How to find the best website designer to build SEO, effective cyber canvas for you? Reliable, creative, affordable professionals are there; use our tips to uncover the best one.
Nine Tips to Find the Best Freelance Website Designer for Your New Digital ID
9 tips for choosing the best freelance website designer on WordPress
Your new website will do you no good if it’s stuck on the 36th page in searches or doesn’t convert visitors to paying customers.
There are more than 20 million web designers in the world.
How can you choose the best one?
Check out 9 useful tips to choose the best freelancer for website design on WordPress.
When deciding who will design and build your website, use this 9-point checklist to cover all that’s important for your project:
- Legality and reviews
- Are there unanswered questions
- Portfolio
- Response time
- Payment options and guarantees
- Partner or an executioner
- Experience in digital marketing, sales, SEO
- What does your gut instinct tell you?
- Additional benefits for you
1 Check the legality and reviews of the website design agency or freelancer
Check whether you will work with a registered agency or with a freelancer. With a company, you can sign a contract and protect your payments.
If you decide to hire a freelancer, we recommend UpWork or Fiverr. They will protect you against fraud.
Reviews from previous clients are the best judgment tool to evaluate the potential partner for the website design on WordPress. Try to hire website designers with the highest reviews. Preferably, choose a freelancer or an agency with multiple 5-star reviews from different countries and towns.
2 Ask all the questions you have in mind
Keep asking questions until you get all the answers you need. If a person you are communicating with doesn’t give you understandable answers but keeps talking about payments, doesn’t listen, uses technical terms, etc… find another agency or a freelancer.
It is essential to have mutual trust and easy communication.
3 Check previous work
Check the website design on WordPress of the agency or a freelancer you want to hire. Essential parameters to check are speed, responsiveness, and links.
- Their website’s speed you can check on GTmetrix.
- You can check on a Free Broken Link Checker website whether all their links work (which is very important).
- Responsiveness for mobiles can be checked here: Mobile-Friendly Test.
Also, it is vital to examine all industries they have worked in and have deep knowledge about. If the agency or a freelancer doesn’t have an experience in your niche, that doesn’t mean you should reject them. But be cautious and ask them if they are willing to learn.
They will probably dig deep into your niche if their portfolio has projects from multiple industries.
4 Test the response time and general attitude
In your first query, explain your goal and the market branch you are working in; maybe send 1-3 links to websites you like.
Measure the time it takes them to respond. When they respond, check if they have
- invested some time to find out more about you,
- analyzed your competitors, and
- made a design proposition.
That will show you how important you are to your future partner.
5 Explore all the payment options and guarantees you’ll have
Ask the designer about payments. If you have to pay in advance, which often is the case, ask about guarantees for your money. What happens if you are not satisfied when the job is finished?
Try to negotiate one of these two scenarios:
- Paying 10-30% in advance and the rest at the end of the testing phase
- Hiring an agency or a freelancer on an hourly basis
The second option is better if you are uncertain about the project scope (which often is the case when managing the design of the first website).
6 Do you need a proactive partner or pure executioner
Whether you want a redesign of your old website, or this is your first time hiring someone for the website design on WordPress, you can’t know digital marketing trends, written and intuitive rules, and the difference between a good, successful website and a bad one.
A great web designer should point you in the right direction, give recommendations, and guide you.
If a designer keeps talking in technical terms without explaining and showing, keep looking for a better one.
The best website designers can convert your ideas into unique modern wireframes. They will incorporate your goals into market trends, thus increasing chances for high ranking and exceptional conversion rates.
7 Experience in digital marketing, SEO, and sales
Check whether the agency or a freelancer has experience in digital marketing, SEO, sales, and customer behavior.
A successful website is more than a design, color, and font type. Your website must support your goals, attract visitors, keep them interested, entice them to work with you, buy from you, learn, hire, and visit you.
To achieve that, you need a designer who knows or has a team member with expertise in marketing and sales.
If you are a small business, we recommend hiring a small business design agency or a freelancer. They will understand you better (and they are cheaper) than large, five-figure design companies.
8 Your instinct
Trust your instinct. Evaluate both a person and his work. Choosing a designer is the same as choosing an accountant or a doctor. You are looking for an expert who will fit your needs, communication, and goals.
It would help if you had someone who would treat you as a person, not as the money bag, an expert who speaks plain English and truly cares for your problems and desires.
9 Additional benefits and services
Lastly, ask about additional services and benefits you’ll get. Whether you will:
- have some training to be able to add content,
- get advice on how to choose photos, write texts,
- gain access to monitor the website’s traffic,
- get links and manuals for valuable lessons, courses, and tips.
If we can assist in your quest for the best website design on WordPress, please contact us, and we will help.
Ready to hire freelance website designer on Upwork? Check references and let’s start.
Useful links and articles when choosing a website designer
Articles to read:
- Essential Guide To Choosing A Website Designer
- Tips For Choosing a Web Designer
- Choosing a Web Designer – 5 Questions to Ask First
Videos to watch: