My friend Dave went to work for IBM as a researcher in the early 1970s. It wasn't long before he was making presentations to important clients. Now Dave was a very bright guy, but the reason he was making those presentations had to do with something else. Dave went gray in his teens. Consequently, he looked like he had the experience that clients wanted to see.
Compare that with some of the ads you see today about companies selling high-tech services. That same IBM Corporation now presents television ads with a scruffy Generation X-er as the key character. It seems that the idea is that that scruffy kind of techno-look means that they understand more about technology.
MCI World Com is even worse. There the entire advertising program is built around the fact that there is a different generation, and they understand stuff that you obviously don't. One of my top clients started the project of putting his fairly large corporation into the Digital Age by grabbing a bunch of "young folksä and turning them into a committee. We laugh about that now, because he knows that the decisions he was looking to make weren't technological decisions at all. They were business decisions.
Sometimes in my programs for executives, I talk about how to choose an effective Web designer or E-commerce firm. I've got a cartoon slide done by my friend, Hal Johnson. It depicts one small, wimpy, nerdish-looking fellow and another larger, spiky-haired dude. I asked my audience if these folks are good Web designers or not. I usually get a laugh and some "yes'sä and some "no's.%
The truth of it is, though, that you can't tell by looking. If you want to find out if a designer is any good, you have to check references and look at that designer's work. To do that, you need to know how to make some judgments.
Judge whether they can do the kind of work you need done by asking some specific questions. Just checking out the resume or looking at a list of references is not enough. If you really want to check out a potential designer, you've got to take the initiative. You've got to ask some pointed and purposeful questions. Here's some guidance.
Have they done projects of your size and scope? Lots of designers will tell you they can do what you want, but you shouldn't let it rest there. You want to know if they've already done work with the kind of complexity and challenges that your project will present. Ask them specifically for examples of their work that demonstrate that they can do your project. If they haven't got them, consider letting them learn on someone else's dime.
Have they done other projects in your industry? Industries have different challenges, jargon, and needs. Be careful, though. This one is a two-edged sword. No industry experience means you'll have to work harder to make sure they understand your business challenges. But lots of industry experience may mean that your Web site won't give you much competitive advantage because it will have the same features and design as lots of other industry sites.
Have they done projects where they've incorporated the features you want to use? Even if that designer hasn't done anything in your industry he or she may have done projects that use special features that will make your site more powerful.
Consider retail. There's retail that sells small items that people understand and retail that sells big items, like autos, RVs, houses and major appliances that folks like to research. For any industry with those big research-requiring products a configurator is feature that adds value for the customer and helps you with the sales and research process. If your designer has done a configurator in one industry, he or she can probably do one in another industry.
Do they know what a good Web site is? It's amazing how many designers don't. The confuse a good website with one that's technologically advanced. The problem is that visitors don't agree.
Web users tell us and show us by their behavior that it's very important for the first page of a site they're visiting for the first time to pop up on the screen in ten seconds or less. They tell us and show us that they want lots of relevant information that's easy to find and use. That's what visitors think is a good site. You should too.
To figure out if your designer agrees, ask for examples of six excellent sites. Tell them they can define excellent in any way they think is important. Tell them that these do not need to be sites that they've worked on. Then see what they come back with.
If they bring back a list of sites that have lots of information that's helpful and easy to find, and if the sites load quickly, you could have a winner on your hands. But if they bring you examples of graphically stunning, but information-impoverished sites, or if the sites they select sacrifice usability for cosmetics or technology, then they're probably not the designer you want.
Judge whether they work professionally by checking out their references. Get references. Ask your designer for the work they're proudest of. Then contact the folks they worked for. Find out how they worked.
Did they keep their promises? Did they meet deadlines? How did they do on the project budget? In general, how was the designer to work with? Would the other company hire them again?
Judge whether your relationship is likely to work by checking your gut. It's your money and it would be really dumb to spend it on a project where you didn't enjoy the process. So · how do you get along with the designer now?
Are meetings productive and pleasant? How about phone conversations? If you constantly feel talked down to, or if you get angry dealing with the designer, you should find someone else to work with. These people don't need to turn into your best friend or the person you name your child after, but the relationship should be pleasant and comfortable.
In my experience, the most important judgments you need to make are about whether the relationship will work. I've found that if the relationship works, lots of other things can be worked out along the way, but if that relationship is weak, or bad, things just seem to go from bad to worse on a rocket.
Here's one more bit of advice. If you don't find someone who can do the work you want, don't settle. Keep looking. They're out there and worth hunting for.
You can't tell a good Web designer by looking, but you can tell by asking some important questions and by insisting on quality.
Created/Revised/Reviewed: 2 February 2002
Reviewed: 2/15/03
One designer I can vouch for is the one who designed the site you're on right now. Her name is Sandy Rowley.
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