Choosing the Right Web Design Agency

If you’re intending to have a website built for the first time or to have your existing website redesigned then it’s important you choose the right web design agency to help create your ideal online presence. The company will most likely be working for you for a while, at least a couple of months, so it’s essential that they understand your business, interpret your ideas accurately, and that you feel you can have a strong working relationship with them. If this is your first time hiring a web design company, then hopefully the guide below will help you to make the best choice....

Where do you start?

Personal recommendations are always a good place to start so if you have any friends or business contacts that have recently had a new website designed, ask them who they used any if they were happy with the work done and the service received. Even if they give a negative report of the company they used then it helps you to rule them out.

Do a little internet research of your own using directories and search engines. Firstly, you should decide if you want to work with a local company or a national agency, and this really comes down to whether you would prefer to deal with your agency face-to-face or if you’re comfortable liaising by phone and email. If you would prefer to sit down with your agency for updates on a regular basis then a local agency would be more suitable. To find web design companies in your area try performing a location-specific search in Google. For example if you’re based in Harrogate try searching for ‘web design Harrogate’.   If you’re happy to take more of a backseat role, receiving your updates by phone and email then it doesn’t matter where your agency are located – searching for ‘web design’ in Google will bring up a list of suitable companies.

Establish areas of expertise

When you find an agency that you like the look of, ask them if they specialise in certain industry areas or types of website design. A lot of the bigger agencies will cover every type of website and will work for companies in any industry but some of the smaller agencies may specialise in, for example, websites for the property industry or who have strong experience in flash animation or content management systems. Which company you choose depends on your personal requirements. If you want a company who truly understands your industry and business then you might want to opt for one that has previous experience in your area. Always ask for a list of websites and previous work which they have carried out so you can then assess the standard of work they provide.

Extra services

Some web design agencies you speak to may have other departments offering additional online services such as search engine optimisation, copywriting or usability. It is likely that you will need to use these services at some point so it’s advisable to work with a multi-service agency. If you are new to the area of online marketing then make some enquires about how these services can benefit your business. You will certainly need some help with optimising your website so that it can capture more potential customers through search engines. Very briefly, search engine optimisation (SEO) is concerned with optimising your website for key words or phrases that people type into then search engines to find businesses like yours.  For example if you offered a web design service in Harrogate and you wanted to attract potential customers you would optimise your website for ‘web design Harrogate’.

Make sure that before you make your decision, you get quotes from at least three different companies so that you can compare the level of service, expertise and what you can get for your budget.