The Internet has transformed the way we shop, connect, research companies, discover products, understand solutions, and do business with web design agencies.
As a result, your business website is more relevant than ever before. It now plays some important roles, including number one salesperson, top education tool, and most valuable brand representation for all interested parties – including customers, buyers, prospects, partners, supporters, advocates, and leads.
Given the ever-growing role websites play in the way we do business, a standard online presence is no longer an option. Companies require a capable and experienced web design agency – one comprised of creative digital marketing specialists, talented designers, skilled technicians, content writers, and digital mavens who can ensure that your website successfully captures your core business goals, attracts prospects and partners, and grows your organization.
To make sure you partner with the right firm, here are four critical questions to ask potential web design agencies before hiring them:
1. What is the Agency Experience?
- How long has the agency been designing & developing a website?
- How many clients do they have?
- How many employees do they have?
2. How Much Should I Pay For the Website?
Prices vary from firm to firm, but a good way is to first check what the market is paying other agencies and then ask yours. You can see a lot of online cheap packages but as I will mention later, these packages come with additional prices, which you will know after your project is nearly 75% completed.
To some degree, the saying ‘you get what you pay for holds for web design agencies. However, at a certain point, the price just keeps going up, and the quality of the work does not justify the price.
3. Does the Agency Understand Your Goals?
Your website is simply an extension of your business, and this will highly impact on reaching your business goals. I would highly recommend communicating your business goals to the digital agency yourself. Make sure the agency understands your goals & objectives and is capable of achieving them.
For instance, if one of your goals is lead generation, ask the potential agency how will they attract traffic and convert those prospects. Moreover, ask the digital agency to show some case studies they already did. This will give an idea of the efficiency of the firm.
4. Will They Provide Technical Support When Required?
Often agencies develop websites and forget their clients. Make sure you do not get into this trap. From the moment the website is up, there will be tons of clients who can contact you anytime, and if there is a technical glitch at that time, you will lose the customer.
For this to accomplish you need to make sure you have all the necessary info on which you will-will need technical assistance.
Here is a small list of things that you need to get help with your web design agency:
- Your email setup
- Your hosting
- Your domain name
- How to set up products and delete them?
- eCommerce setup
Without good technical support, you need an extra developer to fix the remaining problems which you surely don’t want; because this will lead to frustration and most importantly expenses.
5. Do They Have it All in One Place?
Although freelancing is blooming these days because of the economic cost, it is surely not preferred if you develop a website from a dedicated web design agency. Make sure your web design agency is equipped with all the materials that are relevant to your website. That is, from graphic design to web development, from mobile app development to providing technical support.
Your website is an investment in your future so you can only afford to make it right the first time. Despite the challenges you face upfront, just make sure you are getting all the services from a single design agency which is capable of handling the task well.
6. Look For Any Hidden Costs
Hidden costs are quite common these days, and digital agencies use them to their psychological advantage. It is important to be aware of any ongoing charges or additional charges that may be applied after the project starts.
For example: When going for hosting and domain purchase, look for an SSL certificate which is sometimes not mentioned in the package and agencies add the expense by themselves. Another example of maintenance cost which is also hidden at times.
7. Can the Design Agency Be Your Long-term Partner?
An optimistic design firm is hard to find, but that does not mean it is not there in the market. Look for a firm that is competent yet friendly. How is the agency responding to your random questions? Are they getting irritated, or are they responding rapturously? Does the agency understand the long-term goals and what medium of communication are they using?
8. Can They Meet Your Budget While Being Productive?
If a design agency is providing various services, it will charge a premium cost. However, as a business, you need to keep in check your costs too. Can the agency provide your required service most productively? If yes, then go for the agency.
9. Look For the Finished Projects
A good digital agency puts all of its work online. This work is usually in the form of case studies, and other times it is in the form of customer testimonials. I would rather go for the first one. If the material is not available online ask the firm to provide it to you; go through the material and then be your judge.
10. Can You Update the Content Yourself?
Normally, if it is a WordPress website, which in most cases is, you can easily update the content with not much to no hassle. However, for that too, ask the agency to arrange a training session for your team. A neatly custom-designed website will speak for itself. You do not need much of a hassle with that.
Bottom Line
Selecting your digital agency is not an easy task, it requires careful consideration of many factors. Once, decided you have decided to enter into a commitment for the duration of the project life cycle. Make sure you select a creative digital marketing agency that doesn’t disappoint you in the future.
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August 17, 2019 
