I get a lot of inquiries, and I send out a lot of pitches. Every day I am searching the internet for the latest client, the person that needs me. It is not easy finding me, I mean search through the internet and you will find that there are 100′s, if not thousands of Website Design teams. Whether it is really just 1 person brokering out jobs to India, or if it is a starving college student trying to make rent, you can always find someone who is willing to do your website work at a price that you like.

I have been on both sides of the spectrum, whether it is needing a client, or needing a website design team (during the days I was not independent, but worked full time).

If you are going to Outsource

:

• Think Again, please, there are a lot of design teams here that are more competent that will not charge more… however, if you must…
• Check all sites and find out how other clients of the outsourced team liked the service. In my experience, it NEVER works out. I have outsourced to many (undisclosed) countries working on someone else’s budget. I always get back a product that is not along my statement of work, or something that is not up to par. It is like you asked them for a house, and the build you a tool shed – yes, it works the same, gives you shelter, maybe has a stove for cooking, but its no 3 million dollar mansion. So make sure to always double check with past clients
• Website Design is best done by those who have a passion for it. If the company you are going to do business with also does outsourcing for phone tech support, or some other unrelated industry, think again. Website Design in all purposes is always changing, new code is coming out, new ways of doing code. Why hire a company that is not going to keep up to date with what is new in the world of website design.
• HIRE SOMEONE WHO KNOWS WHAT THEY ARE DOING – I cannot urge this enough. The companies I worked for were lucky that they had me. As I said previously, the final product was never up to par, something a novice or beginner to the internet realm would not catch. I immediately caught up to faulty code, errors, and overall tricks to “cutting corners”.
• Be prepared to pay somoene stateside anyway – Almost every instance I used an outsourced team, I would take what they gave me (at a great price) and had to hire someone to come in, learn how they coded it, and then FIX what they did not do. Language barrier aside, I really just did not feel that the outsourced teams did what they promised, and in the end, the company suffered. Now that I look back at it, had we paid someone in the USA to do it, we would have spent less. While hourly rate is infalted, the quality and efficiency of local programmers is impeccable. SFWebDesigns.net is known to create masterpieces of design in under 2 weeks time, and still not be tremendously more then an outsourced company that may take double.
• This all goes towards Internet Marketing as well. I have seen many outsourced companies promising better rankings for $50/mo. However, are you sure you are getting quality? Make sure to double check all deliverables, and of course, check with previous clients

Update: We have since added a video briefly touching on the debate between local and outsourced website design teams. Read the full post

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

Finding the right website design team – LOCALLY

• First off, great choice in choosing a local design team. While I cannot speak for all of us, I know with SFWebDesigns.net, you will not regret your decision
• Design Portfolio – Every designer, from graphic print, to website has a portfolio, ask for it. I know its not easy starting out, I have been there.. doing free work for my portfolio. (oh the memories). Ask for it, if they do not have one, ask them what they are capable of. Give new designers a chance, they have to build their skill somewhere, and if you are on a “shoe string budget” – students and new designers may be the way to go.
• Past Clients – Ask any website design team for past clients, whether you call them or not, a good website design team will be happy to put you in touch with their past clients. While some clients may not be the best to contact, as communications may have long since been over, there has to be at least 1 client you can talk to. SFWebDesigns.net keeps great rapport with our clients. Every Website Design done is a pleasure, and we make sure to keep in touch with past clients to see if they need help. Some of our clients date back several years, that is commitment.
• Budget – Do not hesitate to give a designer your budget, keep in mind it is waste of our time and your time to research, and come up with pricing schemes, if we know that it will not work out. Website design is a labor of love, a skill from the heart. However do not expect us to not want to be paid what we are owed. As I said before, the more qualified and experienced, the higher the price – but the better the quality.
• Service with a smile – This is my favorite one! Service with a smile. I can’t tell you how many times I get the horror stories of website designers past. “he never delivered” “he never answered his phone” “she did not know what she was doing” – yadda, yadda, yadda – If a website designer does not offer immediate contact via phone or email OR BOTH, then something is fishy. I personally make sure each email is hand crafted (no copy pasting here) and every phone call is answered, voice mails returned, text messages responded. I am constant communication with all my clients, even when it is just a friendly update. I try to take a few hours out of every day to email or call clients to make sure they are aware of the status of their project. No point in being in the dark when you are making an investment in you or your companies future.

In closing, Website Design is a tricky field. Just like any service, it is filled with crooks, thieves, and people trying to take without doing. But like most industries and most services… you get what you pay for. Outsourced is a great way to go, if you do not really have worries about the final product. Going with a student or amateur is another way to save you money. Professional teams like SFWebDesigns.net are the ultimate in medium-capacity website design projects. Our team is comprised of experts who work on a budget.

The next step up, is the major website design firms. These firms hire many designers out of college, train them, and spit out websites like a machine. While I would love to see GuavaWorks.com the profit margin as those big guys… It is not what I want. I want to be able to connect and talk to every client.

Contact GuavaWorks today, and I will personally help you make the right decision – even if its not with us.

With Every E-marketing Campaign you now get monthly reports that will contain the following:

Keyword Ranking Report – Where are you located on Google / Yahoo / Bing  and more search engines for the keywords we decide are the best for you

Cost Per Lead – Every lead you get via our efforts will be tracked, we will give you reports (including the price you pay us) to tell you how much you are paying PER lead you get (phone call, contact request, and more)

Cost Per Conversion – Sell things on your website? We can track how much you are paying per sale. This is very helpful so we can help you bring down the cost and increase your profit margins

<strong>NEW!</strong> Call Tracking – We can now monitor how many people call FROM each keyword, whether organic (SEO) or paid (PPC). We can manage all of this for you, and if you want to track even further we will allow you to:
Listen to all incoming calls online!
Find who which of your sales people took which call
Find out which keywords net you the most money! – While we may generate 100 phone calls from Keyword A, keyword B may bring in higher paying leads.

We are held accountable on all levels, every month, for your improvement on the internet, and we stand by 100% our services. If you do not see improvements, we give you the right to terminate relationship.

However, how about small independent movies that don’t have studios behind them.

Small time actors, and film makers are a dime a dozen in LA, Hollywood, and around the nation. What better way to take their movie to the next level, then with a clean, good website. A website that will allow them to show off their movie, the trailer, and the case and crew to the whole world, in one designed spot.

This will also allow for a lot of “out of the box” design, meaning, websites for movies really have to be unqiue, major motion picture or not. I think these clients will really be a test to our design team, and I am looking forward to the challenges we face. On the programming end, i am really looking forward to the challenges that we may face, and in the end, creating websites that are on par, and the best work we have done yet.

If you are an independent movie maker, or know someone who is, SFWebDesigns.net is really looking forward to working with you on your project.