Table of contents
- 1. What are your goals?
- 2. Who are your competitors, and what are they doing to rank on Google?
- 3. Always check a portfolio and read what others have said about the web agency you are about to hire
- 4. Budget & Pricing - A web design project is not just about the price!
- 5. Make sure you own your website
Before we start, do you know what a web design agency is and what we do?
This question is important because if you don’t know what we do and what to expect from a web design agency, you can’t really choose the right agency for your business.
A web design agency is a company that not only specializes in creating beautiful web design but also takes care of web development, web strategy & ranking, web hosting, user experience (UX), web maintenance, and more. Each of these services plays a crucial role in the success or failure of your business.
Unfortunately, just a pretty website won’t get the job done!
This takes us to the first point: How to choose the right web design agency for your business.
1. What are your goals?
If you are like most people, your answer was probably to make more money, and sadly a website is not magic. Instead, a website is the beginning of a journey to establish your online presence and a tool to achieve your goals. Just think about it, if people can’t find you online, how do they know your business exists?
Now, it would be best if you thought of these questions from a business point of view.
Here is some help:
- I want to rank first on Google (SEO)
- I want people to be amazed by my website (Web Design)
- I want more people to know about my products and services (Exposure)
- I want to drive more traffic to my website (Marketing)
- I want people to recognize my business (Branding)
- I want people to have a positive experience while navigating my website (UX Design)
Achieving these goals typically involves different professionals and usually has an ad on cost on top of your web design and development project when done by an accredited web design agency. As you expected, knowledge is not free. So next time you see an ad for a website starting at $350, you can be 100% sure that you are getting the cheapest quality job possible. Most certainly end up with no results, but you can’t expect to win a formula one race on a bicycle.
This takes us to our second point
2. Who are your competitors, and what are they doing to rank on Google?
It’s essential to take a good look at your online competitors, nationally and locally. What are the most prevalent features in each category? What are the similarities among them? Are there specific criteria your audience may anticipate finding on your website depending on your area of expertise?
Answering these questions will give you a good idea of what it takes to compete in your market.
Now, let’s start by doing a small assessment of your competitor’s website:
- Does their website look cheap or high-end?
- Do they use high-quality pictures? If yes, do you think they hired a professional or took them themselves?
- How much content do they have?
- How many internal pages does their website have? If many, why do you think they are doing it?
- How much money do you think your main competitor invested in their website?
When you have a clear picture in mind of what you want and understand the level of competition, it is easier to understand the minimum amount of work your business needs to invest in competing online.
Furthermore, some web design agencies specialize in specific niches or industries, while others work with businesses of all sizes across multiple industries. Therefore, it would be best if you found an agency with experience working with companies like yours. This will facilitate communication between both parties.
3. Always check a portfolio and read what others have said about the web agency you are about to hire
Please don’t make the error of hiring a web design company without first looking at their portfolio and Google Reviews. Checking a web design agency’s portfolio will give you a clear idea of the quality and style of their work. This way, you can ensure your style matches the web agency you are about to hire. Now be careful if the agency doesn’t have a clear pathway for you to see the portfolio. If they don’t have one, it usually indicates that the company is inexperienced or, even worse, might be hiding something.
As for Google Reviews, these provide insights from actual clients about their web design experience with the agency, the good and the bad.
PRO TIP: it would be best to look for web design agencies with consistent 4.5 to 5-star reviews.
4. Budget & Pricing – A web design project is not just about the price!
One common mistake we often see in our web design agency is that many inexperienced entrepreneurs confuse a website with an online PowerPoint presentation or an online gallery and don’t see the value of a well-optimized website. A well-optimized website will get you new clients. A cheap website won’t!
A WEBSITE IS NOT ONLY PICTURES AND TEXT!
You need to understand that Google or any other browser doesn’t understand plain text and design. We need to give Google context and intent by programming or coding a website, not just by placing text and pictures on top of a virtual canvas. This misconception occurs thanks to Wix, Squarespace, and all the amateur freelancers that don’t know anything about ranking on Google (or maybe they don’t care about your business as you do).
Thinks about this:
Do you think your clients can do the same job you do for cheaper? If your answer is yes, let me be honest: you are in the wrong business. If your clients can do your job, either you are not indeed a professional, or there is no need for your service.
Look again at your top competitors and their websites. We are sure that you can see clearly that they did not hire just any freelancer. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be on the top.
You need to see your website as an investment!
Starting with a low-quality website most likely results in you having to pay again for a brand-new website. It is just easier to start from zero and do everything right from the beginning rather than fixing the mistakes of others, which tends to be more expensive.
From experience, we recommend that you have a budget of at least $2,000, and please DO NOT HIRE A FREELANCE! We have seen so many times that sooner or later, they will stop answering your calls, and you will lose all access to your website. Finally.
5. Make sure you own your website
Lately, we have seen a new trend of providing a low-cost, basic website for a monthly fee between $50 to $100. Generally, this same website costs around $500 – $800 in total, but this new trend offers a monthly plan that never ends, meaning that you will end up paying for the rest of your life for a basic website that is not even yours!
We disagree with this business model because we feel that the point of a web design agency is to help other businesses succeed, not the opposite. For this reason, we advise you to make sure that you own your website, DO NOT PAY A MONTHLY FEE! unless you get a monthly maintenance plan or actual service that benefits your company.
Now that you know how to choose the right web design company for your business make sure you apply these tips, and you will make the best decision!
We also invite you to check out our portfolio: https://qadigitalads.com/en/portfolio/ and our Google Reviews: https://g.co/kgs/kxbNXe. We specialize in online competition analysis that helps businesses succeed online. Our team of web design experts will work closely with you to create an online plan that reflects your brand identity and meets your specific needs.
Contact us today for a free consultation!
We are located in Silver Spring, MD. Call us at: 240-593-6567
I hope this article was helpful. If you have any questions or would like to share your experience in choosing a web design agency, please feel free to message us at hi@qadigitalads.com.
