How should you hire a web professional?

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I was reading a wonderful article about hiring web professionals today and thought I’d share a few of my own comments and observations for people looking to hire a web designer or developer to work on their next project.

Don’t waste time

I get between five and 20 proposals a month sent my way for review, most hope that I’ll code their hole ridden proposals for free in return for partial ownership. I won’t. If you happen to find a web person who’s willing to work on your “project scope” for less than a few hundred dollars a day … run.

On the other hand, if you have a valid idea and have taken some time to do your homework, identify the pros and cons of your competition, developed a marketing concept and are looking for professional advice, take the time to meet with somebody.

Don’t assume we’re all the same

Each web person has unique specialties, we’re all better at somethings than others and most of the time, most of us are uniquely qualified at a small handful of things. I for example am a WordPress nut, I can do more in WordPress in an hour than most people can do in a lifetime but my Flash is hideous. Get to know what your web person can do, and what he can’t.

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