Having a business website is fundamental to running a successful enterprise today. Your website is how customers find you, interact with you and know who you are. It also gives your business some credibility.
Two main people you need when creating a website are web designers and web developers.
Web Designers and Web Developers: What They Do
A web designer handles the feel and the look of your site. This ensures the result is aesthetically pleasing and site users have a delightful experience.
Developers, on the other hand, focus on functionality. They work on the back and front-end of your site and develop programming code that directs a website on what to do.
Hiring a Web Designer vs. A Web Developer
Having both a developer and a designer has numerous benefits. However, it costs you more and is not always necessary.
Depending on your vision and your goals for your site, you might only need one or the other. For example, if you are only looking to create a basic website, you might only need to hire a designer. They can test a site’s usability and provide feedback on its design and layout.
A website designer is also adequate if you need to design a new homepage layout, create a concept for a new website, and edit videos and photos.
Other reasons to hire a web designer:
- You have a substantial budget for the project
- You are happy to wait a week or longer for the finished product
- You are unable or unwilling to deal with any aspects of the design yourself
- You are looking at creating a unique website with some specialized features
On the other hand, if you are looking for a high-performance website with multiple advanced features, a web developer is best suited to bring your ideas to life.
Similarly, you would need a web developing company for building a new contact form and mobile app creation. They are also ideal for fixing hosting or server problems.
It does not end there, however.
Web development takes some time to do.
If you do not have the technological know-how, you might be required to learn some developing skills, which will take time. On the other hand, hiring a developer will take significantly less time if you are working with short deadlines.
Professional website developers continually update their skills to catch on to the latest trends. This means they know what to tweak to create a competitive site. So if you need to be at par with your competitors or need to have the edge over them, a website developer is the way to go.
Hiring Criteria
The above pointers should help you determine whether you need to hire a developer, designer, or you can DIY.
You need to find the best professionals around for your budget. Look at their portfolio, seek recommendations, read their business reviews, and so on. But, at the end of the day, you need someone that fully understands your vision and is enthusiastic about implementing it.