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Getting your business online is easy… creating an online solution that pays for itself is difficult. That’s why businesses, organizations and personal brands will consult with a web design company to develop a robust solution to achieve your online goals. A web design agency will not only specialize in making good looking websites, but also improving web design agency, audience retention and most importantly increasing conversions.
But there are so many freelancers and companies out there! How can I find the right web design company for my business? In this post, we’ll cover what a web design company does, why there is a huge range in prices and most importantly how to identify a web design company that will fit your business needs.
Getting your Business Online
Finding a Web Site Design Company
Finding a professional web design company is a lot simpler than you’d think. There are several companies, including our web design program, with a variety of pricing options available. Since this service will be online, you can search online or in person for the best web design company that will fit your business. Searching for an online/remote web design company is a great option if you do not have a local web design business available.
It is easier to narrow down your search by what each web design company specializes in. Most web designers can implement ecommerce for your business, but a dedicated ecommerce web design company will closely suit your needs if you are expanding your products online. Additionally, a web design team that includes social media management can focus on moving your social media traffic onto the website more so than companies that only focus on SEO optimizations.
There are several freelancing websites that offer affordable designs and larger agencies with complete web packages. Of course, there are several programs in between. Some freelancers will charge a few hundred dollars, whereas larger agencies can charge upwards ten thousand dollars just for development. Is the $10,000 website just a “rich guy” tax write off?
While web development is a tax write off for your business, your business website will quickly become so much more. Your company’s website will be the core of your online marketing and revenue generation. Even small business websites that are intentionally designed to rank well, protect from online threats and make money will age like fine wine. Investing more money into your development team will allow them to have more time to perfect this asset for your business.
What to Look For in a Web Design Company
Track records are important in any industry. Despite this, some web design agencies may not be well experienced or already have several clients. These factors can impact the development time and performance. Regardless, ensure your business will be the next success story for the web design company you choose. You should look for strong communication and reassurance that your website will outperform your competition in addition to the track record -whether you are working with a long standing company or a startup.
Whether your brand or business website is already setup, communicating your goals early will help the developers create or transform your website for success. Having a reference website (or several) from a web design company is a great way to do this. Not only does this show what design you would like, but it also highlights some of the technical aspects of the project to the developers. You can also develop an initial impression of the web design company through their previous projects.
Finally, you should feel good working with a web development company. Web design companies can quickly create a business website that looks good for an absolute bargain. While it will quickly get your business online, there may be missing components that inhibit your business website from success. You will need to make changes or pay a team to change the website to eventually see better results. Regardless of how cheap or expensive development costs, finding a web design company that looks past the design is by far one of the most important aspects.
Website Goals For Businesses
We mentioned website goals for your business, but what are these? Website goals are measurable and obtainable milestones for your business website that are directly correlated to the business model and website design.
When working with a web design company, it is important to have these goals established so the website design will make achieving these goals easier. Here are a few common website goals:
Organic Traffic
On page SEO strategies and improving website content
Conversions
Deliberate copywriting, product descriptions and clear Call To Actions (CTAs)
Domain Authority
Establishing off-page SEO backlinks that refer to you for expertise in your field
User Retention
Creating more engagements and incentives for users to come back to your site
Businesses may want to improve all of these goals, or even achieve other goals not listed. Understanding and prioritizing your business website goals will help the web design company of your choice obtain these achievements.
Working with Your Web Design Company
We’ve gone over how to find the right web design company for your business. Let’s talk about strategies for success and what to expect when working with your team!
What will the Web Developers Need from You
These requirements will vary depending on the web design team, but there are a few general items each web design company will ask for when creating your website.
Design Palette
This design palette, dream board, style guide, etc. will shape how the website will look and feel. It generally includes your logos, colors, fonts and a general guide of how to use each element. Generally speaking, simple design palettes are a lot easier to work with.
While the focus should be achieving your business website goals, having a uniform style that matches your company branding is important for establishing, maintaining and growing the brand image. Web designers that focus on achieving your website goals will also ensure the design looks great as well.
Website Goals
Including your website goals is important, as this will dictate much of the website’s content and SEO strategy. While it’s assumed you would like to improve your business website in all goals, specifying one or two high priority goals will help the developers create a model that focuses on these specific goals.
Additionally, improving in one aspect will also improve your performance for other goals too. For example, a business website with great domain authority will naturally see better organic traffic. However, this means the web design company will invest more resources into backlink creation rather than on-page optimizations.
Company Images
While this is technically covered in your design palette/style guide, company images also include other images to use on the website outside of the logo. Be sure to include any additional imagery if available.
What should You Expect from the Team
Communication
One of the biggest aspects of working with a web development team is communication. Some developers will want more client meetings than others. These meetings will usually pertain to the website design and setting up services with your Intellectual Property/resources. Additionally, you should also expect updates or “report cards” on the development progress.
Depending on the duration of the development cycle, you should expect to receive every-other-day/weekly updates. The team will specify the periods of communication beforehand.
Sharing Account Information
You may need to provide your login credentials to the web design company in order to access your paid services remotely. This process is relatively straightforward, however, you should be wary of sending your account information through unencrypted media.
The best way to do this is through a trusted online password manager. This way, passwords are never transmitted in the open and the developers can delete their records when the project is complete.
Wrapping Up
There are a lot of factors to consider when hiring a web design company to build your business website. Web design agencies that only focus on the design will deliver a stunning website that may need additional help to grab your audience’s attention. Investing in an experienced and dedicated team will result in a website that delivers much more!
With this in mind, you can select a web design company that fits your needs and budget and get your business or brand online!
FAQ
How much do web design companies charge?
This will ultimately depend on the company’s previous experience and complexity of your website. The average cost is generally from $4,000 to $7,000 but this can fluctuate in either direction.
What skills does a good web design agency have?
Web design is a must, however, setting up a profitable system is much more desirable for growing businesses.
What is Included in Web Design?
This will depend on the price. Cheaper budgets will include the basic website, but increasing the budget will add extra features and give the developers time to achieve your business website goals
What does a web design company do?
Web design companies create online solutions for businesses, brands and individuals that generally rank well, receive high traffic and conversions.
Is it worth paying for a web designer?
In today’s market, creating a website yourself has never been easier. However, creating a website that pays for itself requires time and expertise to accomplish. You can definitely learn how to do this yourself, but outsourcing this will allow you to run your business uninterrupted.
Founder and CEO of R U Coding Me LLC. Jacob obtained his Bachelor’s of Computer Science at the University of Central Florida. He likes to go to the gym and teach people about technology.
