What to Look for In a Web Design Company

If your business is looking for a new web design company the choice can be dizzying. There are many companies online that could do the job you’re looking for but there are also many more that couldn’t.

Creating a good website requires a huge amount of skill. A business wants its site to grab the user’s attention and keep it. You want that user to remember your site and visit it again in the future. Effectively you want to give that user a rewarding and immersive experience.

Most businesses won’t have the skill set, the time, or even the ability to create a truly professional website. In fact in-house design is something that businesses in general won’t be able to undertake to the same standard as a good out-sourced specialist web-design company.

There is however so many web design companies out there so you’ll need some sort of checklist to ensure that you’re getting the best value for money.

Why you need good web design

In whatever niche your business exists within there is going to be a large amount of competitor sites with very well designed websites. In this crowded space it’s important for your website to stand out and for your business to be not just accessible but noticed and remembered. Online users need to be able to interact and relate with your site in a manner that translates visitors into purchasers.

Spending time and money working with a web design team will have marked benefits for your business infrastructure. It’s likely that choosing a skilled designer will be one of the best investments in the future of your company that you’ll make. If your business employs a web designer successfully and utilizes their specific skill set well, that business will find that it has a healthy platform to push its brand and business philosophy from.

Here are some of the specific ways that a web designer can help you:

Develop your brand identity and keeps it consistent in terms of visuals and tone of voice
Increase audience retention rates instead of visitor simply bouncing away
An easy to use and navigate website will lead to better conversion rates
A good and distinctive design will mark you out from your competitors

Effectively by making your site better in terms of design you’ll find that future changes are adaptions rather than entire reworking’s. Using a good web design team will provide you with a good base to work from and allow simple future stylistic touches to be implemented with minimal hassle.

Perhaps the best thing about outsourcing is the fact that you’ll get fresh, creative and professional eyes working on your content. They’ll likely find innovative approaches that you wouldn’t have considered and it’ll make all the difference in the long run. Often when you work closely on something it becomes harder and harder to tell if its any good or not. Skillful web designers will know what works and what doesn’t and how to highlight the good or unique elements of your business infrastructure, products and services, and brand philosophy.

Here we go then, let’s look at what you need to look for when considering web design teams.

Their portfolio

Nothing says more than the work that the web design team has already done. Check and see if they’ve already done some work in your business’ niche and consider how successful it was. The most important thing at this stage is to ask a lot of questions, the more the better. Get the web design team to explain how they have worked from specific briefs and how the final product corresponded to the needs of the client.

What else have they got?

Any company that provides you with a portfolio will be showing you its best work. Ask to see other work that they’ve done and keep them on their toes. Checking what other work they’ve done will provide you with content that they’ve worked on that may be less impressive than what’s in their portfolio.

If the design company doesn’t show you more work, or reacts badly to the question, then its best to consider another company entirely.

Test them

If you’re doing it right, your business will already have a good idea of competitor’s sites and audience types. Simply ask the design company what other sites are in your niche and how they’ll approach your site differently. This is an immediate test that shows how well the design company has researched and prepared for your meeting.

The design team should be prepared and have a good idea of who your users are and other sites that those users are likely visiting. The audience is always key throughout this whole process so make sure that the design team understands who they are and what they want out of a website.

Getting a professional website is a complete necessity these days. Working with a professional design team means that you’ve got a skilled partner and one that can help you navigate the online world. Use the above (simple) checklist to help inform your choice of a design team but make sure that you pick carefully and wisely.