Selecting a Professional Web Designer Choosing a designer to develop your web property is without a doubt one of the most important decisions you will make in the preparation of your online business, and can have a significant impact on your overall potential for success. Effective web design is a product of experience, a keen understanding of the competitive world of ecommerce, and the technologies relative. Selection of a developer lacking in up to date technical knowledge, or one without an eye for the customer can set you quickly on the road to dot com failure. Some criteria to carefully consider when selecting your central development team include the following: Experience what properties have they developed to date? what has been the success rate of those properties? have they developed ecommerce sites, or purely information based properties? can they provide references who may be contacted? Technical Scope what development tools have they utilized in the past? what ecommerce solutions have they recommended? are all site add-ons developed in-house, or are they usually out-sourced? if out-sourced, who is the provider, and what is their range of experience? what is their comfort level with relatively new technology, such as database development, Flash development, Java? Customer Fulfillment what do they consider the determining factors in developing a customer oriented site? what steps would they take pre-development to determine the property needs necessary to customer satisfaction? what history of customer based development can they show? General what is the projected timeline for development of the property? have they experienced delays in delivery in the past? do they offer site maintenance and upgrade options? will they train the owner to administer the site, once launched? Pricing what financial commitments do they require prior to beginning the design function? what is the projected overall cost, including all recommended elements? what are the projected costs for regular site upgrades? can these projected costs be put into writing? do they provide any form of satisfaction guarantee? A careful exploration of all potential options can mean the difference between overnight success, and almost instant failure on the web. Finding the perfect mix of developer experience and pricing can be a challenge, especially for the business owner uninitiated in the technologies and terminologies of the internet. With attention to detail, any avid learner can pick up a sufficient level of knowledge to make the right decision, one that results in their online success. Would you like to use this article on your site, or have it emailed to you Related Subjects: Develop your own website Top ten web design tips top of professional web designer page