You’re looking to find a website designer to help you build your new website. What are the sorts of things should you consider when looking to hire them?

1. Aesthetics

You make a split-second decision when you see a website. You know what you like. You just do.

It can be said of anything. Next time a bus glides by with an advertisement, take a moment to take in what you see?

Are there brand colours? Too much colour. Not enough colour. Can you read the font? Can you tell what they’re advertising in one quick look?

Now, did you know that colours can affect your mood and behaviour? Colour Psychology is a growing study, but I’ll bet you know some of these inherently already like:

• Red for passion, love.

• Black for a bit of mystery

• Orange for warmth and kindness

Take a peep at your local insurance companies. I bet they look very BLUE *cough* hope, wisdom, peace *cough*. That’s on purpose.

Also of interest, did you know that a logo that has a circle is used to represent unity, community, and love. Look and see how many circular logos you see. That’s on purpose too. Mine was anyway.

I remember an old graphic design teacher telling me that one day and it’s always stuck with me. She also then spent about half an hour yelling about the font papyrus but that’s for another day.

My point is, how will your designer think about getting your businesses brand across. Your message. Even if you’re not sure right now about what kind of look you want, the right Squarespace website designer will help work that out with you.

2. Portfolio

All Squarespace website designers will have a portfolio of websites they’ve created on display on their website for you to poke your nose through. Take your time to go through them, look at how they perform. How they look? How do they load? How do they look on mobile? Do you love them? You want to be excited to work with someone!

3. Responsive Design

You want your shiny new website to be as easy to view on a 24-inch computer as it is on your mobile device.

Your website designer should be designing in mind for mobile friendliness. It’s easy to think of your website on just desktop but don’t forget how it will look and behave on a mobile device. Ensure this is part of your designer’s plan.

4. Understanding / Clarity

It’s exciting as heck, but it’s a big decision. The right web designer will treat it as such. You need to work with someone who you can answer your questions. Don’t you want to work with someone who cares as much about your results as much as you?

And likewise, you need a designer who will explain their processes. How the build will go. How long will it take? Someone who will explain the reason why something is placed where it is, and why something isn’t a good idea. A good web designer has your best interest at heart and wants to create something you understand and love.

Your web designer should also give you a clear idea of what’s needed from you to help keep the build on track. I use a tracker so that my clients can see what I’m working on and what’s needed.

Your website designer doesn’t necessarily have to be your friend, but they should be a team member. If you don’t gel with someone, that’s ok. Find someone you can connect with. You should be able to get an idea of who someone is and their dedication to their work.

5. Price

Some designers don’t have their pricing on their website. That’s ok, you can still have a chat with them, so that they understand what you’re looking for, so they can give you a quote.

It’s also important at this stage that they explain any other costs that may occur (EG legal policies needed, annual Squarespace account cost etc).

I provide a few packages on my website to try and help give a ballpark idea for costs involved as that’s the big question I get a lot. How much for a website? And, fair enough too!

When you’re chatting to them, your website designer will want to get an understanding of how many pages you’re after. What features are needed? Etc.

6. Testimonials and Google Reviews

Do they have Google reviews? Want to see how your experience will be or get an idea of their personality? Take your time to read through these before you make any decisions.

Also be aware, a newer designer may not have had enough clients yet to garner these just yet. They may be wonderful and waiting to be discovered so don’t discount them!

7. Other services

You may also need to consider other services that you hadn’t thought of. Your designer will guide you through these.

Will you need a professional email to connect to your contact page on your website so that you build trust with a client when you email them back? Copywriting – are you comfortable handling the copy for your website, or do you need help?

Maybe you wanted to also create a newsletter, is that something you want to set up with the website when it goes live? Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is a long game, do you want help for the next 6 months to make sure people are finding you online?

Looking at the big picture from the start and setting your business up on a solid foundation will help set you up for success and also save you from any surprises down the track.

8. Maintenance

Perhaps you are wanting to hand it over to someone to manage for you.

When picking your website designer, think of the future management of that site. I have seen a lot of beautiful bespoke websites created that a client loves, but two months down the track when they can’t update or change anything … that love starts to sour.

Have a think about how your website will be managed going forward at the time of the build. Will you be doing it, or someone else?

9. Who is building my website?

Bigger agencies will be there to acquire your business and then hand you off to staff to handle your build.

Honestly, that’s fine, but is that what you want? Is this what you envisioned for your website build journey when you signed up? If you’re looking for a more personal touch, go for a website designer that will be with you from soup to nuts.

10. Yay I’m live! Now what?

You’ve got your lovely new site. What’s next? For my clients, I stay on for two weeks after a site is live to ensure that everything is working as it should, testing SEO and ensuring my client feels confident in taking the reins.

I also create walkthrough videos for you as well as a sandbox on the platform. (a sandbox is a simulation of your website hidden away where only you can see and you can practise updating in, you can’t break anything here).

Make sure you know what happens after the launch.

11.  Is Squarespace the right platform for you

Your website designer should be able to direct you to another platform if that is more appropriate for your needs and not try and squish you into a solution that fits them.

For example, if you are looking to start a global ecommerce brand then, no. I would say I think you need to go and find a wonderful Shopify website designer, my friend.

If you are busy running a business, building a brand or don’t have the time to faff about with a platform that make you want to piff your computer out the window, I can help.

I love Squarespace for my clients because:

• All Squarespace plans include fully managed cloud hosting to ensure your website always remains available

• There are no continuous plugin and/or theme updates that take time

• It has a drag and drop editor that makes updating your site a hassle-free experience

• The Squarespace customer support team are fantastic. Available 24/7 should you have any questions later down the line

If you’re out there now looking for a new website designer, I hope this has been helpful for you.

I’d love to be that person who guides you through a website build so if you have any further questions you can get in contact with me at any time to chat more about your project.

Happy web designer hiring!