Being an entrepreneur for many years, I’ve come to the conclusion that the sooner you accept that budgeting for a startup business website is as illusive as figuring out Google’s algorithm for search,  you’d be in a much better place.

If you’re an internet entrepreneur or any kind of  business owner for that matter,  chances are good that a large amount of your business success will depend on your online presence.  With that said;  the top 3 things young entrepreneurs worry about all the time are…  finance, finance and more finance.  Most entrepreneurs have a business idea and a plan to succeed.  What most of us are lacking is the ability to budget our startup costs effectively.  In our defense though, it can be difficult to predict what expenses a new business will incur as it grows. 

Building or designing a brand these days is more about building an effective online presence.  Which means finding a designer who is both talented and knowledgeable to understand and effectively implement your branding design strategies.  I’m not going to bore you with a branding design lecture at this point, but take a look at this great presentation on the importance of  branding design below.

It is my position that if you’re building a business to succeed, you should be mindful of the core ingredients for success.   Hiring the right web designer to build your website is  one of those core ingredients.

BUDGETING FOR YOUR WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT

Getting Website Design Services For Free

The ideal option is to find a worthy web developer and offer him a partnership in your new venture in exchange for his expertise. This will not only allow for a possible continuous and quality development of your company and brand identity, but also a major reduction in your startup cost.

Hiring a Freelancer or Web Design Firm

If on the other hand, you choose not to partner with a web designer then your next option would be to hire a freelancer or  web design firm.

How To Budget For A Web Design Project

Many young entrepreneurs get the initial quote from  a web designer and allocate the respective funds as their  web development budget.   The problem with this is that the initial quote that a designer gives you seldom proves to be the one you end up paying.  Sometimes it maybe less but most times it ends up being more.  Much more.

As a designer starts a project, he/she may not know the obstacles that will occur as the project gets on-the-way.  This is especially true for custom website design.

Custom website design can sometimes involve lots of programming which is not an exact science, hence, can easily add hours to your project, ultimately increasing your website budget.

So you should be aware about these things upfront as you’re negotiating the terms of agreement.  If you’re on a tight budget (like most young entrepreneurs), try to negotiate a project price instead of an hourly rate.  This way you’re sure to be able to manage your money a little better.  Another way to plan for the unexpected is to create a detailed design brief , outlining your business strategies and project requirements.

Do You Have A Post Launch Budget ?

Another thing most entrepreneurs overlook is the post launch expense of a website.

When a website is launched, aside from the inevitable bugs that will come up, there are many things that will not be apparent until your visitors start to use your website. For example:

·        How user friendly is the website ?

·        Is your call to action buttons in the right places ?

·        Are your signup forms too long or difficult to fill out ?

·        Are the landing pages effective ?

Once you determine that the Buy Now  buttons should be green instead of light blue and that you’d rather have a search bar at the top of the home page instead of a link on the side bar. You’re talking about more time and hence more money. 

These are just some of the things you should be mindful of as you budget, negotiate and ultimately hire  a web designer for your startup company.

What have been your experience with budgeting for a website design project?

Are you looking to hire a web designer for your startup business?  Request a free quote from our designers network.

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 The Styleapple Hire A Designer series continues with Jonathan C. Smith, Senior Industrial Designer and Chief Editor at Design Exposed.

Jonathan holds multiple patents for his work in industrial design and have experiences in both the corporate and consultancy environment.   Jonathan wrote a very comprehensive article on the Top 10 things to look for when hiring an Industrial Designer. Find an experpt of the article below. You can read the full copy here.

What are the top ten things to look for when hiring an Industrial Designer? Written by Jonathan C.Smith, Industrial Designer

This isn't a simple cut and dry answer. The person you are looking for is always determined by your needs and each designer has different strengths and weaknesses.

Factors such as technical skills, experience, and passion are considerable factors.

In general, terms these are the top ten skills/traits to look for when hiring an Industrial Designer.

1.) Critical thinking skills/problem solving skills
2.) Open Mindedness
3.) Enthusiasm
4.) Willing to learn new skills and wear more hats
5.) Aptitude for Engineering
6.) Communicate ideas effectively: Verbal, written, and in sketch form.
7.) Sees the forest through the trees
8.) Variety of design/life experiences: Mentally mature
9.) Aptitude for Graphic Design
10.) Materials and Manufacturing knowledge

Here is a break down of the aforementioned list.

1.) Critical thinking skills/problem solving skills

Can you think on your feet? Can you read into a problem or design brief and think your way through the problem from more than one perspective? Finding one solution isn't the end of the line. We need to explore as many perspectives as possible. This is an overlooked skill that can be learned, but it requires a commitment on your part. Look for the positives and the negatives, being honest with yourself will yield more effective solutions. These qualities directly relate to the next item on the list.

