Hey guys,
Today I want to talk to you about what you should look for in a great web design freelancer. I’ve put the softer skills at the top as I think attitude is really the most important aspect of finding a good freelancer to work with. Below that, I’ve outlined to you what technical skills a great web freelancer should possess.
Why should you listen to me?
Hi, my name is Ferhan. I am a web designer and am the owner of Reading Web Agency. I have designed websites for a number of small businesses in the UK so know a thing or two about what you need to look for in a freelancer. Check out my portfolio if you need more convincing.
1 - A great Web Designer Needs Great Communication Skills
Communication is the number one skill you should look for in a freelancer. A web project can typically take anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 years - so you need someone who can be there for you every step of the way.
A good communicator is someone who keeps you up to date with your project. They will tell you what to expect and they will deliver on time. Even before the project has started, they should send you a detailed proposal telling you what to expect and they will typically detail everything you’ve agreed to pay for in an email.
Here are some ways you can tell someone is a good communicator:
- Keeps in regular contact with you during your project
- Even before the project starts they will send you a proposal outlining what both parties have agreed
- When they invoice you they will write down the terms of your agreement (either in the invoice itself or in a separate email)
2 - Great Freelancers Have Great Attitudes
When you speak to a web designer on the phone you should be asking yourself things like:
- Does this person sound dedicated to my project?
- Are they enthusiastic and positive?
- Is this person hardworking or a grifter?
A freelancer with a great attitude will work harder for you than anyone else, they’ll find you new opportunities and they’ll do their best to address all your concerns. In my opinion, someone with a great attitude but poor technical skills is better to collaborate with than someone who is great technically but has an attitude that stinks.
Why should I prioritise attitude over technical web knowledge?
Because the guy with the great attitude will devote their time studying web development, figure out ways to rank your website higher through search engine optimization and will be in constant communication with you. Get someone who will actually try to work with you rather than against you.
And what kind of person should I avoid like the plague?
One type of person you DO NOT want to deal with is someone who thinks they know better than you in every aspect. At the end of the day, you know your situation better than anyone and you need to work with someone who is willing to look at things from your perspective. You don’t work with someone who always shoots down all your ideas and doesn’t listen.
Now, a good web designer will need to give you some critical feedback from time to time. Maybe an idea you have really isn’t the best direction. But if the person you are working with is good - they will try to see where you are coming from and use that to suggest the best way forward.
3 - Your Developer is Always Willing to Listen
This kind of jumps off the last point. A good web design freelancer is always willing to listen to all your concerns.
As a client, you are paying a lot of money to get your website built or marketed. Naturally, you are going to have a lot of concerns. You’ll have lots of ideas on what you want to do. Afterall, this website could be the lifeblood of your business.
Therefore, you really need to find a freelancer that is willing to listen to all your concerns and ideas. Someone who will take your ideas and feedback into consideration in order to build the best solution for you and your business.
Here is one way to tell if someone is a good listener. When you tell them about your concerns, do you feel more stressed or more relieved after the conversation? Do you feel like you get into arguments with the other person or do you feel like a weight is being lifted off your shoulders?
A web designer that is willing to listen will ultimately build you a better website for your business.
Listen to what former FBI negotiator Chris Voss has to say about listening.
4 - Your Designer Must Be Results Driven
At the end of the day, you don’t want a website, you want results. You need a web presence that will actually help your business achieve its goals - whether that is generating more leads, driving more sales or raising your brand awareness.
Therefore, you need to work with someone who always has your goals at the back of their mind. As they develop your website they need to know what your users will be thinking. They need to know who the end user is and how to best tailor their experience. They need to know how you plan to market your site.
If you plan to market your site through SEO (search engine optimization) your web designer should be trying to find opportunities to rank your site on Google. If they’re good they will suggest you to build a blog or they will recommend services that can help build your domain authority.
If you want to use Google Ads instead, a good designer should be able to quickly throw up a good landing page. When users click on your ads they’ll be taken to this page and will be persuaded to buy your product or services.
When your web designer is results driven then your website will be built with results in mind.
5 - They Know How To Market Your Business
It goes without saying that a good web designer needs to know how to create a great looking website. They also need to know how to create websites that are easy for users to navigate. However, they also need to know how your website can be marketed.
There are many terrible looking websites out there that drive tons of traffic everyday. The reality is that marketing is more important than fancy web design. Therefore, if you hire someone to help build your web presence they need to have a good working knowledge of how your site can be marketed.
A few examples of how your site can be marketed are:
- Search Engine Optimization - This is the practice of optimising your website so it comes up higher on search engines such as Google and Bing
- Google Ads and sponsored links - You pay Google in order to come up first on their search engine
- Social media marketing - Using social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram to market and grow your business
A good web designer needs to at least be familiar with SEO. In fact, SEO is so important to my clients that I decided to add it as one of our services. So, why is SEO so important to consider when designing a site? Because Google likes websites to have a specific structure. And if you build a website that Google likes, Google will reward you with higher search rankings.
Someone good at Web Design and Web Marketing is also an added bonus as it means you only need to hire one person to build out your web strategy. They’ll know what to do from beginning to end to make sure you get the results you need.
In Summary...
A great web and marketing strategy can have a huge impact on your business. Therefore, it's important that you find the right person to design your site too. The most important thing to consider when finding a web designer to work with is their attitude. Are they willing to go the extra mile? Will they look for new oppurtunities to market your business? The technical stuff is important too - but in my opinion attitude trumps technical skill. Someone with a great attitude will learn the technical stuff anyway.
