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About the How to Hire the World's Greatest Web Designer
How to Hire the World's Greatest Web Designer is your no-nonsense guide to finding, hiring, and working with a great web designer without getting ripped off, pissed off, or going flat broke.
If you need to build a website and will be hiring a designer to build it for you, even just a little bit of knowledge about how to find a great designer can make the difference between a dream and a nightmare.
Because...let's face it. There's a lot of web designers out there and not all of them are good, honest, or even competent...
- Almost anyone with a computer and a copy of FrontPage can set up an online portfolio and call themselves a web designer. But there's more to being a great designer than knowing how to throw together some graphics and text. How do you know that your designer knows what they are doing?
- If you type in the words "web designer" in Google, you'll get over 6 million results. Where do you want to start looking?
- Do you check out a designer by looking at their web site? Guess what...it's easy for a "so-called" designer to fake a good-looking web site and fill it with "designs" that they've supposedly done. How can you tell the difference?
- Did you know that you might not "own" the website that you've hired your web designer to create for you? That's right...and it's perfectly legal! How can you avoid this trap?
- Don't think your problems are over once your website is launched. Your designer can still make your life miserable even months after your project is over. How do you make sure that you're not tied to the same lousy designer forever?
- If you have already have a website or tried getting a website up, you may have been burned by a bad web designer before. What do you do, where do you look, and what questions do you ask to make sure that you don't get burned again?
- If you're lucky, you might just get an incompetent web designer that wastes your time and money. If you're not lucky, you might get a web designer that actively tries to rip you off. How can you spot the incompetents and avoid the digital rip-off artists?
I've been designing websites since 1996. I've worked for and freelanced for universities, small businesses, large companies, non-profits, and individuals as well. I've seen and heard all the horror stories, and I've also had to fix the messes left behind by the inexperienced amateurs and the arrogant con artists. These are some of my most memorable client horror stories:
I had one client whose web designer just up and vanished right in the middle of the project. No explanation, no warning...just poof...fell off the face of the earth taking $400 in payments and my client's half-finished website with him. Believe it or not, he was lucky that's all he lost! Another client of mine had a designer build a website for her pottery. It was gorgeous...an absolute work of art. So what was the problem? She needed to change a price on one of her art pieces. She didn't know how to do it herself and her old designer had disappeared right after her final check cleared. She came to me to help her. I looked at the code underneath that beautiful website and found an absolute programming nightmare. It took me 2 days just to figure out where to make minor changes. My client would have never found out how to do this without a degree in computer science. I ended up completely overhauling her beautiful website that took 3 months and $2,500 to build, so that she would have the ability to make changes to it herself. A friend of a past client called me up with a question about what she should do with her current designer. Her numerous requests for changes to her website went undone. Her phone calls and emails went unanswered. Worst yet, the designer had just charged a final payment of $1,200 on her credit card and her site wasn't even done. It was actually supposed to be complete in early September. It was mid December when she called me. The blue ribbon horror story winner goes to the clients whose web designer set up everything, hosting, the shopping cart, and the domain name, under his name only. My clients couldn't make any changes to their website without going through their web designer. They couldn't even request tech support with his say so! He was often slow in respond to requests for changes to the website and when he did make the changes, he charged them dearly for it. When they finally got fed up and came to me to take over the website, their old designer retaliated by shutting it down! Since they had no control over their old website, my clients had to start over again with a new designer, a new design, and a new domain name. They also had to change their business cards, letterhead, and brochures because they all had the old web address on them. And these stories are just the tip of the iceberg! These are ones in which I had first-hand experience with. I've actually heard worse!
I kept hearing the same stories and mistakes over, and over, and over, and over again. And the sad thing was that most of these situations could have been avoided with just a little bit of knowledge.
These stories are the reason why I wrote "How to Hire the World's Greatest Web Designer". In this 70+ page guide, you'll get way more than just a little bit of knowledge:
- Find out when you really need to hire a designer...not all projects needs professional help...save time and money by using one of the 4 strategies I outline for do-it-yourself sites.
- Read about the 8 places to look for a designer...typing the words "web designer" in a search engine is a waste of time...you can find potential candidates in minutes just by looking in the right place!
- Learn how to really check out a web designer...just looking at their website is not enough! Know what questions to ask...who to ask...and what the red flags are.
- Web design contracts can protect you...or work against you. See what a typical contract looks like...avoid the pitfalls that can be hidden in contracts... know when to renegotiate...and when to walk away.
- Are you hiring the right kind of help for the job? What's the difference between a "designer", a "developer", and a "webmaster"? It can make a big difference in in skills and price. Learn the differences and never make the mistake of hiring the wrong type of help!
- Thinking about hiring a design agency? You might be getting ready to throw your money away...learn when you really need a design agency and when you don't.
- Keep control of your website! Learn how unscrupulous designers can take over your website without your knowledge...and the simple steps you can take to prevent it.
- Are you even ready to start looking for a web designer? A lot of people waste money on web design because they aren't prepared before they start looking. See what steps you need to take before you start your search...save tons of money and time by just by being prepared.
- Separate the great designers from the riff-raff...by looking for the 10 characteristics of a great web designer. Never get fooled by a pretty portfolio again!
- So you've got great designer, but can you work with them? This guide also outlines how to ensure that your entire project runs smoothly from start to finish...avoid common mistakes that can derail a project...and steer clear of problems that will cost you in lost time and money.
- Is your project in trouble now? Learn the 4 signs that you're heading for trouble...plus the six-step plan to save a web project that's about to reel out of control.
- Already hired a loser? Don't waste any more time and money...find out how to get rid of them fast and start over with a winner.
Plus, this 70+ page guide is organized so that you can get the information you need quickly and easily with Key Takeaways at the end of each chapter that summarizes the most important points. And a handy Quick Start List that points to specific pages that answers specific questions such as:
How do I build a website without a designer? (see page 9)How do I know the difference between a "web designer" and a "webmaster"? (see page 14)How do I start my search for a designer? (see page 18)How do I research a web designer? (see page 26)How do I read my web design contract? (see page 36)How do I spot traps in my web design contract? (see page 41)How do I work with my designer? (see page 47)How do I keep my designer from taking over my site? (see page 52)How do I save a web project that's in trouble? (see page 61)How do I fire my web designer? (see page 63)
In addition to this information packed downloadable guide, you'll also receive:
- 25 Good Interview Questions to Ask Your Web Designer- critical questions to ask and the reasons why you're asking them plus what answers to look for...don't interview a web designer without it!
- A sample web design contract- never hire a web designer without a written contract....protect yourself and your project.
- A web design budget planner - take the guesswork out of figuring out how much your website will cost with this handy budgeting tool.
You can download "How to Hire the World's Greatest Web Designer" right now for $37.95 $27.95 and get instantaneous access to the one guide that can save you time, money, and piece of mind when you're working with a designer.
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This is a beautifully written ebook that's just packed with valuable information. If you are planning on hiring a web designer, you should buy this book!
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