One of the first tasks, when you want to put together a great website for your business is to find a good web designer. Thanks to the internet, we now have the ability to communicate easily and work with people from all over the world.
It's tempting to outsource work to freelancers and companies who advertise their services on the internet because it's often cheaper than hiring a local professional or company. If you take that route to find your web designer, you're likely to regret that decision sooner or later. Here are seven reasons why a local web designer is your best option.
1: You Don't Want Communication Problems And Timezone Issues
There are some things that are still best done face-to-face. It makes a big difference when you can sit with your web designer and explain your requirements. It also makes it easier to review the work at various stages and make corrections, something which you're unlikely to do if you have a remote web designer.
You can use video chat or teleconferencing to do periodic reviews, but these methods have their own limitations. If your web designer is in another timezone, you have bigger communication hurdles. You will find that it takes longer to get replies to your emails and there will be other inevitable delays.
These can be quite frustrating when you want to communicate new requirements or changes. With a local web designer, you will also avoid possible language barriers or cultural differences.
2: A Web Designer Who Understands Your Business Has An Advantage
Local people will be able to come to your office and see how your business works. They will be able to better understand the objectives of your web presence and will be able to use that knowledge to your advantage when they actually do the work. They will also be able to give you new ideas and suggest improvements, rather than just creating a design that fits your specifications.
3: Local Knowledge Is A Great Asset For A Local Business
If your business caters only to your locality, city or state, local designers will be able to understand the local aspects of your business and its target market better. For example, people familiar with your area and community will be able to understand better when you're targeting a sub market that is specific to your area. This sub market could be, say, people in a specific income bracket or living in a certain locality.
4: Local Website Designers Have Their Local Reputations At Stake
When the customer is in the same area, designers have more to lose if they provide poor service. Designers are conscious of the need to maintain a good reputation in the market, be it online or offline. In fact, word-of-mouth reputation is usually more important when they have to deal with other local businesses. You can also ask your designer for local references with whom you can actually cross check the quality of service.
5: You Can Expect Better Technical Support And Training
Everyone needs technical support. Sometimes technical problems may be caused due to design issues. You may also need training for using your content management system or your web hosting control panel. You're likely to get better support and interactive training if you hire local designers.
6: Local Web Design Companies Or Professionals Are Less Likely To Disappear
The worst part of outsourcing is that it's difficult to ensure continuity. This is especially true when you're dealing with individuals and small companies. You may find that your web designer or company is no longer available when you want some changes or more work done, say, one year down the line. When you're dealing with well-established local companies, you're less likely to face such a problem.
7: Commitment Is Harder To Gauge When You Work With A Non-local Designer
Local companies and web designers are more likely to be committed to help you achieve what you want to achieve with your website. Two reasons which we discussed before are in part responsible for this. One is the better understanding they have about your goals and requirements. The other is the need of the designers to maintain their local reputation.
Although it may seem easy to hire a web designer from a far-off location, it can prove more difficult and costly in the long run. Web designing is an ongoing process even though the bulk of the work is done in the initial months.
New requirements and changes keep coming up and you're better off with a local web designer who is likely to have more commitment and a higher stake in the success of your website.
It's tempting to outsource work to freelancers and companies who advertise their services on the internet because it's often cheaper than hiring a local professional or company. If you take that route to find your web designer, you're likely to regret that decision sooner or later. Here are seven reasons why a local web designer is your best option.
1: You Don't Want Communication Problems And Timezone Issues
There are some things that are still best done face-to-face. It makes a big difference when you can sit with your web designer and explain your requirements. It also makes it easier to review the work at various stages and make corrections, something which you're unlikely to do if you have a remote web designer.
You can use video chat or teleconferencing to do periodic reviews, but these methods have their own limitations. If your web designer is in another timezone, you have bigger communication hurdles. You will find that it takes longer to get replies to your emails and there will be other inevitable delays.
These can be quite frustrating when you want to communicate new requirements or changes. With a local web designer, you will also avoid possible language barriers or cultural differences.
2: A Web Designer Who Understands Your Business Has An Advantage
Local people will be able to come to your office and see how your business works. They will be able to better understand the objectives of your web presence and will be able to use that knowledge to your advantage when they actually do the work. They will also be able to give you new ideas and suggest improvements, rather than just creating a design that fits your specifications.
3: Local Knowledge Is A Great Asset For A Local Business
If your business caters only to your locality, city or state, local designers will be able to understand the local aspects of your business and its target market better. For example, people familiar with your area and community will be able to understand better when you're targeting a sub market that is specific to your area. This sub market could be, say, people in a specific income bracket or living in a certain locality.
4: Local Website Designers Have Their Local Reputations At Stake
When the customer is in the same area, designers have more to lose if they provide poor service. Designers are conscious of the need to maintain a good reputation in the market, be it online or offline. In fact, word-of-mouth reputation is usually more important when they have to deal with other local businesses. You can also ask your designer for local references with whom you can actually cross check the quality of service.
5: You Can Expect Better Technical Support And Training
Everyone needs technical support. Sometimes technical problems may be caused due to design issues. You may also need training for using your content management system or your web hosting control panel. You're likely to get better support and interactive training if you hire local designers.
6: Local Web Design Companies Or Professionals Are Less Likely To Disappear
The worst part of outsourcing is that it's difficult to ensure continuity. This is especially true when you're dealing with individuals and small companies. You may find that your web designer or company is no longer available when you want some changes or more work done, say, one year down the line. When you're dealing with well-established local companies, you're less likely to face such a problem.
7: Commitment Is Harder To Gauge When You Work With A Non-local Designer
Local companies and web designers are more likely to be committed to help you achieve what you want to achieve with your website. Two reasons which we discussed before are in part responsible for this. One is the better understanding they have about your goals and requirements. The other is the need of the designers to maintain their local reputation.
Although it may seem easy to hire a web designer from a far-off location, it can prove more difficult and costly in the long run. Web designing is an ongoing process even though the bulk of the work is done in the initial months.
New requirements and changes keep coming up and you're better off with a local web designer who is likely to have more commitment and a higher stake in the success of your website.
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