How to Recognize a Bad Web Designer

Maybe you've got a web designer. They seem decent enough. But, let's be honest, they could be horrible and you probably wouldn't even know. Obviously, we can tell a good looking site from an ugly one but beyond that most of us don't have a clue. So here's some easy ways to know if it's time to find a new web guy.

Are they keeping up with web trends?

Web technologies change rapidly. This means good web designer are constantly learning. Here's an easy way to check if your web guy is behind the times. Find out if they use "table-based" layouts. To do this you could just ask or view the source code from one their recent projects (if you see a bunch of stuff that looks like <table>, <tr>, <td> that's a bad sign). If your designer uses table-base layouts, they haven't learned anything in nearly a decade. It's definitely time to find someone new.

Are they actively involved in the development community?

Does your designer have a portfolio site? Probably. Do they have a blog? Maybe. Are they speaking at professional conferences? Probably not. At any rate, web design is like any other industry, serious individuals are engaged in their professional community. So spend a few minutes and google your web designer. Are they actively involved in the web community? If not, it might be time to make a change.

Can they make database driven websites?

Let's say you want a registration form, a client login, or a shopping cart. All these very common features require a database. Integrating a database isn't the hardest thing ever but it does demand skills beyond what's needed to make a simple static site. Here's how you can quickly tell if your guy is comfortable with databases. Visit their recent sites. Do you see complicated web form? Do you see login or register buttons? If not, then you shouldn't expect they can competently add this type of functionality to your site.

Do they pay attention to the little things?

Visit some of there sites. Is text nicely spaced and padded? Are elements properly aligned? Is the copyright up to date? Do things weirdly jump or shift a few pixels when you hover over them? If they don't pay attention to the small stuff that you can see, then you can bet the code behind the scenes is also sloppy. Good web designers sweat the small stuff. Make sure you designer does too.

Hope this helps!
- Cory