WAIT! Don't spend a dime! I know that budget is always an issue, trust me because I'm the shopper who puts 5 items in my cart to regretfully put 4 of them back on the shelf. I think, "Oh, I really don't NEED to spend this right now." then to go for the cheaper version that didn't do the job. Quality is key and you definitely get what you pay for.

A website is an investment. When it comes to this purchase for your business, shopping around is daunting especially when you have no knowledge of what key features are needed to make it right.

Are you looking for an easy and cheap fix, something that does the job at the lowest price? How many searches online does a business owner actually conduct(if any) before making a decision?

Most small business owners are looking to have the basic details of their service and contact info and that's enough for people to find online. This is a big mistake and I'll tell you why...

After 4 years of working with small business owners across the United States, I've seen the "bad and the ugly", while no "good" is what they paid hundreds and even thousands of dollars for.

These transactions happen way too often every single day. Where clients build their website on their own with no understanding of design or feature, or they hire out and cannot contact their designer, they have no access to their own website or domain, have old contact information that hasn't been updated as requested, the design is ugly and irrelevant, the images don't represent the business, there are watermarks on images, it takes months for response, the prices are astronomical, they are stuck in a contract with someone they don't agree with... the list goes on.

Take a look at these top Google trending searches for saving money on websites...

I'm here to share how to make an educated decision before paying a dime for your business website and also how to know that you get what you pay for if these can't be answered.

Use these 13 mandatory questions to ask before you hire a website designer

1. Did they respond quickly to your inquiry?

2. Did they give you a timeline and explain the process of the project?

3. Did they give you expectations on future costs and maintenance?

4. What is their communication guarantee to respond to maintenance requests?

5. Will they give you access to your website domain and hosting?

6. Will the website domain be registered in your name and address?

7. Will they connect you to Google Business, Console and Analytics?

8. Will they index(share) your website with other major search engines?

9. Will they train you on how to update your own website?

10. Will they require you to pay website maintenance fees every month?

11. Are you bound to a contract?

12. Did they give you at least 5-10 examples of other client websites to view upon request?

13. Are the images they use legally purchased?

After knowing about these crucial questions to ask your potential website designer, you can feel confident in the purchasing process and the expected outcome of your soon to be new website. If they can't answer all of these questions promptly, I highly recommend you move on to a new prospect.

Remember, your website is your online storefront, make sure it represents you and your business properly and legally.

If you have any questions, I'm happy to help! Give me a shout or email me at heather@blufeatherdesigns.com.