Im currently for a reasonable, experienced, webdesign for my company's website. Any recommendations and past experienced is always a plus. Any advise would greatly appriciated.

Yes... make sure they know how to and do code in a standards based fashion. Take a look at their previous work no matter what they answer, and make sure standards are in use.

Racksurfer -

I would agree with niemie, but also add that make sure that they are reliable. I have had more problems in the past year with designers than I ever have. They say that they will get something done by a certain date and either it never comes or they vanish. I DO NOT pay them anything until the project is completed. I have been burned a couple times and refuse to do it again. Most of them understand and we have a great working relationship. I have one company that does some design for me and they have been with me for 3 years and are wonderful.


Good luck!

Aaron

Thank you niemie, Aaron for your reply. Do you have any recommendations on a company?

Are you looking to hire one on a monthly basis or on an as needed basis? Also, what kind of budget are you thinking?


Once I hear about that stuff, then I might be able to push you in the right direction.


Aaron

Needed basis only. Anywhere from $100-$3000. Thanks again.

Are you looking for someone local or can it be remote? If you are looking to spend that little amount of money, you may be best with a free-lance web designer rather than a large company. I know a guy that is quite knowledgable and looking for business.

If you want to PM me, I can see about getting you guys in touch to see if he can help you.

I'll just reiterate what's already been said. Probably the two most important things to cover during an interview are:

1) Viewing some of their code. Check out how clean, organized and intelligently put together it is. If this is something you wouldn't know on sight, bring someone in with you who would.

2) Present them with a project that you already know how long will take to complete and ask them how long it would take them. If they're answer is much longer than yours, they're probably not as experienced as they may claim. If it's much shorter, they may just be telling you what they think they want to hear. In this case it could be unlikely that they'll actually bring it in on time. That's something you'd need to gauge for yourself. Each developer is different.

In any case, I'd say to start them on something as small as possible so that you don't get to in over your head with them too quickly.

Yes... make sure they know how to and do code in a standards based fashion. Take a look at their previous work no matter what they answer, and make sure standards are in use.
and get them to comment stuff or reference their work, esp with css

Personally I do most work myself, but lately we have started to hire designers from: http://getafreelancer.com - while this is not a totally perfect system, it gives you the opportunity to check people out before you accept anyone for your project.

This site allows people to bid on your project based on your criteria, and has a feedback rating system as well. As mentioned above, I also do not recommend paying anyone in advance, as there is a good possibility you could get burned.

Getafreelancer offers a free escrow service where you can deposit the funds, and only release it upon completion of the project. You can ask questions before you accept someone, and ask them for references. I really like the feedback system, as it gives you more assurance that you are dealing with someone who is reliable & honest.

The feedback system is good, but does have some flaws. I normally check the users feedback out well, as I have found some characters who likely have their friends leave feedback for them. Usually this is pretty obvious, because they have like 100 positive feedbacks from the same person.

I clearly state in my project details exactly what I want, and the terms and conditions, and so far it has been a fairly good experience. Most of the bids are from overseas providers, who often are willing to do the work for much less than you would normally pay. There are other similar sites, but this is the only one I have had any experience with. Just a suggestion. :)

zwolf - thanks for that recommendation, I'm going to try getafreelancer.com myself :)

Racksurfer -

I would agree with niemie, but also add that make sure that they are reliable. I have had more problems in the past year with designers than I ever have. They say that they will get something done by a certain date and either it never comes or they vanish. I DO NOT pay them anything until the project is completed. I have been burned a couple times and refuse to do it again. Most of them understand and we have a great working relationship. I have one company that does some design for me and they have been with me for 3 years and are wonderful.


Good luck!

Aaron

Sounds like every problem you have could have been solved with a written contract. If you didn't get one of those and these people agree to work without payment until delivery then you're probably dealing with amateurs.

As a design/developer I have been burned too. Of course my attorney earned his %, but it's hard to jump into a project without a deposit.
An escrow service not only for payment, but for the work is also important. A written contact is a definite MUST.

I do somewhat agree with ubersmith_boo (http://webhostingtalk.com/member.php?u=2611) but most who seek a designer won't necessarily know one or understand the code. I could be wrong. I personally don't charge per hour. And what takes longer/shorter amount of time for one designer or another doesn't make them better or worse at what they do. There are of course signs to pick up on, but honestly IMO the best way to judge a designer/developer is to view/test their work and speak with them.

Always protect yourself, but understand that one designer will be better skilled to meet your needs than another. Not because they're better than the rest, but because they're better than the rest for your needs.

I've seen high schools students do amazing things for $500 that you couldn't get from a established design company for less than $10k. Seriously!
Hope that helps, best of wishes.