in Misc

6 Tips for Choosing the Best Web Design Company for Your Business

There’s nothing quite like undertaking a web design project (especially for a business). There are so many aspects to take into consideration that it’s easy for brands to feel overwhelmed (especially small business owners). 

 

Designing, building, and maintaining a quality business website requires lots of work (and plenty of skill – as well as time). The time aspect is one of the main reasons why most businesses contract their web design needs out to qualified firms. Most businesses (especially smaller companies) simply don’t have the time (or resources) to hire an in-house web design team. 

However, hiring a web design company for business sites can be a bit more involved than one might think. Whatever you do, you certainly should not just go with the first agency you find (and definitely not the first one that cold calls you). 

Web design agencies are as varied as any other type of business. They can provide excellent service, or they can completely ruin your chances of building a high-quality website. Keep the following aspects in mind when looking for a web design firm to hire for your business. Have a Complete Understanding of Your Project’s Requirements 

The worst thing that you could do when hiring a web design company is to not know what you want. This doesn’t mean answering with a vaguely described website either. Rather, this means knowing the specific design details, the colors, the layout, etc. that you want your website to have. 

Knowing all the details of your project will also help you choose an agency. Some agencies specialize in certain types of services (e.g. rebranding, redevelopment, overhauls, eCommerce, etc.). 

 

What Amount of Time Can You Devote to the Project?

The reason why most businesses contract their web design needs out to other companies is that they don’t have the time (or skill) to do it themselves. However, even when you hire an agency to build your website for you, you’re still going to need to have time to review the work, call the agency, revise the designs, etc. 

 

Consider how much free time you and/or your web development team has to coordinate and communicate with the agency. If you cannot a lot a certain amount of time, it might be better to go with an agency that provides more of an all-in-one approach (to minimize any project management needs from your business’s own web team).

Consider Where Your Agency is Located

This is one aspect that’s often overlooked. Most small business owners want to save money, and one of the best ways to save money when it comes to internet services is by outsourcing work to foreign countries. However, before you hire an agency from another country, you need to consider how the time difference might affect your project’s development. 

 

Does your business have certain communication needs? Will your team need to be able to call the agency? Most businesses operate from 9:00 to 5:00 in the US, which is nighttime in most countries where outsourced work is sent. These are some basic things to think about before hiring a foreign web development firm. 

What Specific Services Does the Agency Offer?

Before signing any contract with a web design firm, you need to know exactly what you’re hiring them for, as well as what specific services they offer. Many firms aren’t one-stop shops, whereas others are. This is why thorough research is important when looking for a web design agency for your business site. 

Does the agency offer content creation/editing? What about on-page SEO work? Are there designs built for mobile devices? 

These are the types of questions you need to find the answers to before contracting any design agency to develop a website for your business. SEO should be considered an important part of any website build. 

Some designs aren’t optimized for SEO, which can end up costing businesses thousands in lost sales (from search traffic). Not designing with SEO as a priority will also mean that your business will need to hire another company to rebuild the design to incorporate standard SEO best practices. 

Mobile-First Design Should Be a Priority 

The mobile device question is especially important in 2020. The majority of internet users are browsing the web from their smartphones. Designing and building a website with a mobile-first attitude is required in 2020. 

People simply aren’t browsing from desktops anymore. So, if you find a web design agency for your physiotherapy website design or dentist website design that doesn’t design for mobile devices first, you should probably look for another company to do business with.

Bogdan

Bogdan is the founder of Top Design Magazine. You can find him in Bucharest-Romania so next time you want to drink a beer there and talk about web and stuff, give him a message.