Hiring Your Web Design Firm
Your website is your biggest advertising platform online; so it needs to be designed correctly, to current standards and with marketing in mind so it fits the needs of your customer base. While there are some great, free web design templates out there and there are online web builder platforms that look inviting, if you’re looking to give your business a professional look that truly caters to your audience, it is advisable to hire a professional web designer.
With so many out there however, it can be difficult knowing which one you should go with. Below you’ll discover 3 tips for hiring a web design company and what to look out for.
1. Don’t just rely on their visual portfolio
Of course, checking out a web designer’s visual portfolio is very important. After all, it shows you the kind of quality, features, and design you can expect. However, as with people, you should never go on looks alone. There are numerous questions you should ask before deciding whether a web design company is right for you. Have they created many sites for similar businesses/niches to yours? Do they handle the content/images/graphics or will that be left to you? What if you don’t like the initial design created, will they make changes free of charge and what is their satisfaction guarantee? Will your website be optimized for mobile devices and be responsive? These are just a few samples of the types of questions you should be asking in addition to viewing a portfolio.
2. Make sure you have some idea of what you want
If you’re wanting an exact quote, you need to be able to give as much information as possible about what you want. How many pages will you need? What kind of style are you hoping for? Do you have a specific style/theme/look you have in mind?
Making a list of websites you really like will help the designer get an idea of what your site should look like and give the designer as much information about your likes/dislikes and requrirements. Not only will this help you get an accurate quote, but it will also ensure you get the right design the first time around.
3. Establish exactly what it is the web designer is offering
Ok so it might sound like an obvious question. But what the web designer is offering and what you expect can often be two separate things. For example, does the company help you acquire your domain (if you don’t have one). provide web hosting (what type and what features) too or will they simply provide you with the website? You also need to establish whether they take on the regular maintenance of the site or whether you will need somebody either inhouse or externally to do that for you.
Ideally, you should choose a web designer who takes the time to understand your company goals, your vision and truly focuses on the needs and wants of your audience/customers/clients. Never choose a designer based on physical design capabilities alone; an EFFECTIVE website is all about making sure it appeals to your market and ultimately converts them into long-term customers or clients.
The web designer of today should have a multitude of skills at their fingertips…
- Design/Layout/Artistic skills
- Moderate graphic design/image editing skills
- Understand or be proficient at SEO requirements and techniques
- Marketing knowledge of SEM, Mobile, Video, Social, Local and Directory/Citation
- Hosting knowledge along with a solid understanding of website security/backup measures
At Greymouse Web Design & Local Business Marketing Services we strive to 1) learn everything we can about what your needs/desires/visions are BEFORE we quote, 2) give a full description of what we can do for your local business and 3) provide 1-1 consultation to provide you with the design/features/branding that your business needs online.
