Three new websites are built every second. To make yours stand out, it needs to be expertly crafted and memorable. While you can make the website yourself and save some money, a web designer’s experience and keen eye for aesthetics will ensure it captivates your visitors and leaves a lasting impression.
Web designers know what attracts users to your website and keeps them there, so they can strike the perfect balance between looks and usability and turn your website into a powerful revenue driver for your business.
In this guide, we’ll help you hire a web designer efficiently. You’ll learn what to expect from hiring them and how to handle the recruiting process. We’ll also introduce you to MarketerHire, a platform that can connect you with proven web designers and expert marketers.
What Is a Web Designer?
A web designer is a creative professional who designs the visual aspects of a website or webpage, such as the layout and its elements. While web developers are responsible for the functionality of the page, designers handle the interface, which is the part the visitors will interact with. Their job is to make the page intuitive and appealing.
Professional web designers need to have a firm grasp of design principles and proficiency in various design tools. They also need to collaborate with different professionals across the company, including:
Web designers can work in various settings—learn about them below:
Some web designers also offer their services on a fractional basis. This arrangement is the ideal solution for companies who need ongoing support but can’t afford or don’t need an in-house web designer at the moment. Fractional designers are independent contractors but are more involved with their employers than freelancers and have scalable hours.
What Does a Web Designer Do?
The typical responsibilities of a web designer include:
- Researching and planning: The designer first needs to understand the client’s requirements and user preferences and behaviors. They can then map out the user journey to help website visitors easily achieve their goals and solve problems
- Creating web designs: A website or webpage design starts with a great idea. The designer then develops it by creating wireframes, mockups, and polished prototypes. They may also need to design the elements that will be displayed on the website
- Optimizing the designs: The designer has to make sure the website or webpage is responsive, accessible on all devices and to all users, and in line with the company’s brand guidelines
- Testing designs: Once they’ve made interactive prototypes, the designer can test their usability with real users. They gather feedback and make improvements accordingly
- Updating web designs: After the website or webpage has been launched, the web designer continues monitoring performance and collecting feedback. They offer support to the site owner and make changes to improve the design further
- Following trends: Web designers also need to stay current with the latest trends in design tech, UI design, SEO, and accessibility
When and Why Should You Hire a Web Designer?
With so many easy-to-use website builders available, hiring a designer may seem unnecessary. Still, if you don’t have the required experience, doing it yourself can take ages and result in a website that’s rough around the edges.
Your website or landing page is the storefront of your business. To turn onlookers into customers, it must instill trust. That’s why you should hire a professional web designer as soon as you get the chance, regardless of the size of your business. Here are eight signs that you should start looking for one:
- Your website or landing page is outdated or slow
- You haven’t optimized your website for search engines
- Your online presence relies on social media
- Your branding is inconsistent, or you’re rebranding
- You’re not attracting the right crowd
- You’re struggling to get organic traffic
- Your bounce rate is high and engagement is low
- You’re expanding or launching new products
With the help of a skilled web designer, you can have a website that:
- Is responsive, accessible, intuitive, and informative
- Looks attractive and polished
- Is SEO-friendly and visible to your target audience
- Is tailored to your business and on-brand
- Continuously improves and adapts
- Increases conversions and leads to more sales
- Gives you an edge over your competitors
What To Look For in a Web Designer
Use the guidelines in the table below to choose the best web designer:
How To Hire a Web Designer
Before you start your search for a web designer, you should define the type of design you want. Consider your budget and timeline so you can decide on the type of employment contract. Write everything down in the form of a job description.
You can source web designers in many ways, such as via:
- Google search
- Freelance marketplaces like Upwork and Freelancer
- Job boards like Indeed and Monster
- Design-specific sites such as Dribble, 99designs, and Behance
- Referrals and recommendations
Once you’ve formed a list of potential hires, go through their portfolios and reviews. If possible, visit the websites they’ve created to assess their appearance and ease of use. Shortlist the designers whose work you like best. Also, it’s preferable to select someone who’s worked with companies within your industry and of a similar scale.
When you pinpoint the perfect candidate, make them an offer quickly so they can start working on your website as soon as possible.
Challenges of the Traditional Approach To Hiring a Web Designer
While it may seem simple on paper, the recruiting process can drain your limited resources and divert you from your primary work. Here’s why:
- Long time-to-hire: It can take weeks or even months to find a suitable candidate. This means you need to plan months in advance if you want to build or redesign your website
- High strain: Screening and interviewing candidates redirects time and effort from your other tasks, causing your work to suffer
- Potential risks: You can’t know if you’ve made the right hire until you see their final design. Since your website represents your business, a poor design could damage your reputation. You’d also need to restart the resource-intensive recruiting process
You can avoid these issues by partnering with MarketerHire, a matchmaking platform that can connect you with a web designer on demand. It pre-vets candidates and offers free rematching if you’re not satisfied, making recruiting fast and risk-free.
Why Is MarketerHire the Best Choice for Hiring a Web Designer?
With over 30,000 successful matches under its belt and clients such as Forbes and Lyft, MarketerHire is the go-to platform for hiring marketers and related experts across all niches and verticals. You can use it to employ pre-vetted web designers in only days.
MarketerHire’s experts have worked with some of today’s best-known companies, including Netflix and Uber. They undergo a multi-faceted vetting process that filters out all but the top 1% of applicants. This approach ensures that MarketerHire’s talent network consists of leading experts in their respective fields.
With its white-glove approach, MarketerHire removes all the challenges of traditional hiring. You only need to share your needs with your growth manager, and they’ll take over the rest. They’ll also support and guide you through each step, even after you’ve made the hire, to ensure your complete satisfaction.
To zero in on the perfect candidate, MarketerHire uses a proprietary system called MarketerMatch, which combines artificial and human intelligence to suggest the best candidate from the platform’s talent network according to your requirements.
Once you’re matched, you’ll get a two-week trial to assess fit. If you’re not happy with your match, you’ll get a replacement for free. You can also easily scale up or down with MarketerHire’s obligation-free, short-term contract.
How MarketerHire Works
Recruiting web designers with MarketerHire consists of three simple steps:
- Describe your needs: Schedule a short call with your dedicated growth manager to describe your ideal website and hiring terms
- Meet your web designer: The MarketerHire team will identify the top candidate from the network within 48 hours
- Make the hire: Your web designer can start working for you within only three days
Web designers are far from the only professionals you can find on the platform. You can also hire various expert marketers, such as fractional CMOs, marketing analysts, and social media managers. MarketerHire can also connect you with an Expert Assistant if your design, marketing, or sales team is stuck with any rote work.
Recruit an expert web designer with MarketerHire and build a five-star website that wins the hearts and minds of your visitors!
Other Hiring Guides To Check Out
We have various other guides on hiring marketing experts—take a look: