How to choose a web designer in Southwest Michigan

Most business owners hire a web designer once every five or ten years, so almost nobody is practised at it. You end up comparing two or three names a friend mentioned with whoever comes up on Google, and every one of their sites says “results-driven”. This guide is a way through that. It covers what to decide before you call anyone, how to build a shortlist, and the questions that separate a good fit from an expensive mistake.

Start with the job the site has to do

Before you look at a single portfolio, write down in a sentence or two what the website is for. A site that has to make the phone ring for a roofer in Niles is a different job from one that sells pottery to people in Chicago, or one that helps a Battle Creek manufacturer hire welders. The job decides almost everything else: how many pages you need, whether you need a store or online booking, how much the words matter, and whether search is worth paying for.

Write down as well what is not working now. Maybe the old site looks broken on a phone, or nobody can update it. Maybe competitors show up above you on the map, or the enquiries you get are the wrong kind. A good designer will ask about all of this in the first conversation. If they jump straight to colours and templates, note it.

Decide what kind of help you need

“Web designer” covers very different businesses: a freelancer who builds WordPress sites, a development company that writes custom software, and a full-service agency that also runs your ads, social media and PR. None is better in general; each is better at something. If you are unsure which you need, read web designer, developer or agency: which do you need? first. It will save you calls with firms that are the wrong size for the job.

Make a shortlist of three

Three is enough to compare and few enough to take seriously. To find them:

• Start near you. Being able to meet in person is one of the best reasons to hire locally. This directory groups firms by town: Kalamazoo and Portage, Battle Creek, St. Joseph, Benton Harbor and Niles and Holland and the Lakeshore.
• Filter by what you need. If you need a store, start with the e-commerce firms. If you want one company to build the site and keep it running, start with the small business website designers who also host and maintain.
• Check they are really local. A firm that says “Southwest Michigan” but gives no town, street or phone number may be based anywhere. Every profile in this directory says where the firm is based, or that it does not say.
• Ask people you trust. A recommendation from another owner in your trade is worth more than any list, this one included. Ask them what it was like after launch, not just how the site looks.

Look at their work the way your customers will

Ask each firm for three or four live sites they have built, ideally for businesses like yours, and open them on your phone. Most of your customers will. Does the site load quickly? Can you tell within five seconds what the business does and where? Is the phone number easy to tap? Then try a search for one of those businesses and see whether its site turns up.

Screenshots and award badges tell you less than a live site that still works two years on. If you can, ask one of their clients what it was like after the site went live.

Questions to ask before you sign

1. Who will actually do the work? The person you meet, a team member, or a subcontractor?
2. What exactly is included? How many pages, who writes the words, who supplies the photos, and how many rounds of changes.
3. Who owns the domain, the site and the content? The domain should be registered in your name, with logins you hold. This is the most common and most painful problem when owners switch designers.
4. What does it cost after launch? Hosting, the care plan, software licences, and what small changes cost once the project is over.
5. Can I update it myself? And if not, how quickly are changes made?
6. What is included for search? At least page titles and descriptions, a fast site, and help with your Google Business Profile. Your name, address and phone number should match everywhere they appear.
7. How long will it take, and what do you need from me? Most delays are waiting on the client’s words and photos.
8. What happens if we part ways? Can you take the site with you, and in what form?

Read the quote, not just the total

Quotes in the region come in different shapes: a fixed price for the build, an hourly rate for custom work, or a single monthly fee that covers the site, hosting and updates. A low build price with a high monthly fee can cost more over three years than a higher price up front. Put each quote on the same footing: the total over three years, and what you would own at the end. What a small business website costs in Michigan has published prices from local firms to compare against.

Red flags

• A guaranteed ranking or “page one of Google”. Nobody controls Google’s results.
• The domain is registered in the designer’s name and they won’t move it to you.
• No written quote or scope, or a contract that is hard to leave.
• No live examples, or only templates.
• Pressure to decide quickly because of a discount that expires this week.

Check them out

Look the firm up on Google Maps and read its reviews, the bad ones included, and how it answered them. Check whether it belongs to the local chamber of commerce. The Southwest Michigan Regional Chamber and the South Haven Area Chamber both publish member directories. And see how well the firm’s own site and Google Business Profile are kept. A firm that looks after its own listing is more likely to look after yours.

A note on who wrote this

This directory and this guide are made by Alanview, a Southwest Michigan web and search company that is also listed here, with the same facts as everyone else. We would rather you hire the right firm than hire us for the wrong job. If Alanview is one of your three, ask us the same questions as the others.