Cheap web design – top 7 questions to ask your low cost web designer

Choosing a cheap web designer can be like choosing a tradesman. Who do you trust? Which ones
are genuine and which ones will leave you feeling out of pocket? DK Site Design has compiled a list
of questions that we feel you should always ask your web designer. It shouldn’t matter whether
you’re going for an expensive site that is all singing and dancing, or simpler, low cost web design –
you should still expect and receive a great service from your web designer.

So here are the top questions that we think you should ask your web designer or check on their
website. Please don’t be put off! There are thousands of honest, fantastic web designers out there
who want nothing more than to make their customers happy. However, as I search on Google, I am
finding more and more companies who perhaps aren’t quite what they appear...

1. Do the examples of their work click through to a website?

I have noticed that on many cheap web design sites, examples of work are displayed, but it is not
possible to click through and actually view the site they are claiming to have created. The only
reasons for this could be that either:

a) They haven’t actually created the site – they have simply taken a screen shot of any website
and added it to their “portfolio”
b) They have created the site, but it isn’t very good and so don’t want you to see it
c) They have created a site with a fantastic looking homepage, so that they can add the
screenshot to their “portfolio”, but they can’t show the rest of the site, as it doesn’t exist!

If you can click through to the site, I recommend the first thing you do is scroll down to the bottom
of the page.
Every single web designer I know (certainly within the cheap web design bracket) stipulates in their
terms and conditions that the website will have a “Created by ..........” link at the bottom of the
customer’s website. This is the norm in the industry. If then, you scroll down to the bottom and you
don’t see this, I would be suspicious that the company who claim to have designed the site, possibly
haven’t.

Also, if you can click through to examples sites, double check that they are genuine! I have seen
“portfolio examples” that are clearly fabricated. Perhaps the telephone number of the web
designer’s “customer” is 01234 5678910, or the domain name is a sub domain, rather than a real
domain name. Be vigilant – it will be worth it!

2. Do they offer testimonials that can be verified?

As with tradesmen, often the best way to gauge a web designer is on testimonials from previous
clients. As a cheap web designer I care about the work I do and I want to ensure that my customers
are satisfied. On completion of their site, all my customers are sent a short questionnaire about the
quality of my work, service, price etc and I am proud to display these on my site.

Your web designer should be happy for you to contact previous clients, as this is truly the only way
that the testimonials can be verified.
3. How much do they charge for hosting?

When you get a quote for cheap web design, you will often find that hosting is included free of
charge for the first year. You must ensure that you know exactly how much your hosting is going to
cost after this time.

For example, I had a customer who had a great website that had cost £50, but they were being
charged £30 per month for hosting!! This is ludicrous (and in my opinion unethical). Their low cost
web design ended up costing them a fortune.

You should expect to pay anything from £30-£60 per year for your hosting for an average site. More
than this and I would walk away. We charge £39 per year, which we feel is good value for money.

Conversely, if you are told that hosting is “free forever”, then I would also be suspicious. Perhaps
you will be charged a high fee to renew your domain name instead.....

4. Will they accept payment from you, without having discussed your needs first?

I have seen several websites offering cheap web design that send you directly to a payment page. I
would never recommend making a payment for a website without having first discussed exactly
what you want – either via telephone or email.

Before parting with any money you need to ensure that your web designer understands what you
want from your website, how many pages it will be (you need to know what constitutes a “page”),
what you need to supply and what they will source, what would be the best domain name etc etc
etc. There’s a whole list of factors that should be decided before parting with your money. If a
cheap web design company is happy to receive payment before this, be wary.

5. Do they have Terms and Conditions?

You are entering into a contract with your web designer and as such, you should firstly ensure that
they have T & Cs and secondly read them! They are there to protect both you as the customer and
also the web designer themselves (yes, sadly sometimes the customer tries to rip the web designer
off also).

If they don’t have T & Cs and say not to worry, it is all based on trust, then be wary.

6. Whose name will the domain name be in?

This is really important. The domain name should always be registered in your name, not the web
designer’s name. This means that you own the domain name.

For example, an unethical designer offering cheap web design may register the domain in their own
name. If your business is successful (which hopefully it is!) and the time comes to renew your
domain name (a domain name is purchased for a certain number of years, after which they expire
and can bought by somebody else), if the domain name is not registered in your own name, the web
designer can charge you whatever they like to use the domain name. This is not a situation you
want to find yourself in.
Luckily, I think this practice is fading out but I still have the occasional customer who doesn’t own
their domain name – their previous web designer does.

How do you check this? If the web designer’s portfolio is genuine, you can visit the website
www.who.is, type in the domain name and it will tell you who the owner of the domain name is.
The owner of the domain should not be the cheap web design company (although they are often
listed as the administrators, which is fine)

7. How much will you be charged to makes changes to your site in future?

This is a tricky one. Having your website designed is usually just the first step in cheap web design.
Once your site is up and running, you often want to make changes to it, add special offers, new
pictures etc.

Obviously it would be unfair to expect your web designer to carry out this work for you for nothing
(although some customers do think that web designers should do updates for free - even when they
have paid almost nothing for their cheap website!). On the other hand, you want to know that
you’re not going to be ripped off every time you want to change your site.

I charge £25 per hour for updates and this is around the norm for most ethical web designers. I can
get a lot done in an hour, so it generally works out pretty well for my customers. Some companies
will charge £25 per change however, so watch out for this. For example, I might alter some text for
a customer, add 2 photos and an extra PayPal button. I could usually do this in approximately half
an hour let’s say, so it would cost £12.50. If I was charging per change, this would be £100! Again,
just be aware of all the costs before committing to your cheap web design.

Something else I offer is the option for my customers to be able to make their own changes to their
sites - when they want and as often as they want. They receive full admin rights to their site, so they
can log in and make alterations and I include an hour’s telephone tuition plus a manual, so they
know what to do. Once a website has been created and the layout etc in place, it is much easier to
make update your own site than you may think. This is a great money saving option and is very
popular.

I hope that helps in your quest for a web designer. Please don’t be put off by any of the above. Like
all industries, you will hear both good and bad stories and as long as you do your homework, trust
your instincts and follow some basic principles, you will end up with an appealing, user friendly,
navigable, SEO friendly website.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me via my website
http://www.dksitedesign.com/

© DK Site Design 2011