# Why Should You Hire a Website Designer? | Capterra > Hiring a web designer gives you someone skilled in both building and maintaining a winning website. Learn other reasons why you should hire a professional web designer. Source: https://www.capterra.com/resources/benefits-of-hiring-website-designer --- Graphic DesignIT & Software Development # Why Should You Hire a Website Designer? Benefits and Considerations Written by: Tayla Carpenter Tayla CarpenterAuthor Tayla Carpenter is a writer specializing in software, finance, and technology topics. Her work has been featured on the websites of several leading fintech a... [See bio & all articles](https://www.capterra.com/resources/author/tayla-carpenter/) and edited by: Rina Rai Rina RaiEditor Rina is a senior editor at Capterra. She has close to a decade of experience creating and editing content, especially for the IT, software, and finance domai... [See bio & all articles](https://www.capterra.com/resources/author/rina-rai/) Published September 21, 2022 | Updated on September 13, 2024 10 min read ## A web designer brings market expertise and best practices to target relevant audiences. Many small-to-midsize business owners understand the importance of an effective website but may struggle to carve out the time or resources to design one themselves. While hiring a web designer is an effective solution, you must learn about the services they provide and the unique benefits of bringing one on. Building a website for your business is a big deal. Gartner research suggests that 36% of marketing leaders plan to increase investments in their websites' designs and user experience features. [\[1\]](#sources) A new website can open up many new opportunities, but your success will depend on the website design. Your site’s design reflects your business’s credibility and also determines whether visitors return to your site. In this article, we dig into what a web designer does, why you should hire one, how that would benefit your organization, and some resources to help you figure out which designer to bring on board. ## What is a web designer, and what do they do? A web designer designs the look and user experience of your website. They also check that all backend features integrate well with the frontend experience. More specifically, a web designer provides services such as: - Graphic design for your site. - Design of the site's layout and flow between pages. - Building an effective user interface that meets the expectations of your target visitors. - Incorporating responsive design features so the site performs well on a range of devices. - Ensuring your design and content are SEO-friendly so search engines can index and use it in their results. - Incorporating your brand identity in the design so the site aligns with your organization's branding guidelines. The right web designer can remove several stubborn obstacles for your business. For example, if you want to extend your customer base, you can use your new site to target specific audiences, including prospects from particular states, cities, or countries. Additionally, you can enable eCommerce functionality on your site to sell products or services online. Similarly, if you’re struggling to establish and maintain a consistent brand and keep it top of mind for customers, an effective site can strengthen your brand by increasing visibility and reinforcing your brand identity. ## Why should you hire a web designer? Hire a web designer if you don't have the time or skills to build an effective site in-house. You can, for instance, pull a website together using premade templates, but you still might not have the time or energy to manage the site, update its security, or ensure all its pages have the most recent product or service info. Lack of time, especially when managing marketing assets such as websites, is a core issue for smaller businesses. Since the types of sites the public expects and the functions they demand change so frequently, it can be challenging to DIY a site that continues to have the impact you need. However, hiring a web designer gives you someone skilled in both building and maintaining a winning site. ## What are the benefits of hiring a web designer? There are many reasons why hiring a professional web designer could be your best option, irrespective of whether you want to refresh your current site’s look or create a whole new website. ### 1\. Save time and money A significant benefit of hiring a web designer is that it will save you time. Web designers are professionals who spend their day keeping up to date with the latest design trends and best practices while learning to use cutting-edge [graphic design software](https://www.capterra.com/graphic-design-software/). They also have experience designing dozens, if not hundreds, of sites like yours. While you can try to get the same results by learning designing and the necessary tools, it will take much longer, and the results may fall short of what a pro can do. The right web designer will also be efficient and suggest features for your website you may not have considered but could need later on, saving you time. ### 2\. Customized website design Many businesses use a [content management system](https://www.capterra.com/content-management-software/) (CMS) to speed up the website development process. A CMS makes it easy for nontechnical users to modify website content. The business may also choose to use one of the CMS templates and customize it with their branding and according to their needs instead of hiring a web designer. The problem with this is that many other businesses will be doing the same thing, and your design will end up looking like theirs, even with customizations. A website designer will provide you with a unique design that fits your business whether you use a CMS or not. ### 3\. More trustworthy and reliable website Hiring a professional designer ensures your site has the pages, content, and user experience you need. An effective site with the necessary assets builds trust in your target market. This is a crucial consideration because, as a Gartner study suggests, a lack of understanding about how a site meets business needs and customer expectations can lead to additional expenses. [\[2\]](#sources) Moreover, if you try to create the design in-house or use a template, you may never be sure if there’s a bug just waiting for a customer to find or if the design will stand up once it starts getting real traffic. A web designer will know all the ins and outs of creating a design that won't crash and will be free of bugs. ### 4\. Faster website speed Your website’s speed is important to your visitors and impacts ranking on Google and other search engines. Gartner research mentions that page load time is a major factor in a high-performing website page. [\[3\]](#sources) A web designer will optimize your site's load time so visitors don't leave to find a faster-loading competing site. ### 5\. Responsive website design Responsive design is another factor to consider when hiring a web designer. Just because your site looks good on a standard web browser, such as Chrome, doesn't mean it will look good on an Android or iPhone. A web designer