Business owners beware... continued

In todays economy, affordable advertising is more important than ever before. More and more business owners are looking to utilize the internet in hopes of achieving adequate marketing coverage at an affordable rate. Many small to medium sized business owners turn to freelance web designers to design a website for their businesses instead of paying un- affordable fees that web design firms charge.

With so many freelance web designers in Illinois alone, it is very easy to find a web designer that is willing to "design a custom website for an affordable fee", but...

Are the "affordable web designer services" being offered going to meet your business' needs?

This vital question is often not addressed by freelance web designers eager to land your web design project.

The term "web designer" is often misinterpreted by business owners that are new to advertising online. They are often under the impression that hiring a freelance web designer is the only step they need to take in order to have a website designed and published online for their business. Unfortunately, it's not that simple.

By definition, a web designer is a graphic designer that specializes in creating the visual components(graphics) for a website. A web developer or programmer, then takes the graphics created by the web designer and programs a website based on them. Unfortunately, the fact that there are two major skill sets required to produce a website does not automaticly create a larger budget to hire a web developer too.

Many freelance web designers also have development skills and will include development with the websites they design as a package deal in order to provide small to medium sized businesses with an affordable and "complete website solution". While a designer with development skills can offer a complete website solution, they are often lacking in the third skill set required to produce a website that will gain your business the maximum returns for your advertising dollars.

Internet Marketing

The third and most important skill set needed for a successful online advertising campaign for your business is internet marketing. Aside from traditional marketing knowledge, internet marketing requires technical skills and up to date knowledge of social trends online. This is why a web design firm usually consists of 3 or more people, one professional dedicated to each of the three skill sets required to meet a business websites needs.

The best solution for a business without a huge budget is to find an affordable web designer that also has skills in web development and internet marketing, often refered to in the IT world as a webmaster. Be sure to contact references that any potential freelance web designer gives you, and don't be afraid to ask them questions about their experience and what services are included with the websites they design. Make sure you know exactly what your getting, for an "affordable price".