Since you have decided to create a website for your business you have to answer many questions. The most important question is, "Who should build my website?"

Although there are tools readily available to assist in the process, effective website design requires experience and understanding of many diverse areas including: marketing, Internet graphics options and limitations, effectively creating a site from the perspective of search engines, the differences and limitations of different browsers and computer platforms as well as knowledge of the software and coding required to move beyond simple static HTML pages.

It is also vitally important that your designer understand you and your business and know how to most effectively communicate you and your uniqueness to your Internet audience. You must have a clear idea about what you want in a website, what are your needs and intentions for having a website, whether the prospective designer listens to and understands your needs and intentions and have you checked other similar businesses to see what they are doing on the Internet. Confirm a prospective designer can offer any suggestions for improving upon what others have already accomplished. The more clarity you have about your intended results for having a website, the more accurately you can communicate your needs to your designer and the more likely it is that you will achieve these results.

You should find out the designer’s experience in website design and how long has the designer been creating websites. What is their background and how long have they been using the Internet? Three years is a long time in Internet terms. More than four or five years is a seasoned veteran. Ideal designer must have a variety of experience.

See if the designer is easy to work with and talk to. Is she/he able to communicate technical information so that you can understand it? Look at some of their previous clients sites. Do they all look the same? Do they load quickly? Are they easy to navigate through? Do you like their previous work? Do they accurately reflect their clients' business? Does the designer custom create each site or would they have you select from a list of prepackaged sites”

How long will it take the web designer to prepare initial designs for your website, how long to prepare the finished versions of a web page and for the complete business website?  Is the web designer prepared to set a firm schedule for regular updates of your own website? Can the web designer promptly accommodate "emergency" or quick-turnaround adjustments and changes to your business website?

What is your budget and what is the usual cost for the designer's projects? Generally, for a larger company, they charge more for their services and often the more elaborate sites they create. Companies which create sites from a prepackaged template often cost less but don't provide you with custom solutions which may more closely meet your needs. Site designers who are beginners will often create your site for a lower cost in order to develop their skills.

Your decision should be based on many of these important questions. By doing extensive interviewing of potential website designers, you’re more likely to pick one that can do the work you want, is willing to really listen to you, can create a site that reflects you and your business, and keeps within your budget.