Where do I find the web designers?

[Grinner Hester]

While there are sites like ozzu.com (and many like it) you’ll get more than enough pickin’s just throwing a job posting up on any job site.

[Evan John]

Thanks Grinner.

[Stephen Smith]

A great site worth looking at is https://www.oDesk.com

Lone Peak Productions

Check out the TV Show Open I did.

Check out my DVD Money Making Graphics & Effects for Final Cut Studio 2

[Milton Hockman]

I can help you out. I create custom website design in addition to video production.

My most recent site is https://www.qualityhomecaresolutions.com

Let’s talk about what you’re looking for. I can be reached at info@plusmoremedia.com

Motion Graphics Artist and Non-Linear Editor
Software expertise include: After Effects, Avid Xpress Pro, Final Cut Pro, Dvd Studio Pro, Photoshop, and more.

[Chris Blair]

There are lots of great people and resources on here and online. But one thing I’d suggest is to know what you want going in. No offense to any web designers on these forums, but we’ve had multiple experiences with web design companies that range from less than satisfying to downright frustrating.

Like video production, ask for samples of projects in your budget range. Every company puts their best stuff on their sample reel or website, but I’ve always found it’s more telling to look at a company’s low budget stuff. How does it look? Is it still nicely done? It’s easy to turn out great work with large budgets. Not so with modest ones.

So some guidelines:

1. Go in with a siteplan, which is basically a flow chart of every page and their links. Word has a little tool you can use to build one (can’t remember what it’s called).

2. Make sure your designer understands function and communication over (pardon the pun), flash. Naturally I’m not talking about Adobe Flash here.

3. Test, test and test some more before putting the site up live. Send test links to friends and colleagues and listen to their feedback about navigation, style, the writing, layout etc.

4. Focus as much on answering potential clients questions and promoting what can solve THEIR problems as much as just telling people about what you do.

5. Load it with samples. The more samples you have up, the better chance of getting someone’s interest. People want to hire people who’ve done something similar to what they’re looking for.

6. Ask about including a CMS (Content Management System). There are back-end versions (where you log into an admin page and change content in what appears to be a word document or within forms), and there are so called front-end versions, which show you the website with clickable areas where you can change text, graphics and photos. SimpleCMS is a great freebie one but it requires that the page is coded perfectly to work.

Here’s a good primer to read as well:

https://www.webcredible.co.uk/user-friendly-resources/web-usability/plan-usable-website.shtml

Chris Blair
Magnetic Image, Inc.
Evansville, IN
http://www.videomi.com

[Bruce Bennett]

Hi Evan,

I’m very happy with my subcontracted Flash designers, but when I need to subcontract out-of-state location shooters, the first place I post a “help wanted” ad is at: https://forums.creativecow.net/cowjobboard
I’ve had excellent results with this.

Bruce

Bruce Bennett
Bennett Marketing & Media Production, LLC
Creative Inspiration
Documentaries for those who love to create … and to be inspired.

[Elin Grome]

As a reformed web designer myself 😉 unless u have very specific, bespoke needs I think there’s a lot to be said these days in using a css driven template type site such as squarespace (squarespace.com).

Sites built in this way really are the way to go; the old days of paying someone to bash out a hand coded site are dead IMHO. Services such as squarespace are easy to update, use solid templates, allow easy creation of blogs, video, photogalleries… and in short you avoid/mitigate many of the issues raised by Chris.

Even if you think you need a designer to help choose a layout/colour scheme etc – Id still use this system and get them to work within it; they way you can pay for a good designer who may not have HTML skills rather than paying a designer and a coder or trying to find someone to do both…

Anyway, check out some of there examples;

https://www.squarespace.com/examples/

Elin

It’s all the those pesky details :p

[Milton Hockman]

I have to disagree. The problem with sites like the one you mention is that “you” have to do all the work. Web Designers are here for a reason – to create a website that will work best for your business.

Anyone can buy Final Cut Pro but not “everyone” is a real editor or even wants to edit. Imagine if all of our clients bought their own editing software. Where would we be today?

Owner
Plus More Media Group
Marketing Design Company – PlusMoreMedia.com
Marketing designs and videos that do more for your business!

[Elin Grome]

Hmmmm,

Well “You” are free to hire who you like to do the legwork, in a sense thats not the point; Im talking about the framework you use to get the job done. Of course one way or another you will have to plan your content, structure your site, but you dont need to go about spending 2/3rds of your budget on re-inventing the web design wheel… Its about maximizing the positive and minimizing the overheads…

I also disagree, and in fact mildly amusing, your deterministic view of the world; the idea that “web designers are here for a reason”, as if they owe their existence to a divine creator…

Core design skills will always be indispensable and many of the principals behind good design may remain largely unchanged, but the tools they use will change and modernize to become more user friendly, cost effective, efficient…

I dont think the FCP analogy fits here, other than to support my point; the craft of editing is timeless, but the tools change..

Ho hum :s

It’s all the those pesky details :p

[Evan John]

Elin Squarespace is awesome! I checked out the examples and they are amazing. I am now looking for a webdesigner that works with this format. Thank you!