Stylistic Web Design posted in Web Design on 16 May 2011
When you are looking to take your business online or overhaul your existing website you want to ensure you are working with a web design company that can translate your offline idea’s into an online result.
We think there are two very important factors to consider when choosing the right company. Are they a cool web design company and are they a professional web design company? They are often one or the other but are rarely both and being equal measures of cool and professional are very important in web design!
When choosing the right web design company, you should take the following points into consideration:
· Do you like their website?
A web design business should wear their heart on their website sleeve. Is the website well designed, impressive, easy to navigate, does it tell you who they are and what they do?
· Do you like their portfolio of websites?
It is important that you like what you see from the work they have produced. From here you can see what their design capabilities are and potentially gain some ideas for your own design and function needs.
· Do you like the people?
It’s always a good idea to meet the designers in person as much as possible. If you want to ensure you’re web design project is a success, you need to be comfortable and confident about the people you’re working with. There needs to be regular, open communication between you and your web design company so that you are all working together to reach your desired outcome of a functional, visually impressive and working website.
· Are you ready to commit?
For you to truly get an outstanding website you also need to be prepared to put in the work too. Firstly it is important that you make your requirements clear and precise, if the website designers are given the wrong impression from the outset this can seriously push back the start and finish points. Being up front from the outset is also vital for an accurate quote to be submitted; once agreed you commit to their service and the design and development process can begin.
· What is the timeline?
Together you and your web design team will come up with a reasonable timeline for the work to be completed and for your site to go live. The web design team will build in to this reasonable time for you to give feedback at various stages in the process. If you unexpectedly delay your responses to the design company, it is important to keep in mind that any delay on your part will push back the completion dates.
· Are they all about the design?
The ability to be a good designer is a given when looking for a web design company but this is only one important aspect of building and publishing a website. Do they offer a 360° service? You can get different services from other providers but it is often more proactive and beneficial to use one company for your entire Internet needs, it will make life simpler and more cost effective. Ideally you want to look at a web design business that can provide you with design & redesign, hosting, domains, ecommerce, brand identity, search engine optomisation (SEO), social media management, copy writing, content management system (CMS), flash, email marketing, programming and maintenance.
· Do they know what they’re talking about?
When you make contact, do they communicate their skill, experience and knowledge well, do they instil you with confidence? This is a major decision for you; you are trusting these people to translate your service / product / business onto the Internet through images, graphics, content whilst using their programming, development and marketing skills. It is vital that you are confident the people you choose to represent your brand online are up to the job.
· Do they have a good reputation?
One of the best ways to choose a web design company is referral. Ask around to find out if there are any that people recommend, check out their site, check out the sites they have worked on and if you like what you hear and see get in touch. It is important to build a relationship with your web design company so the whole process runs smoothly. A web design company doesn’t have to be on your doorstep for you to build a positive and productive working relationship. Working with a web design company that is nearby would certainly be a bonus but the most important aspect for any successful website development and launch is relationship.
Here’s the key points you want to bear in mind when meeting or speaking with your designer.
· Design
· Functionality
· Graphics
· Timeline
· SEO
· Hosting
· Maintenance
· Marketing
A well established web company will often be able to offer you different feature options and have lower cost options in place to enable you to display a well designed, functional website on a more restricted budget. Talk to your web design people before you run screaming for the hills when you get the quote, there’s often changes that can be made to still give you what you want that also make tweaks to the price!
When you work with a web design company you’re really choosing another member of your team, so you want to make sure that they’re the right fit.
Work with your web design company and they will work with you to ensure you get the best website your money can buy.
If you want to work with a cool and professional web design company that ticks all of the above boxes then contact the Stylistic Web Design team; we’re here to help.
