How to choose a website design agency
Choosing a web design agency – it can be a tricky thing. Do you go for the first thing that comes up on Google, do you poll everyone you’ve ever met to see if they have any recommendations, or do you spend hours researching online for something you like the look of? After all, there’s a lot at stake – you’re probably looking at significant expenditure, and you want the job done right.
Well, to help point you in the right direction, here are a few things you might want to consider when choosing a website design agency to work with.
• Does the company have experience of building the kind of website I want? Check out their portfolio and see if anything catches your eye.
• Are their existing websites well thought out, easy to navigate, well designed, and appropriate to the client’s business sector? Visit one or two of the websites in their portfolio and see how attractive and easy to use you find them – bearing in mind that these sites have been designed with specific aims in mind which may not be the same as your aims.
• Does the company make an effort to understand my business, and the message I want to put across? Website design is all about communication – in order to build a site which communicates effectively with your target audience, an agency must first understand what your aims are.
• Can I speak personally to the designer who will be creating my site, or will I be kept at arm’s length by account managers? Communication is almost always improved by removing one step in the chain. This in turn improves the way the project runs from start to finish, for both parties.
• Can the designers come up with interesting and useful additions to my website which will help improve its performance; or offer ideas for my future needs?You shouldn’t be getting a pushy upsell, but some thoughtful suggestions indicate that they know what they’re talking about and have made the effort to understand your requirements.
• Are the designers able to confidently offer informed opinion/advice on aspects of website creation without forcing ideas or opinions upon you? Will they take your ideas and shape them into a website that really works for you, or will they bash you over the head with jargon until you concede to doing things their way?
• Do I believe that they are capable of building a site which will be ranked well by search engines, will pull in visitors, and will be able convert those visitors into customers, clients, investors etc?
It’s a complex decision, which in the end will most likely be based on a combination of factors such as the company’s portfolio of existing work, their apparent attitude to you and your project and your gut instinct on whether it will be a successful working relationship.
And if you’re still stuck, we happen to know of a website design agency which we think will check all the boxes… March 4th, 2009 / Tags: web design / Trackback
While they’re undoubtedly very nice portable bits of kit (I want one), they do have the disadvantage of causing the whole screen resolution/monitor size thing to raise its ugly head again. The situation was brought to my attention this week by a client viewing a new site build on his Asus Eee PC with a 10” screen. As far as he is concerned, the width is fine and the machine is so portable that you’ll put up with having to do a lot of scrolling. But with sales of netbooks estimated to top the 18 million mark this year - according to the Consumer Electronics Association - are we going to have to review the way we design?
