Graphic & Web Design, What Does The Client Want?

HI Kip
in answer to your question all of the above and most of all no BS.
Mark sure that your services page lists in detail what you do.
I have interviewed about 10 dev companies now and the most of them are cowboys.

What knarks me the most is having to call them and then get this half hearted limped wristed answer.
for example.
Stav: do you do SEO
Dev: Sort of
Stav: Sort of???
Dev: We do soft SEO
Stav: Soft SEO???
Dev: Well we design the site to be SE friendly but we dont do full blown SEO
Stav: So you dont do SEO then
Dev: Sort of
Stav: WTF

Click phone down end of conversation.


DONT BS be truthful and concise on what you offer.

P.S. while I am ranting if you dont go your graphic design in house fine but
find a stratgic partner whose work you know and can trust to deliver the goods. manage the relationship yourself as the last thing your customer
wants is the GD you recommended to disapear mid creative consultation with no real answer as to why he is is MIA as you will look like a complete *** then.


Thanks for that post KIP I needed to get that off my chest lol

Haha, is that the rant over now then?

I confess SEO is not in my tool of tricks, still learning and have my site front page now, but doing that for a client would take ages as I am still learning, in fact in a site just done for a mutual friend, there were a few things he was pointing out to me, some that I dont do till its finsihed and others that I have since added to my own!

Whereas all mine is inhouse (as design is what I a best at) the SEO thing is a learning curve, and I think something best done inhouse by the client, as the highest sites I know are all done by the owners, plus I am sick of seeing front page promises for a a few hundred a month, impossible!

Shall we keep the soap box out for a bit or get off of it

For me, cost is secondary.

I need to see testimonials and a portfolio of previous clients. Is my site going to be a unique design that a designer will convey my thought process, or does the portfolio have a certain standard look and feel to it, which smacks of back bedroom template tweaking.

In theory, you shouldn't be able to reconise a designers work, because each one should be a different style and theme.

I agree with Stavros, SEO is a much bigger factor. In the old days, SEO was seen as a bolt on after the site was built, but nowadays it needs to be crafted into the design stage. Such as the postion of content, headers, any adverts. Stuff that moving afterwards will spoil the design. Thought needs to go into page structure, naming conventions, after all, page titles are the SEO number 1 and a bit of a pain to change retrospectively!

Post design SEO/SEM is where an SEO company gets engaged, and if the design is upto scratch, then it should be mainly leg work and off site, ie link building, article writing etc.

But also important to me is communication. If a project isn't shaping up as I imagined, then I need to be able to contact the designer, as well as try and articulate my thoughts. Most people engaging a designer are doing so because they can't do it themselves, so a good rapport and confidence that your designer understands where your coming from is essential.

Reminds me, I still owe you a testimonial!!

Can you stick it here please Steve

Kip FX Design in United Kingdom ? RatePoint Reviews RatePoint

Like them better off site

'tis done

Much appreciated, now I shall allow this to get back on topic!

Taken the feedback so far and looking forward to anymore, thanks so far guys, its how we get better!