Web Design
How to hire web designers
You don’t have to be a digital marketing pro to know how important a website is to modern business. As both a digital interface for delivering products and services and a vehicle for generating leads, your website needs to look good. If you want to deliver a smooth customer experience and look good while doing it, a web designer can help.
So how do you find a web designer? What follows are some tips for finding top web designers on Upwork.
How to shortlist web designers
As you’re browsing available web design consultants, it can be helpful to develop a shortlist of the freelancers you may want to interview. You can screen profiles on criteria such as:
- Project fit.You want a web designer who understands the type of web application you are trying to build (e.g., ecommerce site vs. landing page).
- Portfolio.
- The best way to gauge the talent of a web designer is to see examples of their past work.
- Feedback.Reviews from past clients are a good way to see if a given freelance web designer is someone you want to work with.
How to write an effective web design job post
Why are you engaging a web designer? With the above capabilities in mind, let’s identify what you need to get done so you can begin to match skills (and talent) to your project’s requirements.
A web designer can handle a variety of different projects, such as:
- Top-to-bottom website design—at each phase, from mock-ups and wireframes to clickable prototypes
- Theme customizations—if you’re building a site with a CMS, chances are you’ll choose a theme then have them tweak it to your specifications
- Design adjustments to improve responsiveness on mobile, sales, conversions, and time-on-page, or to fix reported issues or problems identified in user testing
- Routine maintenance to a site, plugins, and designs
- Asset creation including banners, landing pages, and other design elements
- Responsive design to enhance mobile access
With a clear picture of your ideal web designer in mind, it’s time to write that job post. Although you don’t need a full job description as you would when hiring an employee, aim to provide enough detail for a contractor to know if they’re the right fit for the project.
An effective web design job post should include:
- Scope of work: From designing a shopping cart for your ecommerce site to handling the layout of a sales page for your coaching platform, list all the deliverables you’ll need.
- Project length: Your job post should indicate whether this is a smaller or larger project.
- Background: If you prefer experience working with certain industries software, or content management systems, mention this here.
- Budget: Set a budget and note your preference for hourly rates vs. fixed-price contracts.
Ready to give your website a visual upgrade? Log in and post your web design job on Upwork today.
WEB DESIGNERS FAQ
What is web design?
Web design covers everything involved with making a website look good. Web design consultants are UI designers who specialize in websites; they often know a little front-end web development on top of their design skills.
Give a web designer a content management system (CMS) such as Squarespace, and they can set you up with a slick and professional website in a snap.
Here’s a quick overview of the skills you should look for in web design freelancers:
- Web fundamentals, including HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
- Strong UI design (e.g., layout, forms, dropdown menus, call-to-action buttons)
- Basic UX design (e.g., wireframes, storyboards, user testing)
- CMS/web design platforms such as WordPress, Joomla, and Squarespace
- Communication (e.g., collaboration with developers, graphic designers, and writers)
A web designer helps businesses design websites that are both visually appealing and easy to use
Why hire web designers?
The trick to finding top web designers is to understand what you’re trying to build. There’s a big difference between designing a landing page meant to be the receiving end of a sales funnel and building an enterprise site that will serve corporate clients. The web designer is responsible for translating your unique brand identity into the visual elements that make up a website. The cost of your project will depend largely on your scope of work and the specific skills needed to bring your project to life.
How much does it cost to hire a web designer?
Rates can vary due to many factors, including expertise and experience, location, and market conditions. Learn about the cost to hire a web designer or use our handy web design cost calculator to see the true cost to design a website.