2.) Open Mindedness

Any time you enter a situation with a biased perspective you are limiting yourself to what you have already perceived is the answer. You can get around this, but it will take you more time to get up to speed. Listen to those around you, think about it from a variety of perspectives and don't think any idea is a bad one until you are ready to trim the fat off your ideas.

3.) Enthusiasm

Your enthusiasm can have a dramatic effect on others. Being open minded and enthusiastic about the potential of a project can heighten the quality of your results and the attitude of those around you. Besides, if you aren't genuinely enthusiastic about your work, others will notice.

4.) Willing to learn new skills and wear more hats

If you are looking for a career then you better put your steel toe shoes on. Hiring managers don't want to hire someone who will leave in a year or two or three. The cost associated with hiring a new employee is very high. And they wan tot make sure they hire someone who is in it for the long haul and is genuinely committed to great results.

 Continue... Read points 5 - 10 here

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Image From The Design Portfolio of Amanda Reid

The Styleapple Hire A Designer series continues with Amanda L. Reid, President & Principal Designer at MANDARINASTUDIO. Amanda has nearly a decade of experience in various levels of interior design services for commercial and residential projects. Prior to starting MANDARINASTUDIO, she served for 8 years as Project Designer at a boutique architecture + interior design firm based in New York City.  Amanda wrote a very comprehensive article on the Top 10 things to look for when hiring an Interior Designer. If you are thinking about hiring an Interior Designer for for your next project, this is a must read. Find a brief excerpt of her article below. You can read the full copy here.

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I know as a design professional, finding the right designer to do a specific job can be time consuming and somewhat difficult, much less trying to find one when you're outside the design industry and not familiar with design at all. I've created the "Hire A Designer" series to help clients find the right designer by giving them some valuable tips on what to look for when hiring for their next big project.

I will be selecting design professionals from within the Styleapple design network to participate in this series and present what they feel are the top 10 most important things to look for when hiring a designer.

This week I've managed to secure Camille Wilkinson to discuss what she feels are the ten most important things to consider when hiring a fashion designer. Camille Wilkinson has worked in the fashion industry for over 25 years and has created a reputation for working with some of the top brands in the industry. I have had the chance to work with Camille and found her to be both professional and very creative. You can see some of her design work on Styleapple.

The designer tips in this series will be introduced on Branded Designers but the complete list will be posted on the Styleapple "Hire A Designer" pages where clients are submitting quote requests to the Styleapple Network.

Here is a briefing of Camille's Top 10...

POINT 1. From the first online (or offline) portfolio to the last portfolio you sift through, ask yourself: Which one blew you out of your socks?

POINT 2. Those portfolios that knock your socks off are where to start your follow-up.

POINT 3. What made them catch your eye, hold your breath, and call in the rest of your team to see what you see. If you know what you need, seeing what fits the bill should be easy. The plus of looking, is if you find something more, something je ne sais pas (I don't know what), but when you see it - wow - you know it.

It might be good to know what kind of environment they best design in... It is not just a passing curiosity to know how a designer thrives best. And aside from the physical environment, what is the computer environment or OS (operating system) - along with the programs - that made their work pop. Genius may also have its source in the tools used.

POINT 4. A good portfolio contains - like manners - a designer's best foot forward, their best work, their best representation of all of what they can do as a designer. And like manners, it's not a façade, it's not a put-on, it's in fact the super powers that they have cultivated throughout their career to the point where they are now: Now, ‘You Are Here'. So no worries, they should be able to back up what ever they have presented. That is to say, they should be able to apply all their talents and skills to whatever you may challenge them with.

POINT 5. Check and balance your initial awe of pretty pictures with sound design process practicalities. If you don't see it in the portfolio, and you still want to investigate what the designer is capable of, let this be one question in your first line of defense upon interviewing:

QUESTION #1. Are you capable of detailing your designs in a tech pack?
You should also ask:
QUESTION #2. Are you capable of leading fit meetings for your designs?
And since you are on this track, ask this:
QUESTION #3. Are you knowledgeable of fabric types, constructions, knitting qualities, and gauges?

Yes, you need to get technical with a prospective designer, to know the perimeters of their skills. Even if you have departments who this work is delegated to, a designer must know how to communicate with them to get their designs to the next stage. 

See the complete list here>>

If you are interested in writing a top 10 for your discipline in design. Feel free to leave a comment or contact me directly at calvin [at] styleapple [dot] com

Are You Looking To Hire A Designer? 

