How to choose a web designer in Jersey: 6 questions

The 6 questions in the video

The video opens with a question: choosing a web designer in Jersey? Then the point of it: ask the questions that protect your business. They work for any designer, from a long-established agency to a one-person studio.

1. 1

   Step 1: Who owns the domain?

   0:18

   Keep the domain in your business name.

   Your website and your email both depend on the domain, so it should be registered with your business as the registrant, in a registrar account you can log into. The Channel Isles registry (opens in a new tab), which runs .je, says the same in its good-practice rules (opens in a new tab): registrars must register a domain in the customer’s name unless the circumstances are exceptional, and then only with the customer’s explicit, informed consent.

   To check a domain you already have, use the registry’s WHOIS lookup (opens in a new tab). It shows the registrar and, where the registrant is an organisation, its name. If that is your designer’s business and not yours, ask for it to be changed. A .je costs £49 a year registered direct with the registry, so there’s nothing to save by letting someone else hold it. Our guide to getting your website and .je domain back covers what to do if a designer won’t hand it over.

2. 2

   Step 2: What is the real cost?

   0:30

   Add build, hosting and changes over time.

   Ask every designer for three figures in writing: the build price, the hosting per month or year, and what changes cost. Then add them up over three years. A cheap build with expensive hosting can cost more than a dearer build with cheap hosting, and the build price alone won’t show it.

   Ask too whether the hosting price rises after the first year. Our guide to what a website costs in Jersey sets out typical prices for each kind of supplier.

3. 3

   Step 3: What is included?

   0:42

   Ask about backups, security and support.

   Hosting can mean anything from bare server space to a looked-after service. Ask whether the security certificate (the padlock in the address bar) is included, how often backups run and how fast the site can be restored from one, who applies software and security updates, and whether email is included or charged on top.

   Small changes count too: new prices, opening hours, a fresh photo. Find out whether you make them yourself, send them in, or pay per change, and how quickly they’re usually done. Our guide to website security for small Jersey businesses explains what good care looks like.

4. 4

   Step 4: What happens if you leave?

   0:54

   Know what you can take with you.

   Ask for the minimum term, the notice period, and what you take with you: your words, your photos, the domain, and ideally the site itself or an export of it. Some set-ups make a design hard to move, which is fine if you know before you sign and not if you find out when you want to leave.

   If the domain is in your name, moving it is routine. The registry’s transfer process (opens in a new tab) is normally handled by your new registrar, using an authorisation code for the domain.

5. 5

   Step 5: Can you see live work?

   1:06

   Open examples on your own phone.

   Ask for the addresses of two or three live sites and open them on your own phone, on mobile data, not on the designer’s laptop. Do they load quickly? Can you find the phone number in a few seconds? Does the menu work with a thumb?

   Google’s free PageSpeed Insights (opens in a new tab) will test any address you paste in. A portfolio of mock-ups with no live sites behind it tells you less, and a short call with a past client tells you more than any testimonial.

6. 6

   Step 6: Who answers later?

   1:18

   Ask who handles problems and changes.

   Ask for a named contact, how to reach them, how quickly they usually reply and what that’s based on in writing. Some firms put a salesperson in front of a team you never meet; some are one person. What matters is who answers when something breaks.

   A designer on the island can meet you in person. A remote studio works by phone, email and messages, and can often cost less. Neither is better by default. We’re a UK studio working remotely with Jersey businesses, and we say so up front.

Common questions

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