THE SHORT VERSION
Most business owners evaluate web designers based on visual style first. That's where things go wrong: a beautiful website that doesn't communicate your value or move visitors to act isn't a good outcome.
The right designer will ask about your goals before they talk about aesthetics.
SEO should be built into a web design project from the start, not treated as an optional add-on after launch.
I've seen it play out more times than I'd like. A business owner pays a designer in full, the project stalls somewhere around the second round of revisions, and they end up with nothing. Not even a working website.
One client came to me after exactly that situation. The designer never took the time to understand her business, her clients, or what she was trying to do. When she pushed back on the direction, they dug in. She lost money, time, and months of momentum she didn't have to spare.
Choosing the wrong web designer isn't just frustrating. It has a real cost. Here's how to make a confident decision instead.
The #1 Mistake Small Business Owners Make When Hiring a Web Designer
Most people evaluate designers by looking at their portfolio first. That makes sense: portfolios are visual by nature. But it's also where the process tends to go sideways.
A designer who is focused on aesthetics over outcomes will produce a beautiful website that doesn't generate leads, doesn't communicate your value clearly, and doesn't move the right visitors to reach out.
Before you look at anyone's portfolio, get clear on what you need your website to actually do. Bring in cold traffic? Convert referrals faster? Build enough credibility that you can stop justifying your rates? That clarity helps you filter out designers who are building for their own portfolio and not for your business.
Freelancer, Agency, or AI-Built Website: Which Is Right for You?
These are genuinely different options with different trade-offs, and the right answer depends on what you actually need.
Freelancers typically offer lower costs and more direct communication. You're working with the person doing the work, which means faster feedback loops and fewer things getting lost in translation. The trade-off is limited capacity if your project is large or multi-phase.
Agencies bring full teams under one roof — designers, SEO specialists, copywriters. That breadth suits complex projects, but it comes with a higher price point and sometimes a more corporate communication style.
AI website builders can get something live fast and cheaply. But without strategy behind it, the result tends to look generic and doesn't speak to your specific audience. An AI tool can produce a website. It can't replace a designer who understands your business, your clients, and what makes you different from everyone else doing what you do.
What to Look for in a Portfolio (Beyond Pretty Websites)
A portfolio shows past work. What it should really demonstrate is process and results.
When I share my portfolio on discovery calls, I explain that every website reflects a real collaboration. I build checkpoints throughout each project specifically because the design should reflect what a client wants to communicate — not just what I think looks good. That distinction matters.
When you're reviewing any designer's portfolio, ask two questions: how much input did the client have in the final result, and are those websites actually performing — ranking in search, generating leads, converting visitors?
A beautiful website that isn't working isn't a good outcome. If you want a clearer picture of what effective design actually looks like, this breakdown of what makes a website look professional and trustworthy is worth reading before your first designer call.
The One Question You're Probably Not Asking
Before you hire anyone, ask them to give you quick feedback on your current website.
A skilled designer should be able to identify gaps, missed opportunities, or messaging problems within a few minutes. Pay attention to where they go first. Do they immediately talk about colours and fonts, or do they ask about your goals? Do they notice that your calls to action are buried, or that your homepage doesn't clearly explain what you do?
A designer who engages critically with your existing website is far more likely to build you something that actually works. That one question can save you thousands of dollars and months of frustration.
How to Evaluate SEO Before You Sign Anything
SEO should be built into the design process from day one. Not bolted on after launch. Not offered as a separate service once the website is already live.
Ask every designer directly: is SEO included in your process, or is it an additional cost? The answer tells you a lot about how they think about your long-term visibility.
I worked with one client who came in with her own copy already written. We kept as much of it as we could but restructured it with SEO in mind. The final website wasn't quite as visually minimal as she'd originally imagined — but it shows up in search results now. For her, that trade-off was absolutely worth it.
Structure, headings, page hierarchy, and content strategy all matter as much as the visual design. If you want to understand what strong SEO actually looks like before your next call, this guide on how to know if your website has good SEO is a practical starting point.
What Your First Conversation Should Cover
The discovery call is where you figure out whether a designer is actually a fit — not just technically, but as someone you can work with. Here's what to ask:
What does working together look like? You want a clear sense of their communication style and how involved you'll need to be throughout the project.
What do they need from you to get started? Vague answers are a warning sign.
What does the process look like from kickoff to launch? A structured designer will have a clear answer to this.
Is SEO included or is it an add-on? Ask directly.
What happens after launch? Do they offer training, maintenance, or updates, and at what cost?
If a designer can't answer these questions clearly, that's telling. You're not just hiring for design skills. You're entering a working relationship that requires communication and trust.
Red Flags That Signal the Wrong Designer
The client I mentioned at the start didn't just lose money. She lost confidence in the whole process. The warning signs were there early.
Watch for these:
They don't ask about your goals or your clients. If they're not curious about what you do and who you serve, they're thinking about their portfolio. Not your results.
They get defensive when you share feedback. A designer who can't take direction is not the right fit for a project that is supposed to reflect your business.
They skip discovery and jump straight to a quote. A good designer needs to understand your business before they can accurately scope a project. A price before a single question about your goals is a problem.
WANT HELP WITH THIS?
Choosing the right web designer comes down to four things: strategic fit, SEO approach, how they collaborate, and what ongoing support looks like after launch.
A designer who asks good questions, thinks critically about your current website, and builds SEO in from the start is worth considerably more than one who simply produces beautiful work.
If you want to find out whether we'd be a good fit, book a free discovery call. I'll take a look at your current website and share what I think could be working harder. No pressure, no pitch. Just an honest conversation about where you are and where you want to go.
And if you want to understand where your website currently stands with AI search visibility before that call, the AI Visibility Mini Course is a free place to start — five short lessons, straight to your inbox.
Get the AI Visibility Mini Course
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Already have a website but not sure it's doing its job? Here's what makes a website look professional and trustworthy to a cold visitor — a useful read before any designer conversation.
And if you want to know how long a Squarespace website project actually takes, here's the timeline breakdown.
ABOUT ERIN
About Erin Clayton
Erin Clayton is a Squarespace web designer, strategist, and copywriter based in Victoria, BC, and a Squarespace Circle Gold Partner.
Before web design, she built a career across corporate communications, banking, big tech, regulatory marketing, and energy, which is where she learned how to take someone's expertise and translate it into language that actually lands. That skill is now the backbone of how she builds websites.
She also runs a photography business, which means she's not theorizing about what it takes to market a service-based business online. She's doing it. She learned firsthand what a strong web presence actually equates to: more of the right clients, fewer explanations, and a site that does the convincing before you're ever in the room.
She works with service-based business owners across Canada, coaches, consultants, wellness practitioners, and creative professionals, who are ready for a website that earns their rate before a prospect ever reaches out.
