Choosing the right web design agency for your business is a major and difficult decision.
There are literally thousands of web design agencies out there, and finding the right one for your business and the right people who can understand what you do and what you need from your website isn’t as simple as plucking a business from the first result of a Google search.
In fact, a simple Google search for web design agencies can throw up millions of results.
Stopping and sifting through that many results isn’t something anybody wants to do.
So, how do you know who the right person for the job is, and how do you find the right web designer?
This post will provide some tips on choosing the right web design agency and getting the results you need.
Table of Contents
Tip #1: Know Your Needs
Before embarking on your search for a web design agency, it’s crucial to understand your business needs first.
By having a clear vision of your requirements, you’ll be better equipped to guide your chosen agency toward meeting your expectations.
- Are you looking for an ecommerce website to sell products?
- Do you want a website that allows online bookings or people to make subscription accounts? Do you know how many pages you need?
- Do you have a competitor to use as a benchmark for inspiration or ideas of what you don’t want?
Whilst it may seem a little bit daunting to know the answers to these questions yourself, you need to have a rough idea of exactly what the website needs to do for your business, as this will enable your chosen web design company to have a base to work from so they can understand if they can meet your needs and exactly what direction to take the design.
Tip #2: Look at Previous Website Projects
Once you have your shortlist of web designers or you start looking at the websites of the various web design agencies to choose from, you need to look at their previous work.
Reputable web design agencies like Creative Web will want to boast about the people they have worked with and the websites they have designed, so finding examples of previous websites won’t be too difficult.
You need to look at the website’s style and design and do some digging.
- Do you like how this website makes you feel as a user, and is it giving you a positive user experience?
- Does the website load quickly?
- Are there any noticeable errors that you can see, and is it internally optimized for SEO?
A useful tip here is to use Google Lighthouse, a tool that provides a comprehensive report on a website’s performance and SEO within Chrome. It is really easy to use and can give you more information than simply browsing the website alone. By using Google Lighthouse, you can get a detailed analysis of the website’s speed, SEO, and overall performance, which can be crucial in evaluating a web design agency’s work.
Tip #3: Read Testimonials
Again, good web designers like Creative Web will want to shout about how amazing their previous workers are, and this means that they will be prominently displaying any reviews and testimonials from previous clients. So, while it’s an excellent idea to see if their website has reviews or testimonials, you also need to consult independent sites.
Google My Business, Trustpilot, etc, are all great places to start when doing your research to find out what actual users thought of this service. Let’s be honest: it is really easy to fake quotations and post them on a website, and you do not want to rely on this alone.
You can also take a quick look at the social media profiles of web designers or design agencies. Have previous customers given them ratings online, or have people left comments? Is there any negativity around these social media accounts? This can be a really eye-opening experience and help give you a better overview of what the company will be like to work with.
Tip #4: Talk to Them
Not everyone is well-versed in web design speak, terminology and lingo, etc. In fact, most business owners will have less than a basic understanding of how a website actually works.
Talking to any companies you shortlist can be a great way to find out what it will be like to form a working relationship with them, how they respond to your requests, and exactly what you need.
You want a web design agency that breaks down its processes and uses clear, understandable language that anybody can understand, regardless of their knowledge or skill level in website building.
Anyone who is too vague or won’t break it down into a step-by-step process and tell you exactly how they do what they do and when they do it, as well as does not give approximate timelines, likely has something to hide. This won’t be reflective of a productive working relationship to get you the website that you need, so you should avoid them at all costs.
Talk to them about their approach to SEO and ask about UX, which is user experience. While you can go to different people or agencies to build a website and the user experience, if you can find one who can design and build a stunning website, it’s going to be easy for you in the long run. Your website not only needs to be functional, but it also needs to be nice to look at.
Tip #5: Do They Understand Your Business
It is really important, as a small business, to find a professional who can build a website that is beneficial to your industry. Not all websites are the same or even should be the same, and different types of businesses will have different needs.
You need to make sure that the people you hire understand what you do and what you need, and can incorporate this into the web design to give you a bespoke website that delivers everything you need and more.
For instance, a web design agency that understands your business might suggest specific features or design elements tailored to your industry or ask insightful questions about your target audience and business objectives.
