If you’re a professional practice owner, you may be thinking about hiring a web designer to build a custom site for your firm. Each agency has different skills, inclusions, and processes, and this post covers some important things to consider when choosing which website designer will create your site.
Benefits of Outsourcing Web Design
Your website is your firm’s digital home. The strategy, design, and messaging behind it help your prospective clients decide whether or not they want to book a consultation with, and ultimately, hire you.
Working with an experienced web designer offers many benefits, such as:
- Standout design. Your website won’t look like every other firm’s website in your industry. Instead, it will be custom built with your firm’s messaging, branding, and website strategy at the center.
- Saving you time. Even if you start with a website template, building your site takes time to learn and then implement. Your time is likely better spent on billable tasks and projects.
- Building for conversions. A website designer’s job is to create a site that’s both beautiful and built to convert prospects into paying clients. This is accomplished through strategic messaging and design.
Common Challenges with Large Agencies
You probably receive 5 cold emails a day from large agencies pitching you their services, right? I know because I get them too, even though this is the thing that I do. Boutique-sized agencies like Growth Story are not sending out hundreds of cold pitches a day, but large agencies can afford to hire a team to handle it. But there are some potential downsides of outsourcing your website design project to a large agency. Keep these in mind when selecting which agency to work with.
Expensive Price Point
Many large agencies have high overhead costs to account for, such as office rent and a big team on payroll. These overhead costs are often built into their pricing, turning an affordable website project into a very expensive investment.
Lackluster Website
While not all agencies operate in this way, some large agencies take a quantity over quality approach to websites. You also could have a few different people collaborating on your site, so it may lack the personalized attention you could find at a boutique agency.
Long Timelines
It isn’t uncommon for a website design project to take 3-6+ months for an agency to complete. That could be months of not being able to book clients, because they can’t find you online.
At Growth Story, we have a quick turnaround time of 4 weeks. We work efficiently, yet very strategically, so your website can start being used as a conversion tool as soon as possible.
What to Look for When Hiring a Web Designer
The services, client experience, and results you get vary based on which web designer you hire. Here are some different things to look for when comparing your options.
Strong Portfolio
First, make sure there’s proof in the pudding. Browse the web designer’s portfolio to see if you like their design style. You also should ensure their projects are rooted in strategy, their clients are happy, and they have results to share from their work.
User-Friendly Hosting Platform
Many web designers specialize in specific hosting platforms, and some are more user-friendly than others. We recommend Squarespace for all of our clients as it’s powerful, easy to use, and integrates seamlessly with other tools our clients often use.
Customization and Website Strategy
Designing a website intentionally with strategy is the difference between your website being a conversion tool, or it functioning like a pretty business card. Does your web designer build primarily for looks, or do they create a custom website strategy that maps out the user experience, calls-to-action, and an SEO and blogging plan?
Copywriting and Messaging
Depending on who you hire for website design, you still may be responsible for the copywriting, or writing the words on your site, and messaging strategy. If you aren’t a skilled copywriter, this could require paying for an add-on or outsourcing to a copywriter as well. At Growth Story, we’re a one-stop shop for designing a website that’s built to convert—copywriting and messaging strategy included.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
SEO is another service that may or may not be included with your web designer. Some designers offer “light SEO”, which won’t get your firm found consistently via search engines. We prefer to build out an effective SEO strategy as part of our clients’ website strategy, because beautiful design only works if your prospects see it!
Education on Website Management
If you’ll be the one managing your website once the design project wraps up, you’ll need information on how website updates work. Do you need to pay the web designer to make changes, or do they teach you how to make edits yourself?
We value educating our clients on how to make basic updates in Squarespace during our Website Handoff Meeting, and we also offer options for website management support if needed.
Turn Your Website into a Business Tool
Not all web designers are created equal, and the same goes for websites, too. Some websites are well-optimized for search, but not professionally designed. Some websites are pretty, but can’t be found via Google. It’s crucial to work with a design agency that specializes in creating on-brand websites that showcase your expertise, but also are built with strategy at every turn.
If you’re looking for a professional website for your firm that operates as a business tool without sacrificing beautiful design, book a free consultation with Allie, the founder of Growth Story.
FAQs about Hiring a Web Designer
The investment for a professional website ranges vastly, depending on if you’re hiring an individual or boutique agency vs. a large agency and what’s included in the build.
A custom website for a small business typically ranges from $4000-$10000—and often that’s only for the web design, excluding branding, copywriting, SEO, etc. Click here to learn more about our web design services and pricing.
You should be mindful of a few red flags that could pop up as you research which web designer to hire. First, if they don’t have a portfolio or any client projects to share yet they charge a high rate, that could be a red flag. Second, it may be a challenge for you if the timeline for your website build is 3-6+ months. Third, some designers gatekeep information on how to make updates for your site, so that you have to hire them again for every small change. Look for a designer who educates you as part of their process.
Absolutely, hiring a web designer for a custom website is a smart business investment. When your site is built strategically with conversion in mind, you have a higher chance of getting a strong ROI, or return on your investment. We build custom websites on Squarespace, a very user-friendly website builder, so you can manage your own edits if you’d like.
Some questions to ask before hiring a web designer include:
– What hosting platform do you use?
– Are copywriting, branding, messaging strategy, and SEO included in your packages, or am I responsible for those aspects?
– How do you educate your clients on making edits to their sites?
– What is the timeline for building a custom website?
– Do you have any portfolio pieces to share, so I can get a feel for your design style?