Even the best websites sometimes need a design makeover. As a business owner, you may have invested a significant amount of your marketing budget in the original design, and it must have given you a good return on investment. In this article, you’ll learn how to find the best website re-designer within your budget.
However, with technology growing by leaps and bounds, consumer behavior being so dynamic, and the markets in constant flux, you need every resource available to you at peak performance.
Website redesign is a long-term project that requires planning, strategy, and creativity. It is filled with challenges, frustration, amazingly creative breakthroughs, and a sense of achievement at the end of a project.
Though you’ve gone through this process earlier, there are plenty of new variables to consider. These may include skill sets, hourly rates, customized templates to be used, etc., that can impact cost, time taken, final look and feel, etc.
How Do You Know You Need A Website Redesign?
Results Not In Sync With Expectations: When your website fails to do its job as a marketing tool, the conversion rates are too low, and the bounce rate is too high, it’s time to think of a makeover. Perhaps a complete overhaul is not required, so you could look at the weaker sections and fix the problems there.
Brand Identity Change: If you’ve changed your logo or visuals, incorporated a new suite of products or services, or your company has been recognized/awarded, your website should reflect these changes. This means your marketing goals may also undergo a subtle difference. A website redesign can fix these issues.
Old-fashioned Look and Feel: Websites created even three years ago may have an out-of-date look and feel. They may not incorporate new design trends or appeal to new target audiences. Though you don’t want to be a slave to fashion, reflecting modern design shows that your business is in step with the present day. Follow social media for real-time feedback on your website re-designer on a budget.
Find Website Re-designer: Other Factors To Consider
Not Optimized: Websites created earlier may not be fully responsive to the different platforms customers access them from. You need a consistent look and feel across other devices, or you’ll lose customers. If the site isn’t SEO optimized, it won’t rank highly on search engine pages. Advanced content management systems (CMS) can boost your search engine page rankings.
Speed: More than 40% of visitors abandon a website when uploading takes more than 3 seconds. If your website has a slow upload speed, it’s time for a makeover.
Security: is a huge concern, as small businesses are as vulnerable to hackers and malware as are large ones. Your customers need to feel that their data is safe, and a redesign can put in the latest protection.
How to Find the Best Website Re-designer Within Your Budget
It’s essential to scope out the market to understand the average cost of a redesign. Fees can vary widely between designers, depending on the complexity of the task, experience, and skills.
Find Website Re-designer: Define your redesign goals
Before you talk to the designer or design company, figure out and document your reasons for the redesign. This makes it easier to communicate your ideas to the designer. You must include what you hope to accomplish from the design, target audience, and the time-frame.
Get estimates from a few companies
Don’t blindly assign the job to your previous designer or a niece or nephew just launched a design firm. Shortlist a few likely candidates and set up meetings with them separately to get a clear idea of their skills, portfolio, rates, and communication style.
Pricing Factors
Developers and agencies have different price bands based on the nature/extent of the job, time estimates, size of the website, designer’s assessment of the complexity, and whether they plan to customize or use templates. In general, current prices range from about $500 for a free WordPress design to $100,000 for a fully customized product. These prices may not include support, hosting, or marketing services.
Find Website Re-designer: Features That Impact Pricing
Some factors must always be considered while setting your budget. These include the number of unique page templates required, the customization needed, managing content, content audit/strategy/production, content migration, and optimization. If yours is a large project, it will certainly use up more time, and there are greater chances of errors and back-and-forth. Try to negotiate a fixed pricing scheme of payment for larger projects.
Experience and Skills:
Don’t underestimate the value of a well-established, reputed web design company. They may come at a price, but in the long run, you could end up with a much more streamlined—professional-looking product. Working with expert designers means that they have systems in place and are more likely to respect deadlines and budgets. If you’re in a contract with hourly billing, an experienced designer is more likely to produce more skilled and practical work. In general, it’s a good plan to pay professional designers hourly, but at a fixed rate for less experienced designers.
Explore Different Platforms
There are several platforms where you can find talented website re-designers. Each has its own advantages:
- Freelance Websites: Platforms like Upwork, Freelancer, and Fiverr offer a wide range of designers. You can view their profiles, portfolios, and client reviews before making a decision.
- Design Agencies: If you have a larger budget, hiring a design agency might be the way to go. Agencies often have a team of experts who can handle various aspects of the redesign.
- Job Boards and Marketplaces: Websites like Behance, Dribbble, and 99designs are excellent places to find creative professionals. These platforms allow designers to showcase their best work and connect with potential clients.
Find Website Re-designer: What To Watch Out For?
- Set your budget if you have financial limitations, but negotiate. This way, only those who feel they can match this requirement will apply for the job.
- Avoid designs with dizzy animations and videos that say little. These are not only annoying but also impact your upload speed.
- Expect to pay more for good quality, unique content because that’s what makes your website memorable. Creates strong backlinks, and a buzz on social media.
- Do your due diligence as a customer because that’s what you are when you purchase a redesign project.
- Ask about post-launch support. It’s great to have a fantastic website. But if your design company doesn’t help you out when there’s a problem, you’re in trouble.
You need a site that reflects your products, values, and brand. It should grow with your business, keep your customers/visitors informed with up-to-date, authentic, accurate, and reliable information, and generate healthy and sturdy leads.
