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Q: If you find somebody who looks like a great designer but not a great administrator, do you hire them to design and then go looking for an administrator? A: Yes. And usually,the designer will partner with someone who can handle the administration, so the designer, once you have settled on one, is a great source for finding a great administrator, because they're getting that same question all the time.
Q: Once you've designed your Web site, how long do you take in the process to decide its good. A: I would allow several weeks, because I would want to run it past some current and potential customers, if possible. Payment should be contingent on acceptance. I actually wouldn't do business with a person who requires a larger amount of payment before they even agree to get going.
Q: Would you always recommend viewing it as a project rather than as hourly work? A: Yes. Because, in a very nice way, that puts pressure on the specification process up front. So it drives clarity in terms of what you're buying. A specification details what the site will look like, what it will do, and what it'll have in it. It includes the structure of the site. You know, there is going to be a home page, a number of next-level-down pages, and some number of pages under those. The specification talks about whether the site is going to use custom photography or whether it's going to be public-domain photography or some combination in between. It talks about how the navigation will work. The specification process really lays down a picture of the site before you build it.
Some [designers] will say, "In order to get a specification, you need to hire me for X number of hours to work with you and I'll craft the specification." That's fine, too, because you can say, "Lets work together for 16 hours. We'll meet for four hours and brainstorm for six hours." Then based on that, the designer can really know what you want, and what it will cost…. If the relationship falls apart, you can take the specification and shop it to other people.
Q: What if you have a bad Web site, are there things you can take from that when you go to shop around for somebody to fix it up? A: If that Web site is very consistent with the branding and imagery of your company, point that out to the [web-designer], because all of your print materials are probably complementary to it… Hopefully you have done that early on in your business strategy, because your print and your Web should fall out as your branding. It's all one big consistent message, when it's done right.
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