Here are some questions that need answering before you embark on this quest.

1, Why do you need a website?

Is your company of a certain size. Do all your competitors have one? Are your products such that web exposure would help e.g. An extreme example would be if you are a newspaper vendor located outside a station then I would suggest that having a website would not do much for your business.

2, How big does the website need to be?

This is an area where many people seem to think that size is important! I have been on far too many websites that have numerous pages which do not really do anything. They do not promote the company or its products/services but just meander around talking about nothing in particular.

I would suggest that for most people something like 5 pages would be sufficient and a lot cheaper. Make sure that all your links are in one position and not all over the place. You really don't want to confuse the people exploring your site.

There is a certain school of thought which believes that if you have thousands of pages then the search engines will think that you are important and will rank you accordingly. I have seen little evidence of this and would strongly recommend that you keep the number of pages to a minimum and relevant in content.

A clear simple design is much more effective than a complicated design where the message is unclear or perhaps lost.
An example of this might be when you are looking for a hotel or B&B on the web. If, like me, you have spent much time on this you will know that you want to find something quickly that is adequate for your purposes. This may depend on how long you want to stay somewhere but even so you only have a limited time to look.

I have found hotel or B&B websites where I have been unable to see photos of the rooms, can't find prices and am unable to book except online.
There have been virtual tours of the restaurant or the grounds, sample menus and extremely complicated contact details but not the information I WANT.
You must have a clear concept of the site from a marketing point of view or you are likely to spend a lot of money with little return.

I will be perfectly honest and state that I get 95% of my business from referrals. I have tried other marketing techniques but find that most businesses are so deluged with sales people telling them that they have the next best thing that eventually people just close their minds to marketing and selling techniques.
I am also happy for prospective customers to talk to my customers in fact, I actually insist on it.

There is also an issue with website content. Who is going to write it. You may not be able to write good copy and most designers can't either so the best rule of thumb is to keep it short and simple.

If you are wanting a logo or artwork / photographs for the website then you may have to allow for additional cost.

3, It must have functionality

What do I mean by functionality? Basically, its how you find what you are looking for when arriving at a website. How many times have you got to a website which has a lot of fancy design and special effects and then can't find such basic things as contact details or pricing on a product or service. Many have links all over the place but they still don't get you where you want to go. Studies have been undertaken that show people will give up on a website that takes more than three clicks to get to the right place. There is also the question of download time. Some sites that are based on 'Flash' design take too long to download. When designing a site you must assume that some people are still working with dial-up speeds so that any images must be optimised for quick download. A lot of these points seem to be blindingly obvious but still there are many sites that do not follow these simple techniques. I have had more than one 'techy' web designer say to me that my sites were very simple - they mean this in a derogatory way - but I thank them, pleased that I have achieved my aim!

4, How do you choose a website designer?

I have seen a lot of 'home made' websites either designed by the company owner or his wife's aunt etc. In general, they are poor in many ways and even when using a template they do not look good. Please remember that a poorly designed website reflects on your products and services. When choosing a website designer have a look at his other sites and see if you like his work. Alternatively, find some websites on the net that you like the look of and ask him if he can base his design on them.

It is worth noting that a good website designer is not necessarily a good optimiser. He may feel that he needs to tell you that he understands it but this may not be true. You may have to allow a budget for two jobs as some companies will claim to do both but have no idea really about optimising.

You should not really have to pay more than about £1,000 for a decent website design of  5 pages unless you are needing a database driven website or one that uses e-commerce. I don't propose to go into any detail about these types of sites except that more often than not they do not need to be either.

Speak to his customers. This way you can find out how long he takes to design the website - some take months. How responsive he is to the customer and what his after sales service is like. Also, whether the cost was excessive.

Try to get your designer to commit to a total price up front otherwise he/she may charge you by the hour and the final charge could be horrific. Likewise, the designer will be concerned about you changing your mind all the time regarding the design and will therefore be unwilling to commit to a total cost upfront. This is understandable and I have been there!

The most important thing that you can do before you appoint a designer is to get a very clear idea about what you want and maybe even do rough layouts and copy for him/her. This way it enables them to have a clear idea about what you require and should mean that they can give you a firm price, subject to any additional changes you might think of. He/she may then be able to add input. But don't be seduced by having lots of nice dynamics and pretty effects. These are usually totally unnecessary as you have a about 10 seconds of a potential clients time when they arrive at your site. These effects can interfere with the optimising process too.

In fact, this site goes against many of the criteria required for a website because it is intended primarily as a reference rather than a selling tool.

5, Choosing a website optimiser

This is easy really. Ask him for references of sites and search terms that he has achieved in the past - check them - see if they are relevant. Speak to his customers and see what they say. Finally, see what he/she charges.

6, References

If a designer can't provide at least three references then forget it. Most people are happy with their websites even if they are badly designed so providing references should be a doddle.