A Central Coast website designer can be found simply by searching for “Central Coast Web Design” or “Central Coast Websites” and choosing a listing from the search engine results.

It seems that everyone is able to design a website nowadays. You could build a website yourself by using a program such as Front Page or another downloaded program. However, if you do so, you could take quite some time to learn the skills necessary to create a website that looks professional and performs well.

Creating a high standard website requires a combination of graphic design, programing skills, management, and marketing. Only these factors together will create a website that is professional. Therefore, it is imperative to have a Central Coast web designer that will be with you from the start until the website is completed. So, how do we distinguish who is a good web designer and who is a bad web designer? There are many vital things to take into our consideration before making such decision. These things are shown as follows:

1.Qualification and Experience

First of all, you should check that the freelance designer or web design business has professional web designer qualifications in the web design industry and the internet? Are they certified in any particular area of the web design industry? we can check this out by clicking on their “about” page on his/her website. If they have taken the time to gain the qualifications, then we know that they are serious about their business.

We also should check how long has the person or business has been designing websites and working with the internet or web design industry? Have a look at the design style of those websites and other websites that they have designed by going to their portfolio page. This will aid in seeing their style of design and quality of work. Do the colours and text look balanced? Do all the links work, does the site load fast and is it easy to navigate the site? Do all the pages have a consistent look?

2. References

Some web designers have a reference or testimonial listing on their website, this will give you a good idea of the service and the design you can expect. Look through the references of satisfied customers. Testimonials should have the website address listed.

3. Vision/Technology

We should create a basic plan or a project brief of the type of website we want. Do a search and get a rough idea of what we want on our site (not just a copy of someone else’s). Write down your idea on paper, then contact the web designer about the concept. If you need to use advanced technologies on your site, such as Flash, database integration, Ajax or JavaScript make sure that your web designer is familiar with them and is able to implement them properly.

4. Contact and Consultation

Make sure that the Central Coast designer is reachable by phone or email. Also, we should see that how long it takes for them to get back to you. This is a good indication of the future relationship with that web designer. Are they helpful, professional, polite and friendly? Having a strong and stable relationship with your designer will help things during the project time line and any other future corespondents.

It is also very important that regular consultation is present throughout the project time line. Most web designers will give you a free consultation if they want your business. This will help you clarify what is expected in the design process.

5. Contract and Pricing

Make sure you have written down a contract before you make any payments. It should state clearly what is included in the contract e.g. how many pages, links? Does it include marketing and maintenance of your website? If not, then ask what cost the extras will entail. This can include domain name registration, scanning and optimisation of graphics and hosting.

You should search around the web to compare prices so as to get a reasonable prices (and quality at the same time!). Do not forget to check on the prices carefully. Do the prices include submitting the site to the main search engines and search engine optimisation (SEO)? (This should be done by hand if it is done properly). Don’t be misled by those that say the website will be submitted to 3000 search engines by automatic submission software.

6. Testing and On-going Support

Your website must be tested before it is completed by the designer. Why? Will it look alright in Internet Explorer as well as Netscape browsers? What screen resolutions can it be viewed in? Without testing, your site may not look professional to your customers/viewers.

Also, make sure that on-going support will be provided by the web designer. It is just not good enough if you can not contact or reach the designer anymore after the website is complete.

If we follow these vital points shown above, choosing the right web designer can be easy for us. We also can be assured of great design and support that will contribute to the on-going success of your business.

For more information on you web design project visit our contact page.