From your experience, what is the most important thing when selecting a design firm or freelancer? I have had some bad experiences with freelancers, but mostly I am interested in responsiveness, compitent designers, and deadlines! What are your thoughts?
My advice would be to make sure your designer talks about creating a search engine friendly site using clean code & CSS, adhering to google webmaster guidelines. If he/she mentions javascript or frames, run a mile! I had a bad experience due to my own lack of knowledge, and trusting the limited knowledge of others. As a result, I've started learning the basics myself, so that I don't get duped again. I've now found an excellent design company who tick all the boxes in terms of apealing graphic design, clean site design & superb SEO results- big relief! Good luck