If you think for one minute that you can get away with employing a web design company that offers cheap web design packages then you are putting your business ain the hand of a bunch of amateurs and risk failure.
Finding the right web designer to handle your website design project is not as easy as it would seem, so following are a few questions you should be asking yourself before making a commitment and signing that web contract.
Does their website look professional?
This might seem like a no brainer but a web designers’ website will give you a clear idea of the future type of work you are likely to get. I have seem some sites by web designers that look absolutely disgraceful and I have also seen some website design, that have that professional edge – knwowing the difference between the two is essential when is comes to choosing your designer.
This is the first test of the type of company you should go with. If their own site looks unprofessional, cheap and budget focused then chances are your website will go down this path. In today’s competitive online world this is very dangerous as your site MUST BE BETTER than your competitors. Go the extra mile and get the site handled by a web design team who is capable of delivering a superior online product for your business. Going with an agency purly based on price is a real disaster waiting to happen. Why? Cause I see the outcomes of this all the time by businesses who have tried to save a few dollars on the web design process.
Do you like their portfolio of work?
Looking at a web designers past work is a great way to see who you will be dealing with. It is a glimpse into their past and will highlight their work ethic and skill set. If you like what you see, then that’s a great sign.
If nothing wows or excites you, then it’s time to move on. Look at websites that are in a similar industry to yours and look at the way that the creative visuals were carried. Taking the time now to do the necessary explorative research on your web designer will save you any chance of being overly disappointed later on.
Will they lock you into a CMS Platform?
Many web companies will not tell you that they are locking you into their proprietary content management system platform. Be sure to find out if your CMS platform, is open source or proprietary. This WILL save you big hassles later on, when issues such as web amends and hosting come up. try to go with an open source platforms like: WordPress, Joomla or Magento. Please never be fooled into signing up to a web contract where you have to pay a monthly fee for the content management system – it's a massive rip off!
Would you trust them?
Ask them difficult questions. After all, you are trusting them with your business – A few good questions are:
– will any of this work be out sourced or off shored OR is it all done in house?
– are there any hidden fees or extras that I need to know about?
– can you provide me with a list of past clients that I can talk to about your work
– can you rank my website on Google? If you found your web designer online ask them about their own Google rankings – after all they SHOULD be able to rank their own website. SEO and web design are the 2 key elements that are going to help your business grow – so be really on top of this point and don't settle for anything other than the best. That is a company with a solid background in both web and SEO.
– what CMS platform will my website be designed on and are there any monthly fees associated with this?
– how many rounds of changes do they allow for each stage of the web process?
– who owns the intellectual property – images, copy, graphics, web files etc etc
Do the web designers have the necessary capabilities?
It is so important that your web designer is able to handle and produce on your sites main objectives.
If for example you are after a sales focused and conversion driven website, you need to align yourself with a designer that can show you past websites that they have been able to achieve great results for. Did the site have a positive return on investment?
Also, if your web platform requires the implementation of a more in depth and complicated design style or development process such as responsive or mobile phone web design, then make sure that your web developer is able to facilitate this, backed up fully by past results, that you can see.
Over the phone promises just don’t cut it any more. There must be actual proof backed up by facts.
Choosing the right web designer might be a demanding procedure, but the following above points should help you out and help you make the right decision for your business.
Be sure to have a chat with an experienced web designer at Hopping Mad Designs – call 02 9360 8514.