Keep in mind the well-worn adage, “you get what you pay for” when searching for a web design firm. Unfortunately, a lot of small business owners aren’t quite sure what they are looking for, so they default to viewing web design firms simplistically. Thinking the lower-priced firm will save money therefore generate the greatest return on their investment. WRONG! We can’t stress this enough — not all websites are created equal! And this is certainly a case where cheaper much more often than not, does not equate to better results and a greater return on your investment.
Learn How To Evaluate A Web Designer Or Web Design Firm.
The Problem With Kids As Web Designers
It’s easy for some small business owners to get sucked into having their nephew, or the neighbor’s kid put up a website; after all they reason, “the kid’s good with computers and I can save a couple thousand dollars.” That’s great. Your neighbor’s kid may be extremely competent in HTML or graphic design, but their skill set and marketing know-how simply can’t match that of a professional web design firm with years of experience working with a diverse group of clients. It’s best to leave web design to professional web designers and web design firms.
Preparing Your Hunt For A Web Designer Or Web Design Firm
Before getting into criteria for selecting the right web design firm, there are a few considerations on your end. Make sure the primary decision makers have at least a minimum understanding of the internet and website basics. Now that doesn’t mean they have to be well-versed in terminology or the latest developments in web design, but someone with a basic knowledge of the internet, and one who is comfortable with new technology, will help the process move forward. Your project manager should also have a strong understanding of the overall marketing objectives of your business and how the website will play a part in reaching those objectives.
Four Criteria For Hiring A Web Designer Or Web Design Firm
What criteria should you use to determine the right web designer or web design firm for your small business website? You’ll want to focus your attention on four areas:
- 1. Portfolio
2. Technical Ability
3. Marketing Capability
4. Experience
Understanding The Web Design Firm’s Portfolio
Take a close look at the web designer or web design firm’s portfolio. The web design firm’s portfolio is typically a small sampling of four to six websites used to showcase their capabilities, technical and marketing ability, experience, and problem solving skills in creating a successful website. It is not a compilation of all of their work.
Focus on the details and ask questions. At the heart of your review, you’re looking to evaluate how well the web designer or web design firm interpreted their clients’ needs, identified problems and executed solutions. Don’t be put off if most, or in some cases, all, of their portfolio includes businesses unrelated to yours. It’s certainly an advantage if the web design firm has experience working with your industry, but quality, results-oriented work, and a proven track-record is much more important in choosing a web design firm.
Tips To Evaluate The Web Design Firm’s Portfolio
When reviewing the web designer’s or web design firm’s portfolio, try to push most of your aesthetic preferences, such as color choice and font selection, to the side. Instead focus on implementation. Carefully consider the web designer or web design firm’s technical and problem solving ability.
Look carefully at web design features such as: ease-of-navigation and use; logical layout of text, images and menu structure; quality of image components like buttons and graphics; and functionality of the website. Also, don’t fixate on the copy and content, as this is frequently written by the client and not the web designer or web design firm. And lastly, don’t forget that this is a rather new industry, so many web designers tend to be rather young.
How To Review The Web Design Firm’s Portfolio For Marketing Competence
When looking at the web designer or web design firm’s portfolio, try to determine how and if color and font choices and website branding is tied into the client’s marketing strategy. Every visual component should be grounded in solid marketing practice. You may not approve of a certain color scheme, but what’s more important is to understand how the web designer or web design firm arrived at that color scheme.
Ask questions! What was the client looking to accomplish visually? How does that color scheme and font selection compliment and enhance the client’s brand image? How does the website fit into the client’s online and offline marketing? What results has the website produced? In short, don’t rush to judge the web designer or web design firm’s work based entirely on aesthetics if they don’t match your ideals. Work to understand the marketing rationale and decision making process behind their choices.
Determine The Web Design Firm’s Experience
Experience is an important benchmark for reviewing a web designer or web design firm. Longevity in this industry is a rarity and commands a higher price. Now don’t confuse experience with a high-volume of work. A firm that has over 100 client projects under their belt doesn’t make them “better” than the three-employee web agency down the street.
Most small web design firms of three to four employees (which is a perfectly acceptable size) may only produce a dozen or less quality websites each year. And as alluded to earlier, don’t cross a web designer or web design firm off your list just because they haven’t worked with your industry before, or because they’re halfway across the country. Industry experience and close proximity are certainly benefits, but any web design firm with a solid track record should be able to get up and running with you very quickly.
Questions To Ask A Web Designer Or Web Design Firm
The web design firm’s portfolio should provide you with a strong handle on the web design firm’s abilities, strengths and experience. But you’ll also want to know about the company’s business and project management skills. Ask about their web design process. Talk openly with the firm about their responsiveness, ask about project deadlines and timeliness, what is expected of you during the development of your website, and ask about the possibility of cost overruns.
Ask potential web designers and web design firms about website maintenance issues and how easy it will be to add new features and updates to your website in the future. Ask who owns the website copyrights and rights to your web design.
Try to find a web design firm that understands your vision and ideas, and is not only capable of constructing your site, but also effectively marketing it too. You’ll find the process much more rewarding and achieve better results if you treat this as a long-term relationship as opposed to a “one-off” job.
Tell us what you think! We’d love to hear from you on this article. If you’re reviewing web design firms or need help hiring a web designer for your small business, let us know. Leave us a comment below with your questions and concerns. Thanks for reading!
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