Why Should I Hire Someone to Design My Site?

Someone should have hired a professional designer

Why Hire A Designer?

Presentation is everything. As much as we deny it, we judge things at first glance. We make assumptions based on the appearance of things. Would you eat at a restaurant with a lackluster appearance? What about the restaurant with the awesome neon glowing sign and menu in the front window?

We would all choose the restaurant with the better presentation. This same mentality is prevalent on the web. A beautiful yet functional web design can make or break your business.

We live in the YouTube era. This is an age where you have to gain not only the users attention but their respect within a five second window – maybe less. With features like Bounce Rate present on website traffic insight tools like Google Analytics, you learn whether you are capturing the user’s attention from the moment they land on your page.

Why Invest The Money?

I am a web designer. I deal with a multitude of clients with different tastes. The phrase: “looking for something simple” from clients translates to: “I want something cheap and quick”. If you’re selling a lifestyle and/or a product how do you think your target market will react to “cheap and quick”? They will think the product you are selling is low quality no matter how good it really is!

Don’t get me wrong. You do not need to spend top dollar to get a functional website with clean aesthetics. What you do need to do is separate your wants from your needs. Often people think they need what they see others have. You won’t get a site with the functionality of Hype Beast if you have a budget under $2,000, but you can get something that fits your needs. Your best bet is to share your idea with the designer and remain open to suggestions to make your vision work with your budget.

Your vision, budget and what is actually possible from a web development perspective may not always be in sync with each other. Find web designers with good work and invest. Your business should be your top priority and it should be evident in your website.

Always remember this rule: a high quality presentation attracts high quality users.

I recommend you shop around for an affordable but creative designer before you invest in a project. Any designer willing to do a website under $500 is making little over $8 an hour, so you can expect they won’t care so much about your project. If you don’t have the budget, give incentive. Barter. Have something other than money to offer that benefits them. But, please do not offer intangibles like “promo”.

Have an idea of what you want before consulting a designer, remain open to suggestion, and you will be well on your way to a great web site!

Adisa Sobers is a NY based photographer with a background in Advertising Design. He is the creator of the Kidz ‘r E.V.i.L. brand and maintains a portfolio at Kamikaze Kill