a 5-day period to approve a section of the work and the employee you designated happens to be absent during that time, you must be ready to do it yourself or designate someone else to do it.
• Study the contract. Know what to expect if the work doesn't meet your specifications. Often, such problems are the result of miscommunication, so keep all e-mails and records of phone calls. You can bet that the "nice guy" who's taking your money has a record of everything you specified and he (or she) can show you exactly what you said and how it matches what they delivered.
• Communicate clearly. If you must submit a change order, be very clear about what you want. Avoid leaving any detail open to interpretation.

Much of what goes wrong in web site development is related to missed deadlines and poor communication. You can't blame the contractor for doing what you said, so anticipate the need for changes. If you're nervous about a large project, ask for more frequent checks in the contract. This may delay the final launch, but you're more likely to get exactly what you need.

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