Contracting Web Designers

Just like any capital purchase, finding the right web partner requires research, investigation and lots of time to review the potential candidates. Prior to starting your research you need to gather together a tentative plan of what you need and what you can afford. By answering some simple questions you can develop a basic outline of your requirements and expectations;

- What type website does your competitor(s) have?
- How much time and money are you willing to invest?
- Do you have an expected return on investment or are you just starting out and need a web presence to build a more complex site as your business grows?
- What features do you want to include in the site? Will this be included from the start or will you start with a basic site and grow from there?

From the above you should be able to generate a basic RFQ to hand to each web designer for them to prepare a formal response. This will help you define a plan once you select a designer and facilitate reviewing the proposals. There are so many web designers, from one man shops to full service companies, that you may need to send your RFQ to ten or more prospective designers.

Obviously you need to select a designer that you feel has the best style and meets your budget needs. However, before signing the contract, a program plan should be established so both parties can agree on the schedule. If the designer doesn’t suggest the need for a plan, think again. The plan should include details of the schedule, web features (such as shopping carts, total page count, secure log in areas, download capabilities, contact links and product catalogs) and some of the basic site navigation. If you don’t have at least the above, you didn’t give the designer a proper RFQ.





Your relationship with the designer will dictate the site that gets developed. You should feel comfortable reviewing and critiquing the proposal to suit your needs. If you can’t influence the plan from the start, don’t expect to influence the final output. If the designer can’t support you during the proposal phase, you’ll be sure to get less support during the design process. Don’t be embarrassed to ask about cancellation clauses if you don’t like the work or the designer doesn’t meet the contractual schedule and requirements.

By preparing an RFQ for many web companies to submit bids, you can improve your chances of finding a decent web designer to help build your internet marketing strategy. Like any other vendor/supplier relationship, don’t be disappointed if things do not go exactly to plan. Just be prepared to recognize when, for whatever reason, things are not working out and be ready to terminate the relationship and start over. Getting your website published is only the cornerstone of what should be the foundation of a corporate wide marketing strategy.

Contracting Web Designers / John Glebas

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John Glebas