Choosing the best website design company for your small businesses can be difficult. Just going to Google and typing in “web design company” can bring back thousands of options that, at face value, all look the same.
You’ll probably try to narrow your search (maybe by taking the top 10 listed in Google) and start looking at each portfolio. This is a great start, but it will only give you a partial picture of their value in growing your business.
So, in addition to viewing their portfolio, you should find the answers to the questions below. Solid answers to these ten questions can help minimize the risk that your website design project will have issues, go over budget, or provide little value for growing your business.
1. What is the inclusive cost of the project?
There are usually two types of contracts: hourly and project-based. As a small business, you probably don’t have a huge budget or one that can absorb hidden costs and fees, so you want to find a company that offers project-based pricing.
You’ll want to ensure you get a final cost for the project before signing the agreement so you’re not hit with additional costs.
2. How long will it take?
Unforeseen obstacles always delay a project’s completion – this is normal and should be planned for.
Get an estimated timeline from your web design company and monitor it throughout the project to ensure your design stays on track.
3. Is SEO, Information Architecture, and Content Strategy included in the price?
Most design agencies don’t include these important factors in their website designs.
If they don’t, we recommend hiring an SEO company to work closely with the company building your website throughout the site design process.
4. Is both design and development included in the cost?
We’ve worked with small businesses many times who thought that when a company said it was going to “design them a new website,” it meant it was designing and coding the website—this was not true. The web design company handed over the designs, and the small business had to pay someone to build and code the website.
Make sure both design and development are included in the cost of your website design.
5. Can I get a list of people who will be working on my website and their role in the company?
Knowing who will be working on your website and their role in the company is vital. When the price for the project is low, you will usually get junior-level designers doing the work, or it will be outsourced overseas to the lowest bidder.
Your website is the face of your business, and it takes only 50 milliseconds for a user to judge it, so it’s important to ensure you have the right designers and developers to build it.
6. Will my website be built upon a responsive framework?
Google uses mobile-friendliness as a ranking factor, and users want to visit and buy from a website that works well across all devices.
Ensure your website design company builds your website on a responsive framework.
7. Do you outsource or use freelancers for your projects?
This goes along with knowing who will be working on your design.
Ensure you are not sold on a company only to discover they will outsource your design and coding to someone else.
8. Is there a transition plan included?
As we have mentioned, having a transition plan during a website redesign is key to maintaining traffic and sales when the new website goes live.
If your website design company does not include a transition plan, hire a company versed in transition planning during the web design process.
9 . What platform and CMS will be used, and can I edit the content easily?
Many platforms (WordPress, Drupal, Joomla, Home-grown content management systems, etc.) can be used as the framework for your website.
Ensure your web design company tells you exactly what platform they will use and if you can edit the content without their help.
10. Is there training provided to use the CMS?
Ensure that if they use a CMS, they provide training on adding and editing content.