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What to look for in a web designer

Are you looking for a Web designer? Here are some things to look for:

Efficient code: look at how large the page code is, compared to how much content is on the page. You can do something simple like save similar pages by different people and see how big the files are. Some designers use outdated tools or techniques or are so hot on new technologies that they just waste bandwidth and make it hard to update the page later. CSS should generally be minimal — that is, not using different style names for the same effects, as some automated tools do — and not doing <span class="ParaBold1123412"> when "<B>" would accomplish the same thing.

Cross platform: your page should work well in Safari for Mac, Firefox for Mac and Windows, Internet Explorer 6, 7, and 8, and whatever else you can think of. Consider iPhone/iPad performance as well, though Safari for Mac is a good proxy for that.

Search engine placement: Weborial is admittedly not a model of this, but are keywords in the headings? Are there hidden description tags? Does the page avoid outright fraud in its search engine placement (e.g. does it avoid having white text on white backgrounds)?

Reliance on Flash. Avoid Flash. It's a power-sucking, dying technology; AJAX and other systems can usually replace it. Also, of course, you lose all those iPhone and iPad users.

There are some dead giveaways that your web designer has the wrong balance of programming and design, including css code embedded in each page instead of being stored in one or two separate files; javascript in the page that isn't used for anything but apparently was automatically spit out by some program; <span> tags everywhere; and the use of any Microsoft technology, particularly FrontPage. If they insist you get a Microsoft server, move on.

There are some good template based software packages which can eliminate the need for a designer, but one must be cautious with them as well, subjecting them to the above tets. If you do get Dreamweaver and go it alone, be sure to shut off the “Use CSS instead of HTML tags” option.