Your website is the first impression that consumers will form of you, and will also be the driving factor behind whether or not people choose to do business with you.
It’s essential that the website design company that you work with will help you reach your target audience and business goals.
Here are a few factors to consider when choosing a website design agency to work with.
How to Choose a Web Design Company to Work With
Consider Your Goals and Requirements
Before searching for website design agencies, the first thing you will need to do is assess your goals and objectives. Every website is different – and the features that your website requires will be based on the goals that you want to achieve.
For example, if your goal is to make [X] amount of sales, you will need an e-commerce website. Alternatively, if you want to collect subscriptions, you’ll require membership and account functionality.
You will also need to evaluate the budget and deadlines that you have for your website. This will help you to gather quotes and see who has availability.
Search Nationwide or Local
Website design companies don’t have to be local to you – with the rise of technology and the likes of Zoom, you can hire a web agency from anywhere in the country. This allows you to have a bigger choice of agencies and doesn’t limit your choice to your local area – meaning you can find an agency that does exactly what you need.
Look at Reviews and Portfolio
When researching various agencies, it’s important to look at how long the agency has been running, and also if they have experience in your industry or the type of website that you want (e.g. brochure, e-commerce, membership functionality).
You can also look at an agency’s portfolio to assess skills and capabilities, as well as creativity and coding abilities. When reading portfolio or project items, it’s worth seeing if the agency mentions the outcomes or results of their work, to see how their work has impacted clients.
You should also look at the reviews that the agency has, and whether other companies would recommend working with them. You can do this by looking at their website, Google My Business reviews, or Facebook reviews.
Consider Company Culture
Not only do you want to work with a company that treats their team well, you also want to work with people that will be easy to get along with and that will listen to your needs – and know what you want. Looking at a company’s culture will also give you an insight into how your project will be managed, their personality and working style.
This research can be done by checking out their website, and also social media (and tone of voice that they use on these platforms). You may also want to see if they have any involvement in their local community, if this is important to you.
Look at Industry Experience
It’s good to work with a company that has worked in a multitude of industries, including the industry that you are in. This shows that they are more likely to create unique websites, as well as have experience with a business like yours.
Look at Industry Knowledge
Good website design agencies should be keeping up with modern design trends, and they need to be familiar with the latest technology. They should use a mix of modern trends and features/tools that work (and are backed up by evidence). You can get a good feel for how well they know the latest trends by looking at the web agency website and also their blog and news articles.
Digital Marketing
Once your website is live, do you have any plans for digital marketing, to drive visitors and potential customers to your site? If not, you may need some digital marketing help. A large number of website agencies also offer digital marketing services, so it’s worth seeing if they offer these too. What’s more, a digital agency that encompasses both web design and marketing may have more knowledge than that of a web design agency alone.
Give Them a Call
The best way to get a feel for a website design agency is by talking to them directly over the phone. This will allow you to get a feel for the culture and personality of the brand and those that you may be working with, as well as being able to check that they know what they’re talking about. It’s also good to see how respectful they are to your ideas and ensure that they listen to you, whilst also coming up with their own ideas and inputs.
Choosing a website design agency can be time consuming, but it will be worth it when you have a website that you are proud of.
Here at Ballyhoo, we know what it takes to be a successful website design agency, with a dedicated team of experts and over14 years’ experience. We create bespoke websites that are unique to every client – with your needs at the forefront of everything that we do. If you’re looking for a website design agency, or want to see how we can help you, give us a call or drop us an email now to find out how we can help you.
