Once you decide you need a website, it’s time to decide who will do it with good technical knowledge and professional manner. If you have the technical knowledge or the money to hire a full-time web staff, you can develop the site yourself or outsource the company. But if you’re like most small businesses, you’ll want to outsource the work.
Always be careful when you hire a web design company. A poorly designed website can cost you money, away from the customers. It can also hurt your company reputation. Follow a few basic steps to increase your odds of hiring a creative, technically and cost-effective design firm.1.
1) Assess your needs: Be realistic about your own goals and growth plans so you know whether to hire a long-term or a short-term company.
2) Research company’s work: It’s essential that you research a company’s work so you can evaluate their potential. Once you’ve found a company you like – through recommendations, web directories or competitors sites – evaluate their technology skills. A site doesn’t have to be flashy to do its job, but you must appreciate the developer’s design sense.
3) Evaluate their services: Decide if the company meets your needs. If you want to sell your products online, look for proven e-commerce experience. Determine what extras the firms offer, such as copywriting, marketing and other services. Try to get almost all web services from one place rather than shop around a lot. It is a very big time saver.
4) Meet the company: Your web design firm is going to present your web persona to the world. You must be able to work collaboratively. Ask yourself these questions and rely on your gut reaction:
» Do they listen to my needs?
» Do they explain issues in ways I can understand?
» Do they give fair suggestions about my project?
» Do they share my vision for the site?
5) Company history: You always ask/read of the company background/history.
6) Check references: Browsing a company’s work is helpful, but you also want to know how they work. A web design firm can be the most creative in the world, but if it never finishes your site, it won’t do you much good. Call past clients and ask if the design firm:
» Adhered to deadlines.
» Met their requests.
» Was responsive to suggestions and questions.
» Fixed problems promptly.» Worked within the original budget.
7) Think ahead: Over the past year, hundreds of web design firms of all sizes have merged, cut back their operations or simply closed. Although it’s impossible to know for sure whether or not a firm will be around in the future, you have a right to ask questions if you expect to build a long-term relationship. You should also ask whether a design firm will accept payment in stages or whether they’ll demand most of their payment up front. Firms that aren’t willing to link payment to their own ability to deliver might not be worth the risk you’ll take to deal with them.