Having a great website is necessary to attract and retain customers from your target market. But with so many sites out there, how do you make sure your website stands out? The answer lies in web design, which refers to the process of crafting visually appealing, and functional sites. Though you can build websites on your own nowadays, hiring the best web designers through Guru, guarantees that your online presence helps you effectively reach your goals.
What Is a Web Designer?
A web designer is a creative information technology (IT) professional who works on the appearance, layout, and usability of a website. They primarily work on aesthetics, mixing elements such as themes, colors, and fonts with principles of UI to construct online platforms that are attractive, and easy to use.
With the line between web design and web development blurring, web designers may also dabble a bit in user experience (UX). You’ll want to find a credible web designer with the following skills so that they can build some additional functionalities to help bring your website to the top.
What Does a Web Designer Do?
A web designer handles several responsibilities that enable them to realize a client’s idea into a functional website. These include:
- Creating a suitable visual scheme
- Constructing mock-ups of the site
- Coding site navigation
- Designing website controls (buttons, tabs, sections, etc.)
- Fixing functionality issues
- Updating and maintaining the created website
- Making backup files of the site
Questions to Ask a Web Designer
A reliable web designer is knowledgeable, experienced, creative, communicative, and easy to work with. To find a credible web designer, you can ask the following questions during your interview process.
How Did Your Last Few Projects Go?
This question gives you a peek into the designer’s experience. They should be able to give you a furnished portfolio where you can see their previous work. Check if their style aligns with yours, and ask about the milestones they achieved from these projects (e.g. did their web design translate into the company’s improved sales figures?).
What Are the First Questions You Ask When Starting a Project?
A good designer doesn’t just blindly jump into a project. They should be able to build a foundation of their concept, from which they keep drawing as they create their designs. This question gives insight into their thought process and how they approach things with a problem-solving mindset.
How Do You Communicate Your Designs to Clients and Web Developers?
Web designers create websites that help you communicate with your audience. One way to test if they’re able to do this effectively is to see how they explain design concepts to you and cascade them to web developers further down the process. You don’t want a web designer who can’t communicate their ideas to non-IT minds; you’ll likely just end up butting heads that way.
What Do You Think Could Be Improved in Our Site?
There’s a line between nitpicking and identifying points for improvement. The latter is what you need from a good web designer. They should be able to see what can be fixed—and more, importantly, give you a solid basis behind their rationale.
What Do You Do When a Client Doesn’t Like Your Designs?
It’s rare to get a good design from the get-go. There will be several back-and-forths before you settle on the right design. The way a web designer handles these revisions is important because it sets the precedent for how they’ll treat their work and work with you. They should be receptive, and flexible.
What’s Your Experience With UX?
UI and UX must work hand-in-hand if you want a website that is both visually appealing and provides the best experience to its users. It’s advantageous to hire a web designer with at least some experience with UX to do this. You may also want to ask them about their level of proficiency with CSS and HTML, should their designs require a bit of web development to pull off.
What Is Your Working Style?
Web designers must know how to work independently, and with a team or client. Asking this question shows you how they’re able to do both while balancing their priorities and managing their deadlines. You can also get a peek into their design process, asking questions about their day-to-day activities, the tools they use, etc.
How to Find the Right Web Designer
The right web designer is someone who can match your ideas, and effectively translate them into a beautiful well-functioning website. You can find the best one for you on Guru. All the info’s there—just evaluate the quote, finalize an agreement, and hire a freelance web designer in one click! Post your web design job today.
