How To Choose A Web Design Company?
Do you want to create a new website? Improve the visibility of your existing website? Make more sales, increase your traffic, … Choosing a web design company is a very important step! Web design companies are general or specialized.
Choosing A Web Design Company
Here are our 8 criteria to know everything about how to choose your Best Web Design Company .
Determine the needs of your business.
Before starting your selection process to choose a web agency, it is important to define your expectations and your needs. All of this information will take the form of a document called specifications.
The latter will provide the web design company with all the information about the identity of your company and also practical information about the project: strategic information (your objectives), marketing, budget, the schedule you want to respect for the project, …
Then, these specifications will allow you to clarify your criteria for selecting the web design company that will be your gem. If you want to create a new website, she must have solid expertise in creating websites. If it is a question of increasing the traffic of an existing website, prefer a design company with skills in digital marketing. The clearer it is, the better the web design company consulted can guide you and offer you a tailor-made solution.
Choose a general or specialist web design company?
Web communications agencies are of two types: generalist or specialist. These two types of digital agencies each have their advantages and disadvantages. Depending on your project, you will rather orient yourself towards one or the other. Let’s see together how to know what type of web communication agency is best for you:
The general web communication design company
It brings together all the trades necessary from the creation of a website to its promotion. She can help you from A to Z. You will call on this type of design company when you launch a new digital project or when the existing one requires an in-depth overhaul.
Please note, however, that by choosing not to specialize, the generalist web agency cannot be excellent in all areas of digital. The work will therefore sometimes be less fine than with a specialist agency.
The specialist web design company
The specialist web design company has chosen to specialize in one or more areas of digital. This offers a better guarantee of his expertise in a specific area. For example, Alinoa is a web design company specializing in WordPress and digital strategy.
Select from 3 to 5 agencies.
According to the criteria which are important for you and your project, carry out research and select from 3 to 5 web design companies which meet your criteria. This preselection will allow you to make an initial sort. Any serious company will ask to have an interview, even if only by telephone, with you.
During this first meeting, you will have the opportunity to ask all your questions and present your specifications. This is an opportunity for you to gauge the skills of your contact. Are you dealing with a sales representative who wants above all to make a sale? Or is the person in front of you an adviser looking to understand your project to establish a relationship of trust with you?
An important criterion for choosing a web design company and yet perfectly subjective is whether you “feel good” about the person in front of you. Does he/she inspire confidence in you? Do you spontaneously want to entrust your project to him? Do you seem professional? Remember, a web design company is primarily a service company. Human contact is essential to the success of your project.
Evaluate the website of the web design company.
It is often said that shoemakers are the most poorly fitted. I think it is unacceptable. Website design requires rigor, organization, and know-how. Choosing a web design company capable of showing the extent of its know-how through its website is essential. We only have one chance to make a (first) good impression.
Here are some elements to guide you during your analysis:
Web design: is the company’s website attractive? Does the image it conveys seem professional to you? (Little tip: is the information visually aligned, well structured? Are there places where space does not look good, where the layout seems poorly done? This should alert you to a possible lack of control…)
Is the navigation between pages smooth?
If the web agency publishes a blog, it is a reflection of its didactic capacities. If the articles published are clear, complete, and well written, this is a sign of his expertise.
Does the site work as well on your smartphone, tablet as on your computer? A website in 2019 must be displayed correctly everywhere.
Is the site efficient? (speed) (here is a tool, just to help you: GTmetrix ).
Is the web agency site well referenced?
What are the references to the web design company?
The web design company that you are evaluating certainly present their references on their website (if not, this should alert you…). In the same way, as you evaluate the company’s website, perform an analysis of the references presented.
Are the same quality criteria applied to their customers’ sites? Is the agency able to provide you with testimonials from satisfied customers? What if you asked for contact information for some of these customers who testified so highly? And even why not call them to verify the veracity of advanced remarks?
It’s not just the size that matters … though!
Take care to choose a company whose size corresponds to the size of your business, not too big and not too small either. Remember, it is now impossible to bring together all the skills necessary for the success of a digital project in one person.
The reign of the orchestra man ended more than 10 years ago in digital. On the other hand, an agency that is too large, whose structure will be unsuitable for your business, will not be a good choice either. You risk being seen as just one “little extra customer”. And your project wouldn’t get the attention it deserves.
Today, certain companies constitute a network of professionals to widen their range of services while remaining specialized in their chosen field.
Is the web design company available?
When you contact the web design company, does it appear available or does it seem overwhelming? An overly available web design company is not a good signal for you, but a completely unreachable agency is still a less good sign. Generally, you should get a contact quickly and in any case a response to your first request within 48 hours. Even an acknowledgment of receipt of your request.
Then during other contacts, and if you have taken care to transmit a complete specification at your request, check that the agency has taken the time to go through it and that it attaches importance to its good understanding. Let your project count for it.
And the price in all this?
During your meeting with the selected companies, it is normal (and free) that they establish a quote based on your specifications. This estimate will include an amount representing your monetary investment to complete your digital project. Check the one-off costs and recurring costs (accommodation, maintenance, etc.) to obtain a global amount.
Price is an essential criterion for making your choice. And in the field of web design companies, the cheapest is often (not to say all the time) synonymous with the lowest quality. An essential structuring element of the establishment of the price given by an agency is the time per human who will carry out the mission that you entrust to him.
Wages are determined by negotiation between social partners. The cost structure of the agencies is therefore always much the same. Apart from outsourcing abroad, it is very difficult to reduce these costs. A digital project requires so many exchanges and contacts with your company that it makes this subcontracting very hazardous.
In conclusion :
Choosing a web design company can seem complex and/or confusing. Rest assured that if you follow all the steps in this article, you won’t have to change them often. Also, remember that the quality of human contact that you have with your web design company is an essential criterion.
