Before you decide to upgrade your website you might consider only looking in your area for a designer. Because of the nature of the internet do not limit yourself to designers in your geographic area or city. As a designer I am always looking for new opportunities to establish clients in other areas of the country.
The first step in proceeding with a website is what kind of budget are you thinking about. There are all kinds of businesses that are willing to take your money. Some will give you what you paid for and others will not. You may not even know if you got what you paid for. You can have a site that has beautiful design for which you paid 1000's of dollars to top-ranked artists. While the site may look fantastic it may be little more than a company brochure on the web. If that is all you need then perhaps you got a good deal. If on the other hand you want to keep track of your visitors, allow them to sign up for regular publications, or any other interactivity you probably did not get what you paid for. Probably one of the best ways of finding help with getting started is asking a friend with a website for a recommendation. This can help you to at least figure out where to start looking. Once you have several recommendations check out the company's portfolio. Visit their website creations and get a feel for them.
Next, check out competitors of the sites they created. How do their sites compare? Who designed their sites. Look at your own competitors and who designed their sites. You can usually find this information at the bottom of the page and most often it will link directly to the designer. My next blog will detail the types of questions you should ask any designer BEFORE you commit. If you have any questions before then, feel free to contact us. We are always available to steer you in the right direction even if it is not with us.
