When you are seeking a web designer you'll come across two kinds of people, The Graphics Artist and The Web Developer. They are both web designers but they approach the process from 2 very different but equally important points of view. Each have their Pros-n-Cons so you'll have to decide between how your site looks and how your site works. Appearance vs. functionality.

Lets take a look at the 2 sides.

The Graphics Artist is a professional within the graphic arts and design industries that assembles images and/or motion graphics together to form a piece of work. They have traditionally worked in the world of print and as such deal with the visual layout of a page or piece of work. They are experts in creating the perfect image. How your site looks. What you can expect from a graphics artist are logo creation, flash enabled sites, and robust creative images.

The Web Developer is a software developer or engineer who specializes in the development of web applications or distributed network applications that are run over an intranet. They traditionally have worked with web based scripting languages as well as traditional computer programming languages. They are experts in manipulating data and creating interactive web applications.

How your site works. What you can expect from a web developer are content management sites, customized e-commerce solutions, and database driven websites.

Now if you can combine the efforts of the two sides you should be able to achieve the goals you layout for your website. So if you can get a graphics artist to create an explosive template for your website you should be able to find a web developer to add all the functionality your site will need. To be sure you're getting the right web designer for your site ask to see a portfolio of their work.