Choosing a Web Design Firm

The use of a web design firm can be a critical decision for a company.  The creation of a professional and custom website is a key marketing strategy and can greatly affect the number of people drawn to your website (and therefore, resulting sales, donations, etc).  The internet is a growing source of business and a company must have a professional site in order to be competitive in the marketplace.

Web design companies have the expertise and knowledge in website and graphic design.  They know what makes a site stand out and will also design the site to be strong on search engine marketing (SEM) and search engine optimization (SEO) techniques.  This allows your company to get the “biggest bang for your buck” and gain even more new visitors to the site.  With a well designed website, you can convert many of those visitors into new customers and then to returning customers.  Therefore, it is key to pick the right firm to design your site.

The web design firm will usually start out by helping you identify the key messages you want to convey, the audience you are trying to attract, and what you want the resulting action to be after they view your message on the website.  For example, do you want someone to make a donation to your cause after reading your message, do you want them to purchase a product from you, purchase your expertise and time, etc.

Because of the important role that your website is going to play in your marketing strategies, it is a critical decision for a company to choose the right agency and get the best website that they possibly can. There are several steps that you can follow to find a web design firm including the following:

• Get Recommendations– talk to your family and friends to find out if their companies have websites.  Take a look at those as a starting place and see which ones really capture your attention.  Find out what company designed their site and add those companies to your starting list.

• Research the Possibilities – Besides just getting personal recommendations, you can also do some research on your own using tools like the internet, former educational institutions, or personal/professional groups that you are a part of for additional names and ideas.

• What Will It Cost – Now it’s time to take your list of possibilities and find out what they would charge for the site that you have in mind.  Find out how they charge for their work, such as by the hour, by the page, and how updates are done, what the cost is for those, how quickly they will do them, whether you have the ability to do them yourself, etc.  While cost isn’t your only factor in choosing a firm, it will obviously play a role if one company is way out of your budget for the project. 

• Examine Their Work More Closely – Once you’ve cut the names on your list down a bit, it’s time for you to look more closely at their actual work.  Ask for multiple sites that they have done, so you can get a feel for their skills and abilities in a wide variety of industries or types of sites.   Look at the use of colors, graphics, flash images, etc.  Think about what types of elements you are hoping for on your site and make sure that they have experience doing those types of things.

• Verify their References – The final step in your researching process is to check references.  You’ll want to talk to some of their clients to find out exactly how they are to work with, whether they finished the project on time and on budget, and if they are easy to work with.  Many companies can design a great website, but if they are going to take too long to it, charge you too much or just be difficult to work with during the design process, then they aren’t the right company for you.  Remember, your time is as valuable as the money you have to pay for the site design.

Once you have completed the above steps, you will be in a good position to make a decision about which firm you want to help you to create a strong and professional website for you.  And if for some reason, the company you choose isn’t doing a good job or seems different once you’ve officially hired them, you can also go back to the above steps and choose another firm if needed.