[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":132},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-en-how-to-choose-a-web-designer":3},{"id":4,"title":5,"body":6,"cover":116,"date":117,"description":118,"draft":119,"extension":120,"locale":121,"meta":122,"navigation":123,"path":124,"seo":125,"stem":126,"tags":127,"__hash__":131},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fen\u002Fhow-to-choose-a-web-designer.md","How to choose a web designer without regretting it in six months",{"type":7,"value":8,"toc":107},"minimark",[9,13,18,21,24,28,31,34,40,44,63,66,70,97,101,104],[10,11,12],"p",{},"Hiring a web designer is strange. You're buying something you can't fully see until it's finished, from someone whose main skill is making things look good, including their own website. Here's how I'd choose, if I were on your side of the table.",[14,15,17],"h2",{"id":16},"look-at-the-portfolio-for-range-not-polish","Look at the portfolio for range, not polish",[10,19,20],{},"Every portfolio looks great. That's the point of a portfolio. What tells you more is whether the projects look different from each other. If every site in there has the same layout and the same fonts, you will get that layout and those fonts too, with your logo on top.",[10,22,23],{},"Open a few of the live sites on your phone. Do they load quickly? Can you find the contact details without hunting? Does the text read well? A portfolio screenshot can't lie about colours, but it can lie about all of that.",[14,25,27],{"id":26},"notice-who-asks-the-questions","Notice who asks the questions",[10,29,30],{},"In the first call, a good designer asks more than they talk. Who are your customers? What should someone do after visiting the site? What do you like about your competitors, and what annoys you? What happens if the project is late?",[10,32,33],{},"If the first call is mostly a pitch and a price, the project will probably be mostly the designer's taste and a price.",[35,36,37],"blockquote",{},[10,38,39],{},"A good first call has more questions in it than answers.",[14,41,43],{"id":42},"ask-the-boring-questions-early","Ask the boring questions early",[45,46,47,51,54,57,60],"ul",{},[48,49,50],"li",{},"Who will I actually work with, the person I'm talking to or someone else?",[48,52,53],{},"Can I edit texts and images myself after launch?",[48,55,56],{},"Who owns the design, the code and the domain once it's paid?",[48,58,59],{},"Where is it hosted, and what does that cost per year?",[48,61,62],{},"What happens if something breaks a year from now?",[10,64,65],{},"The answers don't have to be perfect. They have to be clear. Vague answers here turn into expensive surprises later.",[14,67,69],{"id":68},"red-flags-that-look-friendly","Red flags that look friendly",[45,71,72,79,85,91],{},[48,73,74,78],{},[75,76,77],"strong",{},"Everything is possible, by next week."," Real projects have trade-offs. Someone who never mentions one hasn't thought about yours yet.",[48,80,81,84],{},[75,82,83],{},"No written scope."," If it isn't written down, you and the designer are remembering two different projects.",[48,86,87,90],{},[75,88,89],{},"The domain is registered in their name."," It should be yours, always.",[48,92,93,96],{},[75,94,95],{},"No mention of mobile."," Most of your visitors will see the phone version first.",[14,98,100],{"id":99},"chemistry-counts-more-than-youd-think","Chemistry counts more than you'd think",[10,102,103],{},"You'll spend weeks giving feedback to this person. If you feel awkward saying \"I don't like this\" in the first call, that won't get easier. The best collaborations I've had were the ones where the client felt free to say exactly what they thought, early.",[10,105,106],{},"Pick the person you'd be comfortable disagreeing with. You're going to.",{"title":108,"searchDepth":109,"depth":109,"links":110},"",2,[111,112,113,114,115],{"id":16,"depth":109,"text":17},{"id":26,"depth":109,"text":27},{"id":42,"depth":109,"text":43},{"id":68,"depth":109,"text":69},{"id":99,"depth":109,"text":100},null,"2026-07-27","A practical checklist for hiring a web designer: what to look for in a portfolio, which questions to ask in the first call, and the red flags that are easy to miss when someone is friendly and fast.",false,"md","en",{},true,"\u002Fblog\u002Fen\u002Fhow-to-choose-a-web-designer",{"title":5,"description":118},"blog\u002Fen\u002Fhow-to-choose-a-web-designer",[128,129,130],"Web Design","Clients","Hiring","F5u1zDlm7j2OIiUflVPPaqnRxqzhRLf3PH3CO5Yo42I",1792165382162]