I am visiting to assume that you just are like the general public I do know in business (and life!) and are therefore faced with the challenge of constructing the proper decisions, relatively quickly, and in an informed manner. When it involves choosing an online design company to style or re-design your website, you may not have time for plenty of meetings, but in a perfect world, you must probably try and meet with two or three different web design companies. Use the six steps below to guide you in making an informed decision that’s right for your business:
- Create a shortlist of potential web design firms.
- Spend a while watching their portfolios
- Meet them and see if you prefer them
- Confirm they understand business (not just a way to build a website)
- Do they understand the way to target customers?
- Make a final decision about their proposal and prices.
1. Create a shortlist of potential web design firms.
We suggest you initially ask around for recommendations, (fire off a fast email to all or any of your contacts!) and Yell.com for web design companies within your area. Consider how far are you ready to travel if you wish to travel to their office for a gathering. (NB. A pair of our clients take a 3-hour trip – but they assert it’s worthwhile to be working with us!) When searching on Google, you may try trying to find “web design company Surrey” or try and narrow your search with adjectives that are important to you, i.e. “Beautiful web design Surrey” or “florist web design Guildford.” In any case, you’ll have many to decide on from, so you will simply undergo the results one-by-one until you’ve got two or three that appear as if they might be the proper web design company for you. How does one do this?
2. Spend it slow gazing at their portfolios.
Any web design company worth handling should wear their own website, a well-presented portfolio of their clients’ websites. Spend your time browsing through these. Ask yourself if you discover those websites appealing, and easy to navigate they guide you to big information easily. Is there effective use of color, typefaces, images, and other elements? Does one think they need to be done an honest job for his or her previous/existing clients, and have they worked for any clients in an exceedingly similar market to you?
Once you’ve got a shortlist supported by the simplest portfolios, choosing the correct web design company for your business is approached swiftly and intelligently using these key points to guide you:
3. Meet them and see if you prefer them!
We have over one client who came to us after bad experiences with their previous web design company, bringing me swiftly on to a really important point: Don’t work with someone you have got never met. Some web designers solely communicate with web design San Antonio via email. It just doesn’t work. Establishing an honest face-to-face rapport, which may be continued by telephone (and email likewise of course!), is important to assemble a productive and enjoyable account. You would like to possess good, open, honest communication together with your company in order that you get exactly what you would like, and perhaps even have some fun along the way.
4. Ensure they understand business (not just a way to build a website)
Modern, successful web design, (be it by one person or an enormous agency), will encompass the subsequent three disciplines: 1. Business, 2. Creative and 3. Technical expertise. This is the Magic 3; keep an eye out for them! You wish to be ready to talk business together with your web design company, and for them to know and make suggestions supported their experience. Their graphic design and technical ability should be clearly visible on their portfolio – you wish to form sure all three boxes are ticked.
5. Do they understand a way to target customers?
Although some web design companies concentrate on designing surely sorts of business, you’ll probably have the benefit of working with a corporation whose client base is varied. Their experience working with such differing briefs and target audiences can bring plenty to the table (I’m talking clever ideas here – not a plate of biscuits).
6. Make a final decision about their proposal and prices.
Having met with the online design companies you ought to have already got a decent idea of who goes to deliver what you would like and be good to figure with, but there’s a final stage during this process. Following your meeting, you may receive the written proposal (a final chance to make sure that this company understands your needs and is ready to fulfill them), together with a quote. The quote should be detailed (for example, so you’ll clearly see what quantity of time is allocated to the planning, and coding of the site). A way to make the ultimate decision? If you’ll afford it, simply come with the online design company that best meets your needs (based on all of the suggestions during this blog post).
In these uncertain times, where the web is becoming more important than ever for purchasing decisions, your business must be represented by a gorgeous, usable, informative website that appeals to your audience. So why not start today? Otherwise, you could put it off ’til later – you have got nothing to lose but customers…!
Odyssey Design Co specialize in website design and development that help businesses achieve an efficient online presence by providing user-focused design, Blogs, content management systems and e-commerce websites.