how to choose a website designer

We see web design horror stories all the time. People who have entrusted one of the most important assets in their business to a developer, often paying big money, and come away with an inferior result.

Sometimes they realise straight away that what was promised was not delivered. Other times it surfaces later, when they try to update the site themselves and find it near impossible, or when the investment simply does not pay off. We fix and replace websites for disgruntled customers regularly, and we know how disheartening it is to realise you did not get what you paid for. Not even close.

Investing in the right website designer does not just save you thousands of dollars, it can help you earn thousands more. So how do you avoid the horror stories and know you are choosing the best website designer from the get-go? If you are spending over $10k on a website, here are our top five rules for sorting the cowboys from the hidden gems.

Contents

What the best designers do Why it matters
Start with a plan Avoids costly changes later
Lead with brand and messaging Connects you with the right audience
Pair design with development They are two different skills
Design for every device Most visitors are on mobile
Set you up to be found A site nobody finds is wasted

Rule 1: They always start with a plan

Not having a plan is a fast track to a web design horror story. And it is not your job to plan the website, your design team should take care of that for you. A good plan starts with a planning meeting, where the team gets a feel for what you want and guides you on the best way forward. Key things that should be discussed include your strategy for connecting with your online audience, what is going on the site, what matters most to show your customers, how you will move someone from A to B, how many pages there will be, and what functionality you need.

These questions need to be answered at the start, not on the fly halfway through, and definitely not at the end. Changing your mind midway will cost you a fortune. If your design team is not planning with you up front, it is a huge warning sign. Planning is so central to a good outcome that we built an entire framework around it, our Navigator process, which maps out strategy, structure and content before a single page is designed.

Rule 2: Branding should make the business shine

One of the most important elements in avoiding a horror story is how you communicate your message to your audience, which is essentially what your branding does. On a website, your branding shows up through polished visuals and compelling messaging, all done with intention and aimed squarely at your target audience. A great website designer will highlight how important your branding and messaging are, and offer real guidance here.

Questions worth covering together in planning include who your target audience is, what brand personality suits your business, which colours represent you best, what tone of voice reflects that personality, and what other customer touchpoints need to be considered. Audit your messaging and brand identity at the start of the project, so you are communicating the right way to the right people. This all flows from a clear brand strategy, and if your designer is not having this conversation with you, treat it as a red flag.

Rule 3: Design and development are different skills

A great website needs front-end design, user experience, and of course programming for smooth back-end functionality. Here is the thing: programmers are rarely great designers, and designers are rarely great programmers. You need both working together for the best result, so make sure your developer has a front-end designer on the team as well as a back-end one.

Before anyone gets stuck into development, every single page should be visually designed and mocked up. Simple things like using grids, making sure elements line up, and choosing the right colours and fonts make an enormous difference to the end product, and you should see this mocked up before you proceed. Do not do it on the fly, or the designer will never quite nail what you are after. The whole process should be transparent, with your team listening, keeping you posted, and getting your approval before any big decisions. You would not have a house built without seeing the plans first. Do not do it with a website. These are the same fundamentals behind our web design principles that convert browsers to buyers.

Rule 4: User experience is vital

First, your website needs to work on every device. Most people are accessing the internet on the go, on their phones and tablets, so responsive design, where a site changes size and structure to suit the device, is non-negotiable. It seems like a no-brainer, yet the number of sites still being built in 2026 that ignore mobile is staggering. Every website built today needs to work across all devices and browsers, which is exactly why responsive website design matters so much.

To give you an idea, each page we create is tested across multiple browsers and a range of screen resolutions, which adds up to a lot of checks per page. It is time-consuming, but it is a vital part of the process. So if a website quote looks suspiciously cheap, the designer is probably not giving your site the attention to detail it deserves, and you are on track for a horror story.

Rule 5: They set you up to be found

There is no point having a website if nobody can find it. A great website developer will set you up for SEO (search engine optimisation), giving you a position in search you can steadily build on over time. It is about getting the foundations of your copy and keywords right, so that when people search for your services, they find you.

A copywriter guided by your developer is perfect for this. With the right keyword research, the right tone of voice and the right messaging, you are set up for success. In 2026, this increasingly includes being visible in AI search too, since the same clear, well-structured, fast site that ranks well is what AI tools draw on. If your developer is not thinking about any of this, they are not doing their job properly, and you are getting ripped off.

Bonus: Price does not determine quality

Just because you received an expensive quote does not mean you are getting bang for your buck or the best website designer. There are plenty of ways to cut corners: using templates, outsourcing the design or programming to cheap overseas teams, and skipping proper planning of brand, messaging and design, mock-ups before the build, and responsive testing. A high price tag guarantees none of this, the same way it does not with logo pricing.

A great way to check whether a designer is what they say they are is to look at their own website, their previous work and their testimonials. If you are not sure what to look for, ask a friend or fellow business owner, and we are always happy to help too. Word of mouth is often the best form of advertising: go by recommendation and your designer is already tried and tested. Still, do your own research to be sure you are happy with their style and approach.

Green flags (a great designer) Red flags (a horror story)
Starts with a planning meeting Dives straight into building
Talks brand, audience and messaging Only talks tech and features
Has both designers and developers One person doing everything
Mocks up every page for approval Designs on the fly
Builds responsive and tests it Ignores mobile
Sets you up for SEO Never mentions being found
Has real work and testimonials to show Has little to show

Frequently asked questions

How do I choose a website designer?
Look for a designer who starts with a plan, leads with your brand and messaging, has both design and development skills on the team, builds responsively for every device, and sets you up to be found in search. Check their own website, previous work and testimonials, and trust word of mouth. Price alone is not a reliable guide to quality.

What are the warning signs of a bad website designer?
The big red flags are diving into the build with no planning meeting, talking only about tech rather than your brand and audience, designing on the fly without mock-ups for approval, ignoring mobile, and never mentioning SEO. One person trying to do both design and development well is another. Little previous work to show should also give you pause.

How much should a good website cost?
It varies widely with scope, but a quality, custom website is an investment, often over $10k for a business site done properly. More important than the number is what you get for it: real planning, brand and messaging work, page-by-page design and mock-ups, responsive testing, and SEO foundations. A cheap quote usually means corners are being cut.

Why shouldn’t a programmer also design my website?
Because design and development are truly different skills, and very few people excel at both. Programmers handle the back-end functionality, while designers handle the look, feel and user experience. The best results come from a team where both work together, so your site is not only technically sound but also visually strong and easy to use.

Does price reflect the quality of a website designer?
Not reliably. A high price can still hide template-based work, outsourced programming, or skipped planning and testing, while a fair price from a thorough team can deliver far more value. Judge a designer on their process, their portfolio and their testimonials rather than on the size of the quote alone.

What should a website designer do before building?
Plenty. Before any building begins, a good designer runs a planning meeting to set strategy, structure and goals, works through your brand, audience and messaging, and visually mocks up every page for your approval. Building before this groundwork is done is the single most common cause of expensive, frustrating web design horror stories.

Read more: Website content: the vital ingredients for engaging copy