HowTo Choose a Web Design Company or Web Designer
Once you decide you need a Web site, it's time to decide who will build it. If you have the technical know-how or the money to hire a full-time Web staff, you can develop the site yourself. But if you're like most small businesses, you'll want to outsource the work.
A poorly designed Web site can cost you money, drive away customers, and hurt your reputation. Our guide to choosing a web design company or web designer should help you through that process to ensure you contract a creative, technically savvy, and cost-effective designer.
Points to consider when choosing a web design company or web designer:
1. Assess your needs. You can hire contractors to create, implement and maintain your site. If your site will serve only as an online brochure, consider outsourcing the creation and implementation, while handling future maintenance — like fixing broken links — in-house. Be realistic about your own goals and growth plans so you know whether to hire a long-term or a short-term contractor.
2. Research each candidate's work. It's essential that you research a Web developer's work so you can evaluate their potential. Once you've found a few developers you like — through recommendations, Web directories or competitors' sites — evaluate their online portfolios and fees. A site doesn't have to be flashy to do its job, but you must appreciate the developer's design sense. Also, consider hiring a firm familiar with your particular industry.
Looking at a web designer's portfolio of past projects is the quickest and easiest way to decide if they are the right company for your needs.
Questions you should be asking yourself include:
• Is their portfolio of work sympathetic to my business?
• Do I like their style of design?
• Do all their websites look the same?
Although your first impact of the company will usually be their own website, make sure you look deeper into their portfolio. Every designer is capable of producing one great website - but can they produce twenty great websites in succession?
Expect a portfolio of at least eight websites - and look for a good variety of work.
3. Evaluate their services. Decide if the developer meets your needs. If you want to sell your products online, look for proven e-commerce experience. If you're considering a one-person firm, does the developer have the skills necessary to create everything you need? On the other hand, will you get lost in the shuffle at a larger firm with lots of other clients? Determine what extras the firms offer, such as copywriting, marketing, and other services.
Largely speaking, the size of the company provides you with no indication to the quality or work they can produce; or the services they can provide.
There are a lot of freelance web designers who can produce far superior work to large companies, but there are also freelance web designers who charge much more than large companies.
Don't let your preconceptions about the size of companies get in the way of the facts.
More important considerations are whether they are going to be proactive - and if they can offer a high level of support. Companies that do not provide a landline phone number or an address will almost certainly be harder to contact when you need them the most.
4. Meet face-to-face. Your Web design firm, whether a one-person shop or a multinational company, is going to present your Web persona to the world. You must be able to work collaboratively. Ask yourself these questions and rely on your gut reaction:
How to Choose a Web Design Company
* Do they listen to my needs?
* Do they explain issues in ways I can understand?
* Do they know my industry?
* Do they share my vision for the site?
5. Skills, qualifications and references. Browsing a company's work is helpful, but you also want to know how they work. A Web design firm can be the most creative in the world, but if it never finishes your site, it won't do you much good. Call past clients and ask if the design firm:
* Adhered to deadlines
* Met their requests
* Was responsive to suggestions and questions
* Fixed problems promptly
* Worked within the original budget
Skills - Ask yourself whether the design company has appropriate skills will depend solely on your aims and objectives.
Do you require Flash animation, database design, client log-in areas or search engine optimisation? If so, can that web design company produce such work? If they say they can - make sure they can prove it.
Qualifications - It is perfectly acceptable to ask for the credentials of the designers or key members within the company.
Whilst qualifications do not necessarily mean that the website design company is up to the job (or that a design company without specific qualifications is not up the job) it is a fair way to judge their experience and expertise.
References - The main problem with relying on published references is that no company will advertise a bad or indifferent reference. However, look for companies that at least provide some kind of client feedback.
Make sure the source of the quote is published - alongside their contact details. Most people genuinely enjoy offering recommendations - so don't worry about making a quick phone call or email to previous clients to ask for some impartial advice.
6. Think ahead. Over the past year, hundreds of Web design firms of all sizes have merged, cut back their operations, or simply closed. Although it's impossible to know for sure whether or not a firm will be around in the future, you have a right to ask questions if you expect to build a long-term relationship. You should also ask whether a design firm will accept payment in stages or whether they'll demand most of their payment up front. Firms that aren't willing to link payment to their own ability to deliver might not be worth the risk you'll take to deal with them.
Make sure that your projected time scale is achievable by that company.
The complexity of the site will affect this greatly - and the designer will need a specific brief before being able to provide time scales. Find out how to write a design brief here.
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