Sazbean

Your website is your brand and image and storefront on the Internet. Every search people do for your company will (hopefully) lead to your website. Most people do not bother to use paper yellowpages anymore to look up businesses. Going to a company’s website is part of the research in a purchasing process for 80% of B2B executives according to the 2006 ABM-Harris Interactive B2B Internet Usage Survey.

Finding a good web designer (or web design company) is key to a good B2B website (and I’m not just trying to toot my own horn). When you need to have surgery, you look up the best doctor you (or your insurance) can afford. You shouldn’t skimp on a web designer either. The best way to find a good one is to either ask someone you trust for a referral or to contact a company whose website you like and ask them for the name of their designer. It is probably best to get a few companies or names so you can compare them.

Once you have your list, take a look at the websites of the designers. Are they pleasing and well designed? In my experience, classically trained designers (ones with a college degree in design, web design, electronic arts, or computer science) tend to be the best, but occasionally you get someone without a degree who has either devoted a lot of time to learning or just has a natural talent. Every designer should have a portfolio or a resume to show their past work and experience. Avoid designers who do all the talking and tell you how to run your business. You are the expert at what you do – a good designer will listen for much of the first consultation and ask a lot of questions. Many will also show you a proof or ‘wireframe’ of what their design would look like before they take any money. At the very least you should get some type of document (even an email or statement of work) that details what they think your site should look like once they’ve listened to you, taken a look at your site (if you have one), and done some research into other sites you like. Run from any designers who want payment up front.

Please, please, please do not have your children or your 14 year old nephew put together your site unless they are trained and professional web designers.

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