There are several things that you need to look for when choosing a freelance web designer for your project.
Style
The first thing is that you want to make sure that designer has the same style that you want your website to look like. This means that you are going to need to look their portfolios to see what they do. You will need to take some notes of things that you like and don’t like. For example, the logos, layouts, and colors that they use. The best way to handle this is just shopping for your clothes. There are going to be some things that are going to be more eye catching than some of the other things. Therefore, if you are wanting to have a more modern website, then it is not going to make sense to hire a web designer that has a portfolio that looks like designs that were made many years ago.
Developer
The second thing is you will need to ask them who is actually going to be developing the website once the design has been decided on. You also want to make sure that all of this is going to be included in the pricing that you are paying. Most of the time, the designer is going to partner with a developer so that the clients are only going to have to pay one price for the development and design of their website. There are other companies that might provide a mock-up of the website that will have to be taken to a different place so that it can be coded into being an actual website. Both approaches might work for you, but you want to make sure that you know all of the costs that are involved in the making of your website. This is so that you will know how to budget for everything that will be done for the website.
Maintenance
The third thing is you will want to ask about any type of upkeep and maintenance that the website is going to need once the website has been designed. Therefore, you are going to need to know if you are going to be able to do it yourself or if you will need to hire someone to do it for you. Therefore, you are going to need to know that your website is not going to be a one time cost. You will have to make sure that your website is up to date especially if you are using different types of software and plugins inside of the website that help it to function. You can talk to your designer about some of the maintenance services that they might offer or they will be able to refer you to someone who can do the maintenance for you. It might also be a good idea to learn how to maintain the website yourself. This is one of the best ways that you are going to be able to save a lot of money in the long run.
Files
The fourth thing is the type of design files that you are going to be able to receive from the web designer. This means that you are going to receive mock-ups from Illustrator or Photoshop. This should also include a version of your logo that can be edition through PDF. If you have used premium fonts or photos inside of your design, then you are going to want to make sure that you have a license to use them. You might also need permission to use the license of the designer depending on the rules that font that you used has. It is going to be your job to find out all of this information about how the fonts are licensed. Therefore, you don’t need to depend on another else to look it up for you.
Revisions
The fifth thing is you want to make sure that the designer is going to be available for you if you need any changes or revisions to the website. This means that you are also going to want to know what the costs of this service is going to be. This information should be included in the contract that you got with the web designer. If there was no contract, then you are going to want to use another web designer. But you will need to remember that the designer does not have offer you free services all of the time. You should find out ahead of time what any of the costs might incur if you need to make any type of changes to the website. There is also a chance that the rates might change over a period of time, but the web designer should be able to give you a ballpark amount of what you will have to pay.