This is the first of a series of articles on Questions to Ask Your Web Designer.

Whether you are looking to have a website built, or you are already working with a web designer on a project, here are some specific and critical questions to ask that should help your organization assess your designer’s experience, professionalism and know-how:

Question 1: Are you familiar with web standards?

This question is very important to ask because it will tell you how much experience the designer really has. If they are dedicated to seeking industry-standards and continuing to be educated about new technologies, they will use web standards in their design. It is also important for maintaining websites as well as usability. If you find a designer who is unaware of web standards – or feels they are unimportant – the designer is likely to be an amature.

I spoke with a web designer whose response to, “Do you use web standards?” was avoided and eventually noted that web standards were not necessarily needed. It was obvious that he didn’t know what I was talking about.

The correct response should be something along the lines of: “Yes, I code valid XHTML and CSS.” They might also ask you if you are talking about accessibility. If they can code pages that are accessible it shows they understand the web standards movement.

Read Dustin Brewer’s response to ‘Why Web Standards Are Important’ >

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