Things to Look for in a Designer

[This is part of a series on Website Design]

Some of the things to look for when choosing web designers are:

Are they recommended by others?
Do they have experience in designing the type of site you need/ want?
Do thay have a portfolio to look through of actual websites they have built?
Are they up to date? Are they using the newest techniques?
Are they recognized in their field or by peers in their industry?
Do they have clients similar to you?
Are they available, is time going to be an issue?
Do they provide support after your site is done? What if you need an update? How will this be handled?
Do they offer custom pricing? Can they put together a package just for you or do you have to buy a standard all in one package with parts you may not need?
Are they flexible? Are they willing to work with you to acheive your concept as you visualize it?