How long has the person or agency been designing websites or digital media? If it is only a short time then they may not be familiar with all the technologies available and how to provide your company with much needed ROI.

We always ask customers to create a basic plan of the type of website they want or search the web for inspiration, so we both gain ideas and understand what type of site you are looking for. Sketch your ideas out on paper, so that when you contact your designer, you already have a good idea of what you have in mind.

Decide what kind of Web Site it should be for example will it be an informational website, a website that will continue to expand as you develop your business, or an e-commerce web site with a number of products for which you accept online payments?

If need the latest web technologies on your site, such as flash, After Effects, Streaming large media etc, make sure your designer is familiar with them and how this may affect your site. They are often expensive to implement and may not be needed for you to set up your business on the Web.

When you contact your designer by phone or email, see how long it takes for them to get back to you. If it takes a long time, then this may be an insight of what type of relationship you will have with them. Are they helpful, professional, polite and friendly? I find this always makes it easier to do business and creates less stress on yourself, since you will want it to be a strong and stable working relationship.

Once you have a plan of what you want on your web site (or even if you dont know where to begin), contact your designer for a free consultation before you set up any contract. Most web designers will give you a free consultation if they want your business. This will help you clarify what is expected in the design process. Near Perfect Media go one step further and also provide a free design mock of what your site could look like.

Make sure you have a contract drawn up before you make any payments. It should state clearly what is included in the contract e.g. how many pages, links, graphics? Does it include marketing and maintenance of your web site? If not, then ask what does it cost for the extras. This can include domain name registration, scanning and optimisation of graphics and hosting.

Surf around the Web to compare prices, so you have a ballpark figure of what to expect for your site design. You can expect to pay half of the full price up front. If they are professional, they will accept credit cards for online payments. Do the prices include submitting your site to the main search engines? (SEO)

Your designer should test your site before its completed. Is it compatible in all browsers such as Internet Explorer, Firefox and Safari and can it be viewed at all resolutions. Without extensive testing, your site may not look good to a large number of your customers.