Selecting a Web Designer or Developer for your Ecommerce Website

With most ecommerce sites, success comes with how good you look and not how good you are. Most consumers will judge how trustworthy and professional you are as an online store by checking out the aesthetics of your website. And while most ecommerce merchants are professionals in their field, a lot of them are not necessarily professionals when it comes to graphic designing or web development. They know all about the services and products that they have to sell, but they don’t know anything when it comes to such terms as alpha transparency, white space or even PHP.

When I first got started with Devix V.5 (version 5), I had no idea about graphic designing and web development. But slowly, as the process unraveled before my eyes, I learnt a great deal about how to improve my website, aesthetically speaking.

Get to know your Designer/ Developer

The terms “Web Developer” and “Web Designer” indicate two separate yet related professional skill sets. With Devix, I got both these skill sets at one go, but many places offer these services separately. So, it is very important to understand the difference before you choose to hire someone.

A good web designer is someone who is capable of creating visually attractive websites and has to have sufficient coding knowledge in areas like HTML, CSS, XML, PHP, etc. so as to implement that visually attractive design by using any number of web platforms and tools. So, web designers basically create all the visual aspects of a website and use standard tools to implement this design.

A web developer on the other hand is an expert in one or maybe more coding languages and has the ability to develop applications, custom widgets and platforms and so on, from scratch. So, web developers basically create applications or even tools that can be used in future to develop or improve the site.

However, many designers can develop applications or even integrate standard ones, and many developers can do web design work. So, when do you need a designer and when do you need a developer? If you are starting a new ecommerce website, then you should probably hire a designer instead of a developer. Web designers will use an existing shopping cart or content management system and then dress it up to make you look good.

How to choose a good Designer/Developer

• Ask around and check references – Ask around and check with at least three separate references before you choose a suitable designer or developer for your job. Find out about the quality of the designer or developer, how he or she works, how they maintain schedules and how easy is it to work with them?
• Research and compare shopping carts – Every ecommerce owner knows that the shopping cart is the backbone of any online business and it is also the order processing or content management tool that you will probably be left with after your designer or developer is off working on other projects. Compare shopping carts based on their features and once you have narrowed the field, then look for designers that specialize in making the type of carts that you want.
• Get his or her statement of work – Before you sign the contract with a certain designer or developer, always get his or her statement of work. This statement should include the concerned persons understanding of your task, an estimated time table; list the exact services he or she will be providing, an estimate price, etc.
• Check for relevant experience – Experience always matters more than mere credentials. Graphic designing and web development are trades that are generally self-taught. Never judge by the academic credentials, as you could be missing out on a very talented professional.

Finally, it would be smart to retain your designer or developer in case changes need to be made in the future. Now that you know the best way to choose a good designer or developer, you should get started as soon as possible. Everything is just a click away!

About the Author: Devix Corporation provides end-to-end ecommerce solutions to enable you to power all facets of your online business. devix corporation