Choosing the right Web Designer

This is the big question that we all must face when entering the world of internet website design. Who should I pick to design my website?

Being a website designer since age 11 (1993) - surfing the internet back in the days before Google, webcams, and AOL Instant Messanger - I have seen tens of thousands of websites. I grew up in the age of computers, watching the internet evolve along with my own grade school education. Here are some of the things that I have learned:

• There is no one 'golden rule' to successful website design.
  • Some of the most successful websites today began as eccentric designs that broke all of the rules of "successful" website design principles.
  • People decide what websites become popular. Not computers, not search engines, not even analysts.
• There is no way to trick search engines for higher webpage rank.
  • There have been thousands of "secret strategies" to rank high in popular webpage search engines. All of them have failed.
  • Just like the stock market, as soon as a website designer gets a tip for higher ranking, everyone else already knows it, and Google has already prevented it.
• Search engines are smarter than web designers.
  • Google, Yahoo, and MSN all make millions of dollars a year. They have hired teams of the smartest minds to create their programming. Does your website designer think he can outsmart them?
• Play by the rules and you can stay in the game.
  • Try to cheat the search engines by overloading content, paying for thousands of inbound links, or plagerizing someone else's website and you will face your karma. Search engines have implemented ways to ban unrealisitc websites from appearing in their ranking. Get your website banned and you won't be allowed back.
• The human mind and emotions are pre-wired to respond favorably to objects of beauty.
  • Let's face it, we all recognize beauty when we see it. And we all want to keep looking. A beautiful, captivating website design is necessary to keep people looking at your website.

That may be a lot of information to digest in just one sitting. Just image what I have digested in over 16 years since I made my first webpage on Geocities. Everything that I have learned since I typed my first 'www' has become part of what I bring to each and every website that I create.

When choosing a web designer, follow these easy steps. Just like a job interview, if you ask the right questions, you will hire the best person for the job.

1. Ask to see their portfolio. This is their resume. If they don't have one, don't hire them.
2. Judge their work not by their words, but by their results. Watch out for cunning sales pitches.
3. Trust your intuition. You have it for a good reason.

Like any decision in life, it can be changed. So enjoy the process of shopping for a new web designer. Not only are you purchasing a new website, you are creating a business relationship. Choose someone who you work well with, some one who listens to your requests and who communicates well. Take your designer out for a cup of coffee or tea. Meet them in person and put a face with their emails.

If you follow my guidelines and your own intuition, you'll find the perfect web designer to bring your ideas to life.

Many blessings and namaste.

~ Lincoln, of Sedona Spiritual Web Design

 

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