Picking a web designer is one of those jobs most business owners only do every five or six years. That makes it hard to know what good looks like. A website can look lovely and still never bring in a single phone call, so it pays to look past the design and ask how the site will actually win you work.
This guide covers what we would look for if we were hiring a web designer in the Northern Rivers ourselves. It is written from our studio in Lismore, but the same advice applies from the Tweed down to the Clarence Valley.
What a good local website needs
A small business website has one main job. It needs to show people in your area that you do the work they are searching for, then make it easy for them to call or send an enquiry.
That sounds simple, but it shapes everything. Each service you offer should have its own page. Your phone number should be easy to tap on a mobile. Your photos should be real ones of your work where you can. The site should load quickly on a patchy 4G connection out past Kyogle, not just on fast office internet.
A good designer will plan the pages around your services and your service area before they start on colours and fonts. That is how we approach website design for Northern Rivers businesses. It is the same thinking behind our WordPress websites, which you can update yourself once they are live.
If money is tight, a smaller site done properly beats a big site done badly. Our affordable web design option is built for that. If you already have a site that looks dated or never ranked, a website redesign can keep what Google already likes about it and fix the rest.
Look for someone who builds for Google from day one
Plenty of sites are designed first and then handed to an SEO person later to fix. It is far cheaper to get the structure right at the start. Page titles, headings, internal links, image sizes and the way your locations are set out all affect how you rank.
Ask any designer you speak to how they handle SEO in the Northern Rivers. For most local businesses the biggest wins come from local SEO, which means showing up in the map results and in searches with a town name attached. If you want both done together from the start, a web design and SEO package saves doubling up.
If some of the terms are new to you, our SEO glossary explains them in plain English.
Ask how hosting, updates and security are handled
A website is not a one off purchase. It sits on a server, it runs software that needs updating and it can be attacked if it is left alone for too long. Before you sign, find out who looks after each of those things.
- Website hosting should be fast, Australian based and backed up daily.
- Website care plans keep WordPress, plugins and security patches up to date.
- Website updates cover the small changes you will need over time, like new photos, prices or staff.
- Hacked website repair is there if the worst happens, but good care makes it far less likely.
A designer who builds the site and then disappears leaves you exposed. One who offers ongoing care is usually the safer bet.
Check they understand your industry
A plumber, a physio and a family law firm need very different websites. The pages, the wording and even the way people search are different. It helps when your designer has worked with businesses like yours or at least asks the right questions about how your customers choose.
We have written guides on how search works for different trades and professions.
- SEO for tradies
- SEO for plumbers
- SEO for electricians
- SEO for removalists
- SEO for physiotherapists
- SEO for family lawyers
- SEO for engineering firms
Pick someone who knows your area
Local knowledge matters more than people expect. Someone who knows that Ballina and Lennox Head customers often search differently to Byron Bay customers will set up your location pages properly. Someone who has never been past the Pacific Highway turn off probably will not.
Across the Northern Rivers we work with businesses in Lismore, Ballina, Byron Bay, Tweed Heads, Murwillumbah, Kingscliff, Mullumbimby, Casino, Kyogle, Alstonville and Evans Head.
Further down the coast we look after clients in Grafton, Yamba, Coffs Harbour, Port Macquarie and the Shoalhaven. Over the range we work with businesses in Toowoomba and Warwick.
Just over the border we cover the Gold Coast, including Southport, Helensvale, Hope Island, Runaway Bay, Paradise Point, Biggera Waters, Coombabah, Main Beach, Bundall, Ashmore and Molendinar.
For businesses that sell further afield we also run SEO campaigns targeting Sydney, Adelaide and Perth. You can see every town we cover on our areas page.
Understand what SEO and ads will cost
A new website is the starting point. Getting it in front of people is the ongoing part. Ask your designer to be upfront about what happens after launch and what it is likely to cost.
Our guide to how much SEO costs breaks down what you are paying for. Some businesses prefer to learn the ropes and do their own SEO with a bit of guidance, which is where an SEO consultant helps. Others need more authority before they can rank. That is the job of careful link building.
If you need enquiries quickly, Google Ads management can put you at the top of the page while your organic rankings build. Done well, ads and SEO work together rather than against each other.
Questions to ask before you sign
Bring these to any web designer you are thinking about hiring.
- Will I own the website and the domain name outright?
- Can I update the text and photos myself?
- How will the site be set up for Google and for my local area?
- Where will it be hosted and how often is it backed up?
- Who updates the software and fixes things if it breaks?
- How will I know if the site is bringing in enquiries?
- Can I talk to a couple of your past clients?
Clear, plain answers to those questions tell you a lot. If the answers are vague or full of jargon, keep looking.
Ready to talk it through?
If you are a Northern Rivers business looking at a new website, a redesign or better results from Google, we are happy to have a no obligation chat. Have a look at all our services, read a little more about us or get in touch and tell us what you need.
