posted by Mark

In the last post, we looked at why it is so hard to choose a quality web design firm in Dubai, and how it can be difficult for businesses to tell what they are really getting for their money, given that so many web design samples look the same.

Even so, those samples aren't a bad place to start.

Regardless of whether you've come in contact with a design firm by way of referral, a search engine, or some other method, a quick peek through their portfolio should be your first step. Don't simply click on the images; have a close look at each one to see if there are any particular features, stylistic preferences, or tendencies that jump out at you.

Once you've done that, it's not a bad idea to take a look at the "portfolio behind the portfolio." What are we talking about? All of the things that aren't on the web pages you see, but that can be inferred from them: like how many clients the firm has, how recent the samples are, which industries they tend to work in, and who has been happy enough to write a testimonial about the designer’s work. By thinking about the samples in this way, rather than just checking to see if they "look good" or not, you can start to get strong clues as to what kind of work you can expect.

Although, as part of this process, I should point out a common mistake that many prospective clients make: looking for sites that are exactly like the ones they want to end up with – in other words, similar sites from the same industry, or having the exact type of layout you are planning to use. It's amazing how many clients fall for this trap; it's like going to a photographer and expecting them to have a picture of you on the wall already. It isn't important that your prospective designer have exactly the kind of site you want in their portfolio. What does matter is that they have worked on a variety of projects, and that you like the overall feel and professionalism shown in their samples.

While there are a lot of obvious and not so obvious pieces of information you can get from a web design firm’s portfolio, you're still going to have to dig a lot deeper. In the next couple of posts, we are going to show you how…