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5 Things to look for when hiring a Webflow Designer
Looking at hiring a new Webflow Designer? Great! In this article I point out 5 things to look out for when making the hiring decision.
Looking at hiring a new Webflow Designer? Great! In this article I point out 5 things to look out for when making the hiring decision.
So, you're looking for a new Webflow Designer or Developer? Maybe your current Designer doesn’t meet your needs (anymore) or has gotten too busy with other projects. Maybe you are starting out with your company's Webflow site and haven't engaged with a designer before. Whatever the reason might be, you’ll have to make sure you find the right person for the job and ensure the switch-over process goes smoothly (both on a personal as well as technical level). In this article we'll look at what to consider when planning to hire a new Webflow Designer and what you can do to make the move to a new service provider as smooth as possible.
Let's first start by looking at some of the qualities of a Webflow Designer (or really any Designer) you should be looking for. This is not an exhaustive list and you might want to add other items that are important to you and your team.
Priority number one: can the person you're looking at hiring do the job? Does he have experience in my industry? How long has he been working with Webflow? Depending on what you and your project require, you might be best served with a freelancer or contractor who is predominantly a Designer or a Developer – or you might need a mix of both. A Designer has an eye for visuals, and is skilled in user experience and user interface design. A Webflow developer has at least basic coding skills and knows how to structure a Webflow site properly. Many Developers are also skilled with JavaScript and know how to integrate custom code solutions into your Webflow site.
If you already have a finished design for your site available, you might "only" need a Developer to build the site for you in Webflow. However if you are starting from scratch with your site, you might need someone who can design the site, as well as set it up in Webflow as well. Have a look at the designer's portfolio or agency website to see some of the work they have done previously. Obviously if they are primarily a Developer, they might not have any visuals there to show that they've designed themselves. If you are hiring a Webflow Developer and structure and class naming conventions are important to you, you could also let the Developer show you some so called read-only links. This way you can get a peek into some of their completed projects. Keep in mind that you will need to know your way around Webflow (plus obviously have knowledge about HTML, CSS etc.) to understand what you are actually looking at. Me personally, I would classify myself as a mix of Webflow Designer and Developer. For some projects I do both – the design as well as the development in Webflow, for others I only do one of the two. However, for in-depth coding requirements that go beyond HTML, CSS and basic JavaScript I collaborate with people who specialise in this area. To summarise: know which services you require and hire accordingly.
Communication skills are so important and can sometimes make or break a project. When you are getting in touch with a Designer, pay attention to how easy it is to communicate with him. Does he answer emails quickly? Might you be able to organise a Zoom call to meet at least virtually? Find out how your potential collaborator usually communicates with clients – does she use email or is available via Slack or Teams?
It's difficult to find out how a person is like to work with if you haven't work with him before. That's why it's great if you have a personal recommendation for someone or you can see reviews that show that this person is great to work with. An in-person or Zoom conversation can also help gauge someone's vibe.
This is something that is important but that can often not be assessed before you haven't worked together. You can of course always look at some of his work in his portfolio or browse through his website. If you see glaring errors there you might think twice hiring this particular person.
If time is of the essence (as is often the case nowadays), make sure you ask your potential Designer about their availability and about turn around times for work. Are there rush fees for last-minute work? When can you expect a response to a change request? Is your Designer maybe even working with a project management tool such as JIRA, Azure DevOps Boards, Trello or others?
I hope this helped a little in determining what to look out for when hiring a new Webflow Designer. Other great articles which can help you find the right person for the job include:
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