Small Business Hiring 101: Finding Website Designers & Developers

Websites are critical to the growth of small businesses. Whether you’re an eCommerce business with an online store or a service-based business needing a professional website, small businesses with their own website drive more traffic, attract more qualified leads, and therefore make more sales.

Admittedly, setting up an effective website takes time and effort. Maybe you’ve already looked into creating your own website by searching for how to get a free domain and what website builder to use and you’re feeling overwhelmed. You’re confused by all the different website builders, choosing a custom domain, the technicalities of an online store, and how to get your business website ranking on search engines. We get it—building a DIY website isn’t for everyone. 

Instead of struggling to sort out your own small business website, why not hire a professional team to do it for you? You can find specific website designers for small business websites who will be able to meet your needs within your budget.

Can’t I Just Use a Website Builder to Create a Small Business Website?

It is possible, but it’s not the right option for every business—especially if you have very specific needs and very little technical know-how. Even if you use the most user-friendly website builder, as a non-expert it  can take a lot of time, effort, and trial and error to create a business website.

Online stores require a lot of setup in order to make everything run smoothly. More features than you might realize go into creating a user-friendly site that competes with other small businesses and attracts search engine users.

It can be a challenge for even the most skilled small business owners. If you’re on a really tight budget, picking a free domain and the best website builder with a free plan is a good start. But if you’re able to invest in marketing tools, it might be easier to use professionals for your online store or business website.

How To Form Your Small Business Website Team

Before sitting down with potential candidates, make sure you have a clear idea of what features your website needs to have. Have an understanding of the functionality required for your small business website so you know what technical skills to look for.

Do you need help finding your own domain or integrating SEO tools? Do you want to use a specific website builder? All these technical factors are worth considering when looking for web development experts.

Does a Small Business Website Need a Developer AND a Designer?

When looking for experts who create websites, you will come across two professions—website developers and website designers. Which one do you need? It depends on the goals and complexity of your small business website. 

A designer’s area of expertise is the look and usability of the site. A developer deals with the construction and technicalities of a website. So if you are thinking of using a business website builder as the foundation, you’ll only need help with the design aspects. Most website builders, like WordPress, include a user-friendly drag-and-drop editor, search engine optimization, social media integration, and fairly advanced features on their eCommerce plans including inventory management and such.

However, if you are looking for a custom website with premium features for selling online, you’ll likely initially need the support of a website developer and then a designer. A drag-and-drop builder probably won’t cut it for you. You get more features with custom websites. This may warrant consulting a marketing agency instead of working with individual freelancers. There are pros and cons to both, so do some research to find the best fit for your business.

There aren’t any specific qualifications that either web developers or designers need, but here are a few good qualities to look out for to ensure you hire an experienced and capable expert.

The Developer 

Qualifications to Look for 

Coding and programming are key skills in web development. Evidence of this could be a Computer Science degree or similar. User experience and user interface skills are also important for creating websites that are functional and effective. An understanding of visual design is valuable in this role too.

Questions to Ask During the Interview Process 

• What is your experience working with small businesses?
• How would you approach the creation of my small business website?
• As my main goal is to sell online, how would you create the site to attract website visitors?
• Do you have a portfolio of previous projects and work samples I can look at?
• Tell me about your timeline. How long would it take you to build the kind of website I need?

The Designer 

Qualifications to Look for 

Competency in visual design such as a Graphic Design degree or similar is a good sign. An understanding of HTML, CSS, and Javascript will be valuable. Some insights into coding and programming are complementary but not required, especially if you’ll also be hiring a developer. Confident use of web design applications and website builders is essential.

Questions to Ask During the Interview Process 

• What website builders do you work with?
• Why is that website builder software beneficial for small businesses?
• How do you create a good experience for website visitors browsing online stores?
• Do you have a portfolio of past projects and work samples I can look at?

Tips for A Smooth Interview Process

Finding the right team to create your small business website does take a bit of searching. Here are four top interview tips to help you find the right team to create your online store or professional website.

1. Proactively Organize the Interview

Ensure all candidates are clear on the date, time, location, and expectations such as having testimonials and examples of their work to hand. You don’t want a miscommunication to be the reason an interview doesn’t go well.

2. Stay Transparent About the Process

Honesty and openness are the way forward. The best professionals want to work with clients they get on with. They’ll have questions and requirements too. Creating your website-building team is a two-way street.

3. Expect to Negotiate

If your candidate is a freelancer or works for a marketing agency, they’re a small business as well. That means they’ll have expectations and processes to do with the workflow, timeline, and pricing. Be ready to negotiate so you can both happily move forward with creating an effective small business website.

4. Know Your Non-Negotiables

Especially if you have business partners or a small team, having clarity on what you will not compromise on is essential. This ensures you know what you can be flexible with when in conversation with candidates so you can offer a proposal with certainty.

Next Steps in Leveraging a Business Website

When growing your small business online, your website is an important part of your digital marketing strategy. And it takes more than just going with the cheapest website builder and finding a free domain.

For a custom website with premium features and good site performance, utilize website professionals. This is the best option if you’re an eCommerce business due to the technicalities of online stores.

To accommodate a tight budget, choose your custom domain (free domains are available!) and look through the best website builders for small businesses so you only need to hire a designer, not a developer. The best website builder for you depends on what you are using your website for. Is it selling online, adding to your marketing tools for lead generation, or collecting opt-ins for text marketing, for example?

Once your small business website is up and running, it’s time to fill it with useful tools (like Webchat) and engaging content. One crucial page on your small business website is the FAQ page. Read our breakdown of how to get it right.