You need a business website, but how can you tell the professional business website designers from the college kid in his basement or the hobbyist? 

The answer is fairly simple if you know what kinds of questions to ask.  Professional website designers are just that - professionals.  They have college degrees and/or experience related to website design and development.  They understand small and medium size businesses for it is likely they are one too.  Most importantly, they speak to you in your language, not theirs.

Purchasing a website is a form of advertisement for your business.  Would you pay for the development of a radio or television commercial if you were not sure you would get a return on your investment?  Why risk your professional reputation by trying to get the cheapest site possible just so you can put the www.yourbusinessname.com on your business card?  If you have seen the work of a website designer and the pages look great, do they contain keywords, titles, and descriptions to help search engines like Google and Yahoo find them?

These are some of the basic questions a professional business website designer should be able to answer:

1. How will you measure my ROI (Return on Investment)?

2. What information will be included in my monthly website analytical reports?  The reports should answer these questions at a minimum:

..a. What time of the day do most people visit?

..b. What search engines are they using to go to my site?

..c. How long does someone stay on my site?

..d. Which pages do they visit?

..e. Where do they go when they leave?

..f. What are the demographics of my typical online customer?

..g. Has my search engine ranking changed?

3. Will my site be monitored 24/7 with guaranteed 99.8% reliability?

..a. Are all links checked every day?

..b. Are broken links corrected?

4. What is my conversion rate (how many potential online customers have turned into actual customers)? Also:

..a. Why did they visit my business online?

..b. Were they happy with their purchasing experience?

..c. What would they change about my site?

5. How will you help me increase my business over time?

If you are having trouble finding a website designer, visit the sites of your competitors or other local businesses.  Most reputable website designers list themselves and include a link in the small print at the bottom of the sites they have created.  For example, www.WebsiteDesignerRESULTS.com. In fact, Website Designer RESULTS is probably your best option. Use the questions above to find out if they can help you grow your business.