Top 6 Tips To Hire Web Designers Online

As the world becomes increasingly digitized, your company’s website and digital presence is more likely to be the first impression that a prospective customer has of your brand. As a result, it is essential that your business website’s visual design is clear, impactful, and easy to use. 

Landing page layouts and graphic design are especially important for any type of business, as a poorly designed site experience can significantly reduce your conversion rate.

According to a Vistaprint survey, 42% of 1800 eCommerce consumers said that they wouldn’t purchase from an unprofessional or poorly designed site. 

To hire web designers online effectively begins with understanding the importance of aesthetically pleasing and functional web pages. So, what should you do next?

To help you find and hire web designers online who are right for your brand, we’ve created this useful guide. It is important to hire web designers online with an effective recruiting strategy, which can be a valuable strategy for quickly connecting with talented individuals. Follow the steps below to get started:

1. Create a brief for your web design

Creating a brief before you plan your timing and budget can help you to think about the skills, costs, and time your vision requires. You can identify the most desirable traits and professional experience that you want the ideal candidate to possess, based on the graphics, features, and functions that you want on your website. 

A design concept can also give you a better idea of how much time and money you will need to put aside to complete the project. As a result, you can create a realistic schedule and budget, which will allow you to make informed decisions when you are ready to hire web designers online and during the recruitment and project design phases.

Even if you are unsure of the type of design you want, start writing down the key elements that you definitely want to be included in your new site. You may want to consider certain colors, fonts, or general layouts. You may, for instance, want your website’s color scheme to match your logo or theme on social media.

Take into consideration the type of experience you want your customers to have when they visit your website for the first time. By writing these ideas down, you can simplify the process of explaining your concept to the prospective web and graphic designers later on in your project, reducing the risk of miscommunication.

2. Create a plan of action

The next step is to create a detailed action plan that includes specific details about the recruitment process. This schedule can help you to optimize how long it takes to hire web designers online, allowing you to have a new website created faster.

Note the ideal launch date you would like for your new website, taking into account the complexity of your design brief. As you work backward from this date, you can add smaller milestones to the timeline, such as the steps of the recruitment process. As an example, you can put the date by which you want to write the job advertisement, the websites on which you want to publish the ad, and the deadline for submitting applications.

Having a plan in place can help you feel more prepared while accounting for your expenses, preventing you from incurring unexpected fees. As with any recruitment plan, it’s best to estimate that each step takes longer than expected. You will have some extra time to deal with any obstacles that may arise, as well as some flexibility, which may be useful if a desirable candidate takes slightly longer to respond to you.

3. Write an accurate job advertisement

In order to find and hire web designers online who meet your brief’s requirements, make sure your job description accurately describes the daily tasks the successful candidate will be performing. Be clear about the skills needed for the position to prevent under qualified web designers from applying.

To ensure you write a job advertisement that truly reflects what the role requires, ask yourself the following questions:

– Will the web designer require web development skills?

– What functions and features do I want on my website?

– How important is graphic design for conveying branding?

– Do I want a new website or just an update to the existing website?

– Do I want the web designer to come up with their own visual design project?

– Do I want a new logo design?

Will the designer also be in charge of project management? If so, what project management skills will they need?

4. Try social recruiting

You can find and hire web designers online using social recruiting, which opens your search to both active and passive candidates. A passive candidate is someone who is currently employed, whereas an active candidate is someone who is actively seeking employment.

Social media can be an efficient way to find and hire web designers online, as sites like Instagram are popular places to share graphic designer work. LinkedIn is also a useful site for social recruiting since you can read a person’s resume, see how they’ve performed in the past, and find out where they are located.

If you find a web designer on LinkedIn that suits the needs of your brief, connecting with them is as simple as sending them a message. Tell them why you’re contacting them briefly to build up a relationship, and why you believe your role is a good match for them. Alternately, you can ask them about their experience and skills in website design, and use the answers to tailor how you market the position to them.

If you message someone on LinkedIn or Instagram, they’re likely to also look at your profile to see if you’re a reputable company to work with. Therefore, your social media or LinkedIn account should reflect your professional brand or accomplishments. 

You are marketing the role to an individual who may already be employed, so you must make both your brand and the position look appealing to passive candidates. Your company logo plus a short bio explaining your company will create a better impression, which may encourage the candidates you scout to respond.

5. Pay attention to portfolios

If you want to hire web designers online who are a great match for your company, look at each candidate’s portfolio to get an idea of their technical skills. To streamline this process, request that applicants submit their portfolios at the end of your job advertisement.

Portfolios allow you to see who has worked on web design projects before and what services they can provide you. The best website designers will also show you how their designs appear on mobile devices, which is an important factor to consider.

You should also look beyond the visual design of your candidates’ portfolios. While you may find their prior website or graphic designs visually appealing, make sure you ask how their designs improved a brand’s search engine optimization (SEO), conversion rate, or consumer interaction. This can provide you with insight into their technical knowledge, which can help you determine their proficiency with digital marketing and business strategy.

6. Be flexible about work engagement types when seeking website designers

If you’re just looking for a professional designer for a short-term project, rather than adding them as permanent employees, a freelance or contract web designer may be a good choice. Freelance web designers are generally more cost-effective as well, because they charge based on the number of hours worked rather than a flat rate. These factors make them an excellent choice for both large and small businesses with varying budgets.

As opposed to working with creative agencies, working with web design freelancers allows you to build a meaningful professional relationship with just one individual, enabling you to communicate more effectively and increasing the probability of future collaboration. 

With High5, you can find and hire web designers online. Using rigorous vetting processes, High5 ensures you have access to a global pool of skilled web and graphic designers, along with expert recommendations of the most suitable freelance designers for your brief. This can speed up your hiring process and expand your network on an international scale.