Your website is your company’s megaphone to the global marketplace, telling all and sundry everything they need to know about who you are, where you’re from and, most importantly, what you can do for them. You won’t struggle finding web design companies to talk to about your requirements, but settling on one that you can be confident will do you the best job isn’t easy if you’re not versed in all things web. Indeed, many web design companies will try and blind you with science in order to get you to spend more with them, so it’s useful to do some research both on the companies you plan to talk to and on web design in general before you actually lock heads with anyone. Here are a few pointers you need to be thinking about prior to meeting with any web design companies (and you were planning to meet with them, right?)...
What do you want from your website?
Don’t talk to any web design companies before you’re clear on what you want to achieve online. OK, so you might not know anything about the intricacies or even the possibilities and limitations of web design, but that’s not what we’re talking about here. We’re simply talking about the objectives of your business on the web – not the specific means and methods of realising those objectives. Prepare a written strategy or business objectives document ahead of meeting with web design companies, and send it to them before you meet to give them an opportunity to blow your socks off with a killer proposal.
Set a budget – but don’t reveal what it is
One of the first things most web design companies will ask is “what’s your budget?” Letting them in on your spending plans from the word go will immediately put you on the back foot and will cause them to set some limits in their heads as to how much they’ll do. Tell the web design companies that you have a flexible budget and ask them to prepare a quote based on your actual requirements (the written strategy we mentioned before) and not what they’d like you to spend.
Can you run the site yourself, or will you need a hand?
There’s various things to consider here, all of which have a cost implication attached to them and will vary depending on the specific demands of your site. For example, if you’re site is going to be reasonably static, then you may want to leave any site maintenance and occasional updates to the web design company to do on your behalf, for which they’ll bill you a set rate. They may even include a certain amount of updates and maintenance in with the cost of building the site. Secondly, you might consider employing a new member of staff, or delegate an existing member of staff with the necessary skills (an IT employee, for example) to look after the day-to-day site duties. Thirdly, most good web design companies will offer a Content Management System facility, whereby they plug an easy-to-use interface on the back of the site, allowing you to update and maintain the site yourself, even if you only possess the most basic computer skills. Content Management Systems vary in terms of comprehensiveness and simplicity, but good web design companies will create one from scratch that meets your specific needs.
Find web design companies that can actually do what you want
As with anything, web design companies vary a lot in terms of capability and experience. It’s pointless talking to web design companies that obviously aren’t equipped to competently handle your project (incidentally, you should ask them how many people they employ and what those employees do before you take your enquiry any further), and nor is there anything to gain by handing your project over to a company who’s got no experience working on the type of site you require. Web design is split into two main areas - design and development – and both areas require considerable skill and knowledge. You should only talk to web design companies that are well-versed in both areas, and preferably, who also have experience working in your market or a related sector.
Finally, and crucially, you need to make sure that the web design companies you talk to have a good understanding of how to integrate Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) considerations into the design of your website. SEO is absolutely vital, because it plays the most fundamental role in attracting traffic to your website in the first place – having a pretty website is no use at all if no-one can find it. Ignore SEO at your peril.
The Web Marketing Group – one of the UK’s leading web design companies
We can build the website that meets your exact requirements. For a waffle-free, no obligation discussion on what we can do for you, get in touch with one of our team today – click here
Tagged with :