How to Choose a Web Design Company

So, how do you choose a web design company to build you a website?

Your first step is to load up your preferred search engine and begin searching away. Grab a list of many web designers in your area and have a look at their own website. Do you like the site overall? Is it responsive? Does it look like something you’re looking for? It doesn’t have to be exactly what you’re looking for as the company should be able to cater to your own designs. However, if it doesn’t look good or work how you’d want it to, then chances are they’re not going to be able to provide you with the responsive website you’re looking for.
Not only can you look at the websites of the web design companies but look at sites they’ve created for previous clients to get an overall picture of the quality of work they produce. They might have even created websites for a company that is similar to yours. If you’re still unsure, why not look at websites from businesses in your own trade and get a list of the companies who made them.
Now you’ve got a large list of web design companies that you think could be the right fit for you, it’s time to get in contact and schedule meetings with them to discuss your website project.

Questions to ask a Web Design Company

Finding potential web design companies is the easy step, having meetings with them all can make the process even harder than you originally thought. Because a good website is vital to your success, there are so many factors you need to consider and questions that you’ll need answers to.

You need to know your budget. Ask your prospective web design companies to provide you with a quote for the website you want creating. Ask them what’s included within the quote for example, whether hosting and management is included or if you’ll have to pay extra fees for this. Make sure that this quote is within your budget. If it isn’t then there might be a bit of wiggle room or you’ll have to renegotiate what features your website can possess within your budget.
What content management system do you use? Once the website has been created, it’s yours and naturally, you’re going to want to explore features and add to it such as extra content or extra products that you may have available. Does the web design agency allow you to make changes yourself or does everything have to go through them? Web design agencies should have experience in working with a few different content management systems and they should easily be able to tell you the pros and cons of all of them.
Do you have experience with websites in my industry? Having previously worked in your field, a web design company will be able to show you examples and give you a good insight into your project quickly and efficiently. On the other hand, if they haven’t and they’re willing to work on your project, it shows versatility and they can provide fresh ideas that haven’t been done before.
Do you consider user experience? User experience is key to a good website. A good website company will be able to clearly explain to you how they make their website user-friendly and at the centre of their design. A website may look great but if it isn’t user-friendly, then it’s not a good website.
What steps are involved in the project? This is a very important question that you should ask web design companies. An experienced web agency will be able to quickly and efficiently explain all the steps involved in the making of your website including giving you a rough estimate of how long it will take to complete.
Can I meet your team? A web design company that does everything in-house is always the best way forward. You don’t want to hire a company that will outsource each part of the project to different companies as one complete team will be able to communicate with each other quickly and efficiently which results in a smoother process for you.
What happens if we want to make changes upon project completion? You may want a dynamic website that will need to be updated frequently with content, events, products etc. The web design company should give you a tutorial on how to use and make updates to your website.
Do you provide ongoing support and digital marketing? A lot of effort goes into making a website, but it shouldn’t end there. Websites don’t automatically gain the attraction you desire; this comes from digital marketing strategies such as SEO. If the web design company offer these services, you can be sure that your new website is delivering the results you want. Additionally, many web design companies will provide you with maintenance and support for a monthly fee.

When asking these questions, listen carefully to their responses as this is key. Do they seem confident and knowledgeable in the responses they give you? Or do they struggle to give you a clear answer and change the subject to trick you into thinking you got a good answer? Or maybe they seem nervous because they are unable to answer your questions. Also, pay close attention to how they interact with you. Are they polite and friendly and listen to your every word? Websites are a big investment and you will have a long-term commitment to the web design company, so you don’t want a relationship with someone you don’t like.

Choosing your Web Design Company

You’ve scouted around for potential web design companies and had meetings with the companies that had good prospects and now it’s time to decide. Making the right decision is crucial as a website could be the turning point for your business and ensure that it’s a huge success within your industry. Don’t be afraid to arrange second meetings and ask more questions as you need to be completely sure about your decision.

Ultimately, you can get advice and recommendations from others, but you should choose the web design company that you feel is the right fit for you.

southcoastweb is an Experienced Web Design Company

Here at southcoastweb, we are a web design company that can provide web design, development and SEO services across the UK. We know what it takes to be a good web design company through over 20 years of experience and with fantastic teams that implement the latest web design trends.

We make sure that all our clients get the best website possible for their needs, their business and their budget as we understand how much a website can impact a business.

If you want the perfect website for your company, then call southcoastweb on 01202 665855 and we will lay out a web design strategy for you today!