For your Web site to be effective, it has to send a professional, clean, well-organized, responsive, lively, and up-to-date image. But choosing the right professional designer is the key to your site's ultimate success.  The following are the most important considerations when choosing your Web designer:

1) Web Design Experience

As you begin your search for a Web site designer, start with their reputation. Take a look at some of the websites they have designed and follow up with references. Look for a well-established firm that has a proven track record for professionalism both in their designs and their business practices.  A professional Web design firm will be able to provide multiple examples of great Web site designs and references of happy and ongoing client relationships.

2) Technical Skills

When you hire a professional designer, you are paying for effective design along with technical expertise. Keeping abreast of the latest Internet tools and trends is key in designing a Web site that stands out from the crowd. A professional designer will inform you of new Web tools that are most applicable to your business.  These can include blogging, video and audio and animation, community-building, targeted advertising and marketing, buzz or viral marketing (internet commentary and feedback) and brighter colors, richer designs, bolder use of text, and illustration elements.  Most Web designers will also be able to implement various research tools that analyze your Web site's performance. For example, analyzing the performance of each Web site page so you can see how many people are visiting your site, how long they are spending on each page, and how long it takes for the pages to upload.

3) Web Site Security

Strong attention needs to be given to protecting the data on your Web site from online threats and making sure your site maintains visibility 24 hours a day without interruption. From protecting your email to securing your server and any transactions on your Web site, your designer should provide advice on protecting the exchange of data that is paramount to your site's integrity. For example, a well-designed Web site will install and prominently display any SSL Certificates or Site Assure Seals on critical pages throughout the site where customers may be hesitant to submit personal information or financial data. Securing your Web site is vital to gain customer trust.

4) Photography, Graphics and Logo Design

Images, graphics, photography and a custom logo will help to reinforce your brand identity online.

Design should be crisp and clean making sure every page is easy to read and follows a logical reading path for both the human eye and the search engine spider. Professional designs should provide the ideal balance of proven effective design layout combined with customized image features. The images used on your website should always reflect your brand identity.

5) Writing Skills

Professional copywriters will showcase your business in clear and memorable language, with an emphasis on accuracy and marketing.  The first page of your Web site should quickly and easily define the purpose of your business and make it easy for people to find out exactly what you do. Your customers will quickly tire of a Web site that may look good but contains no meaningful content. Text should be easy for your customers to read, but must also contain keywords for your business that will make the text more easily read by a search engine, whose job it is to find and rank your Web site.

6) E-Commerce

If your goal is to sell your products or services online, make sure you pick a designer that can demonstrate successful e-commerce Web design and can provide the specific features that you need for your business, such as; integration with accounting software, ability to offer discounts and special promotions, product quantity limitations that match your inventory, technical support and security compliance.

7) Online Marketing

Additional expertise of a professional designer includes online marketing that will generate more visitors to your Web site and make sure potential customers know your site exists and can easily find it. Some of the tools that your designer should be able to demonstrate include; search engine marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), online advertising, press release optimization, e-mail marketing, link exchange, and more. Many online marketing tools should be discussed when your Web site is in the early design stages as they need to be incorporated into the coding of your Web site. A professional designer appreciates the need to have marketing functions built-in to the Web site design.

8) Ongoing Support and Maintenance

Knowing exactly what you need from a Web site isn't always clear until your Web site goes live and you can see how your customers are using it. So it can be helpful to find a professional designer that is able to provide you with a Web site designed to enable growth. Most designers can support ongoing maintenance packages that will enable you to modify or add to your Web site easily and as your needs change.