Choosing A Website Design Company
Every forward thinking business needs a website, or needs to re-design their existing website at some point, and so choosing a website design company is a decision that every business needs to make at one time or another. The consequences of this decision should not be underestimated. Why is that? Well, put simply, a good website will bring in more leads and sales, and a bad one will not.
So, how can a business be sure that they are making the right decision when choosing a website design company?
Firstly, it is important to establish what exactly is required from the website. If they are unsure about this, or even if they just want to confirm that what they think is right, then they should set about researching their target audience. This involves contacting existing customers and asking them what information and features they would expect to see on the website. Their ideas and suggestions should then be made into a prioritized list
Having established what is required, creating a shortlist of website design companies is the next step. Such a list can be made by simply searching on Google for terms such as “website design companies” or “website designer”. Lots of results will be brought up, so a little time will need to be spent looking through the websites of these companies and seeing what they have to offer.
A shortlist of around 10 website design companies should be made, and these companies should then be contacted so as to find answers to the following questions…
- Do they have an extensive and impressive portfolio?
- Is there a certain feel to all of the sites they have created, or are they flexible in their designs?
- Can any of their past clients be contacted so as to obtain references?
- Do they have structured planning and implementation processes?
- Are they available to start work in the near future?
- Do they do all of the work themselves or do they outsource parts of it to others?
- Do they offer assistance in getting websites listed in the major search engines?
- Will a blog be included in addition to the main website?
- Who owns the intellectual property rights to the final website and the domain name?
- Is any post design support offered?
- Is an hourly rate or fixed fee payment structure in place?
- How much payment needs to be made upfront?
- Will they guarantee and stick to the deadlines in place?
The answers to these questions should be used to narrow down the shortlist to 3 or so companies, who should then be asked to give a final quote. If they are told beforehand that quotes are also been sought from their competitors, then their own quote will normally be more competitive. As for a general ball park figure, a well designed 10 page website, will cost an average of $2000. Businesses should be cautious about proceeding with a company that offers to design a website for much less than that figure because the quality of the final website may be questionable.
Learn more from a web consultant at http://www.kinneymedia.com, a company that specializes in website design in fairfield ct.
