Where is the design firm located?
There are so many different designers and firms to choose from that narrowing them down by location can help you from feeling overwhelmed at the options. Many companies can effectively communicate online with you regardless of location, but if there's a problem and you can't get in touch with them, you won't have the option of driving to their office to speak with someone. It just depends on your comfort level and how you prefer to communicate. If you prefer to speak to someone in person, you will need to find a web design firm in your area.
What skills does the designer or web firm have?
Several different skill sets are required to create a successful website. Rarely does one person possess every skill needed. Your website will need:
Graphic design - Designs should be both visually appealing and user friendly. If the designer does not also program the website, he/she should at least understand programming, know how to properly crop and save the graphics and understand what works on the web and what doesn't.
Programming - There are many different ways to code a website. Determine the functionality that your website requires (are there any complex features, do you want to maintain the content yourself, etc.) and make sure your programmer can handle it. Ask what programs the developer uses and if he/she follows the latest web standards. A good programmer can manually edit code and will not rely on a program like FrontPage or Dreamweaver to code write the code for them.
Search engine optimization - Your developer should have an understanding of how search engines work so that they can properly code your website. When examining websites in their portfolio, look at the title bar in the browser. If this title is the same on every page of the site, the developer is not taking search engines into account. You can also check to see if their websites are found in search engines by typing "site:www.nameofwebsite.com" into Google and seeing how many pages are indexed. These are just a couple of indicators. If search engines are a big concern (and they should be), you may want to do some more research on the subject.
Copywriting - Your website will need good content to attract visitors and keep their interest. Your web firm should be able to suggest content for your website. Make sure you know if they expect you to provide the final text or if they will write or edit it for you. If they write the text for you, make sure that the writer has an understanding of marketing and good grammar.
Marketing - After your website is complete, does the web firm help you to get traffic to your website? A website is useless if no one can find it. If you are expecting your website to be found on the first page of search results for certain keywords, make sure your web firm has experience in search engine optimization. Not all web firms provide this service, but they should at least be able to recommend a good search engine marketing firm. Ask your web firm to give you access to website statistics so that you can track the number of visitors to your site.
Make sure you know if your website designer or firm can handle all of these needs.
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