Before I launch into the list, let me first say as a caveat that I have worked with wonderful graphic designers who understand the differences between web and print and design accordingly. Good graphic designers consult with web development agencies on best practices. They actively seek knowledge on overall development and usability. Good graphic designers know that to make a website as good as it can be, the code should be just as good as the design.
This list is not for them, about them or inspired by them.
This list is to help you avoid design agencies that are happy to take your money and deliver a sub-par, ill-performing, non-functional website. Simply ask them these five questions and if they don’t know the answer–run like hell!
1. What is search engine friendly code?
Correct answer: CSS/table-less code that separates aesthetics from content.
Believe it or not, not all web code is created equally. Tables are out, CSS is in. And no, the automatic code spit out by Fireworks, MS Word, Publisher and Photoshop is not search engine friendly–It’s more like search engine repellent! SEF code can make the difference between a site getting indexed by a search engine, and a site languishing alone in the cold space of the webosphere.
2. What do you think of splash pages?
Correct answer: Splash pages suck. Usually containing zero content, all they do is put one more click between your homepage and real content.
It’s true, pictures are prettier than content. While this may be the foundation of a terrific billboard, content is king on the web and that splash pages will kill your site traffic, and close the doors to the search engines. Whatever you do, don’t let your graphic designer make your homepage useless!
3. What browsers do you code for?
Correct answer: We perform multiple cross-browser testing on multiple platforms.
Safari, while a respectable browser, has only the thinnest share of browser usage. Believe it or not Internet Explorer is still on top of the heap. Cross-browser coding is the only sure way to know that your website will look just as good on a Mac as it will on your client’s PC no matter what browser flavor they prefer. Minimum testing should be done for IE and Firefox.
4. Can I use Edwardian Script for my headlines?
Correct answer: Yes, but I would highly recommend against it.
There must be more than a zillion font faces to choose from, but web browsers can only display a handful of them. Everything else has to be displayed graphically–yes a picture of text. This can be okay used sparingly, but deadly if all your headlines or most of your site’s body copy is displayed graphically. Until search engine robots learn how to read text inside of an image (which will be never) all that content is wasted on them. There are technologies like sIFR that can help display more fonts, but they require technical skills above what the average graphic designer has.
5. Will you put monotabs on my site?
Correct answer: Uh… you mean meta tags?
Yes, it’s a trick question. You can ask this one first if you want to make the phone call really short. And by the way, meta tags store information about your site that the search engines use to understand your business. Yes, they should be on your site, but they should be thoroughly researched by someone who knows search engine optimization before they are published on your site.
About the author: Jeune Ortiz is VP of Marketing and Creative Director at future-ink. With more than 20 years of experience in graphic design and marketing, Jeune brings extensive knowledge and creativity to each website and internet marketing solution to grow your business.
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