Get A Free Project Quote From The Styleapple Design Network: Get A Freelancer>>

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Now we've come up with 10 great tips to keep in mind when looking to hire for your next web design project primarily  based on the great feedback we've gotten from the design community:

1. Does Your Web Designer know what SEO Stands for?

One of the things I look for is the designer's knowledge of SEO (search engine optimization)  I know they might tell you that that's what an SEO Consultant is for; but there are web design companies that will do the little things like:  Place the right keywords and meta titles on your website. Use H1 headings to tell Google what your web pages are about.  Give you suggestions on keyword density relative to content when writing content for you pages.  These things help search engines find your website more easily.  This is also a great way for web designers to add value to their services while at the same time giving the client a more effective website.

2. Is The Quote Too Good To Be True

Be cautious of getting a quote that's too low. No I didn't make a mistake when I said too low.  Shop around  and get a few prices for your project.  There are going to be companies that will highball you and some that will even lowball you.  For one of my projects I've gotten a quote of  $20,000 and one for $3700 for the same project.  If a quote is too low it might mean that the company is not aware of the details or the quality you're looking for.  I hate to say this but most times, you get what you pay for.  Keep in mind though, a quote that seems  too high is probably too high,  go with the majority cluster of quotes on this one.

3. Sitemap is Not An Option

  A development sitemap is the layout of your website in a flowchart format.  This is important because it allows you to see visually how your website will function. A detail development sitemap is quite tedious for a designer but very helpful for you in making sure your proposal  is well understood before signing the bottom line.

4. Does Their TOS (Terms of Sales Agreement) Leave You With Butterflies in Your Stomach

If the design company TOS seem like you're selling your soul to the devil; then you probably are. It's true that  companies and designers must protect their time and money when doing projects but should have a reasonable TOS agreement that doesn't strip you from your deposit  5 minutes after you've sign the contact.

5. Go Behind Their Backs in an Honest Way

This is something I learned accidently but saved me from choosing the wrong web design company.  What you do is ask the web design company for a list of all the websites they've done to get a feel of the work.  Then you choose the ones you find that closely resembles what you're looking for in terms of  style and functionality.  Once you've gotten their contact information, call your web design company and ask if you can call a few of the website owners to get their feedback.  Two things can happen here, they might say no (INSTANT RED FLAG) or they might say yes.  In which case proceed and hopefully you get the positive feedback you want, enough to solidify the deal with the web design company you had a gut feeling about in the first place.  

For the next five tips, read James's Post: 10 Great Tips for Choosing the Right Web Design Company Regardless of Size - Part 1

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Ok I admit it; I'm kind of a social media junkie.  You know you listen to people talk about being addicted to Twitter, Facebook, and the likes but its only when you really get into it and fully utilize these resources correctly that you realize how great a networking tool these websites really are. 

I'm a part of quite a few networks and groups across the internet. You can find me on  Twitter- @calvincox, Creative Design Pros on LinkedIN, Creative Design Pros on Facebook, Pro Marketers on LindedIN, LinkedHR group on LinkedIN, you name it I'm probably in it.  And what I've noticed is the  high caliber of group members sincerely looking to network and find resources and sometimes  even Human resources. 

I've come across recruiters  looking to fill positions by sending out emails to group members  asking if we knew of anyone that could fill certain design positions at their companies.  Just imagine if you were a group member looking for just that job or project?  How cool would that be?  It's like sitting having lunch (without the lunch of course)with a recruiter  you wouldn't have otherwise met- considering  all the weeding out a design company does before even looking at your resume or design portfolio.  I hope the wheels are turning in your head enough for you to  go out and find groups that are related to your field of interest.  This could  possibly be the inside track you've been looking  for.   CC

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There are many options when hiring a web designer or design company in general.  I mean the list is seriously endless. So the question is how do you find the right design company to build your website or complete your  next design project.  The design industry has flourished,  and with the internet , choosing the right web design company has become a full time job.   Personally I tend to favor the smaller design firms or freelance designer when hiring for my projects, here is why:

1. Freelance designers and small design firms are very ambitious and want the work.
2. Freelance designers just starting out want to do the best job they can in order to promote their brand.
3. Freelance designers and small design firms tend to deliver the project earlier than larger design companies.
4. Freelance designers and small design companies are more accessible during off hours, i.e. tech support.
5. Freelance designers and small design companies are more flexible when it comes to design changes.
6. Freelance designers and small design firms tend to be more innovative when it comes to new ideas and cutting edge technology.

7.  Freelance designers and small design firms can be a great resource for future website upgrades because the designer who designed your website is probably the owner, chances are he won't fire himself or be looking for a better career opportunity.

Freelance Switch has a great article from the freelance designer perspective, titled, You Vs. The Design Firms: How To Win Every Time. Of course with any choice you make due diligence is key.  Just like in any business there are good and bad apples.  Research and vet the designer or design firm before hiring, my article:  "Scars From a Bad Proposal:  8 do's and don'ts when choosing a web designer" will give you some vetting tips.

What has been your  experience when hiring a freelance designer or small design firm as opposed to a larger design company?

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