will ensure your website detects the device a visitor is using and applies the correct styles, offering a seamless user experience irrespective of the device used. ### 6\. More potential web traffic Website designers are well-versed in search engine optimization ([SEO](https://www.capterra.com/seo-software/)), which is the process of optimizing website content and structure to get the highest rank possible on search engines. One of the ranking factors a website designer can help you with is site speed. Additionally, they can optimize the structure of your site and its content so it looks better to search engines such as Google, and you get more resulting traffic. ### 7\. Customer support When you hire a web designer, you have someone you can call on to modify the design quickly and easily. If you customize a template yourself or have someone on your team do it, you're taking away valuable human resources you could use for other important tasks. ## What are some things to consider when hiring a website designer? If you've decided to hire a web designer, that's only the first step. Next, you need to find the right one. Here are some tips to help you shortlist a designer that fits your needs. ### Know the goals for your website The right web designer can provide you with a design that fits all of your needs and goals, but first, you must know what those are. Web designers are experts at embedding your message and brand into visual and interactive elements, but they aren't [marketing](https://www.capterra.com/all-in-one-marketing-software/) or [advertising](https://www.capterra.com/advertising-agency-software/) experts. This means you'll have to guide them. Before contacting a designer, identify the purpose of your site. Do you want it to sell products and services, or will it be a content marketing site designed to provide information? What is your company's culture, and how do you want it represented on the website? Do you want to target a specific demographic (e.g., older versus younger audience)? There are many more questions you can ask yourself, but the point is that until you know what you want the website to do, you’re not ready to hire a designer. ### Have your copy ready Another part of knowing your website’s goals is having your copy ready. Unless you have the site designed by a full-service [advertising agency](https://www.capterra.com/resources/what-is-an-advertising-agency/), you must create the copy for the site or hire a copywriter. It should be your goal to hand over the website copy at your first design meeting. This will help the designer get started quickly and give them more direction since they’ll be able to design the site around the copy. ### Examine a few designer portfolios Before you contact the first designer, examine a few portfolios so you don't waste your time. Start by asking your network who they would recommend. If that list is too short, search for web designers that work with your industry. Many web designers specialize in designing sites for specific types of businesses and will already be familiar with what your customers expect. Once you have a list of potential web designers, visit their portfolios and see what catches your eye and fits your needs. Any designer worth hiring will have an extensive portfolio, but not all will fit your style. Once you have a few options, meet with each to determine who would be the best fit to design your new website. ### Ask questions While interviewing web designers, there are a few questions you should ask to determine just how much of the web development process they cover. After all, web design is only one element of a successful website. - **Who will develop the website?** Web designers design the visual elements and user flow of a website, but a web developer is needed to make the designs a reality. Some designers work with web developers, others do not, so you may have to hire one. - **How will maintenance be handled?** Websites are not a one-time cost. They require ongoing [maintenance](https://www.capterra.com/maintenance-management-software/). Will your staff handle this, does the designer provide maintenance services, or are they able to suggest someone? - **Do you need licenses for any of the graphics?** Some fonts or graphics in your website design may need licenses. It’s your responsibility to be on the right side of the law, so be sure to ask your web designer. - **What is the process if revisions are needed?** Getting your design doesn't mean you also get the web designer's services for life. Find out what it will cost if you want to make changes to the design in the future. - **Do you get an editable copy of the design files?** You’ll need these if you want to make changes to the design and the original web designer is not available. ## Learn more about the web design process The design of your website is an important part of your branding and the experience you provide to your visitors. Hiring a web designer means you get a professional design that fits your brand, looks good on multiple devices, and can save you time and money. Learn more about web design and how it can contribute to your business’s growth: - [Questions to Ask a Web Designer Before Hiring One](https://www.capterra.com/resources/questions-to-ask-a-web-designer/) - [Is It Time To Outsource Your Website Design?](https://www.capterra.com/resources/outsource-web-design/) - [Types of Website Design and Use Cases](https://www.capterra.com/resources/types-of-website-design/) * * * Sources 1. [Market Guide for Strategic Website Agencies](https://www.gartner.com/doc/4763731), Gartner 2. [Website Redesign: How to Define Strategy and Document Scope](https://www.gartner.com/en/documents/5547595), Gartner 3. [Ignition Guide to Refreshing Website Homepages](https://www.gartner.com/doc/4620699), Gartner * * * Looking for Website Monitoring software?Check out Capterra's list of the [best Website Monitoring software](https://www.capterra.com/website-monitoring-software/) solutions. ### Was this article helpful? * * * ## About the Authors [### Tayla Carpenter](https://www.capterra.com/resources/author/tayla-carpenter/) Tayla Carpenter is a writer specializing in software, finance, and technology topics. Her work has been featured on the websites of several leading fintech and tech providers, and she is a frequent contributor to Capterra. [### Rina Rai](https://www.capterra.com/resources/author/rina-rai/) Rina is a senior editor at Capterra. She has close to a decade of experience creating and editing content, especially for the IT, software, and finance domains. Passionate about minimalist storytelling, she prioritizes breaking down complex industry jargon into engaging stories accessible to all readers. Rina holds a postgraduate degree in mass communication and journalism and a bachelor's degree in English literature. She started her career as a features writer for The Times of India, India’s... ### RELATED READING - [How AI Scheduling Software Helps Restaurants Reduce Overtime and Boost Staff Satisfaction](https://www.capterra.com/resources/ai-employee-scheduling-software-for-restaurants/) - [Why Use Accounting Software? 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