3 Steps to Finding a Good Web Design Agency for Your First Website

If you own or manage a brick-and-mortar local business that’s ready to go online, the first step you need to take is to create a good website that will offer your customers a superlative user experience and will make them want to return for more. Indeed, a well-designed website is at the center of any successful online business, regardless of the type of customers you’re targeting (individual or business clients) or the type of product or service you sell.

When you’re building your first business website, it’s important to start off on the right foot so that you’re not left with a slow, unresponsive and unappealing site that’s more of a money guzzler than a revenue generator. This tends to happen often with local businesses, either because they chose the wrong web design company or because they did not know what they wanted from their first website.

Both of these problems are addressed when you opt to work with a reputable web design agency, which will take the time to understand your business and your brand, discuss expectations, make recommendations and then build a site tailor-made to your specific needs.

That said, with a host of web design companies to choose from, it can be difficult to find one that will do a fine job within your budget. Here are three tips that will help you pick a reliable, professional and trusted web development company.

Shortlist web designers with experience building websites for your industry

When you start looking for a good web development company, don’t just rely on recommendations and references from family and friends. Take the time to learn what it takes to make a successful website (that is, great design, fast loading speed, responsive design that works well on any device, easy navigation, a simple checkout process, and so on).

Once you’ve armed yourself with this knowledge, look for agencies that have been around for a while, have received good reviews and have designed websites for businesses such as yours. Shortlist your options and take the time to learn more about each other through their website, blog and other online resources. Learn about the company, their past clients, services on offer and core competencies. Most digital agencies have a blog on their official site. Read a few blog posts to gain an insight into their expertise, ethos and working style.

To sum up, you want to choose a web design agency that comes across as a professional, experienced and affordable. To learn more, take a look at these web design best practices that are followed by better digital agencies.

Check the capability of your chosen agency (or agencies)

Designing and developing a website from scratch are interrelated and yet different aspects of the website creation process. In addition to having superlative design and development capabilities, you’re chosen a company needs to ensure that your site is unique, is better than those of your competitors is optimized for mobile, and is hosted on a secure server to protect against cyber-attacks.

Knowing the services offered by each of your shortlisted agencies will help you make the right decision. For instance, you could always choose a web design company that solely focuses on designing and developing great websites. And then you can find a different digital agency to handle your online marketing. Alternatively, you can choose to work with a full-service agency that offers the whole gamut of services you’ll need going forward, such as SEO, paid ads, link-building, social media marketing, guest posting, email marketing and so forth.

Especially when you’re starting out as an online entrepreneur, we recommend that you pick a web design company that can serve as the one-stop-shop for all your digital needs.

Be money-wise when choosing your web developer

While you may have the funds to afford the most expensive web designer in town, it makes business sense to stop and think if you can get the same level of service at an affordable price. The key to finding the best web design agency is to avoid falling for the cheapest quote but also to ensure that you’re not being ripped off.

Ask for quotes from your shortlisted agencies and take the time to compare what’s on offer. Ask if you’ll be billed an hourly rate or a lump-sum fee for the entire project; find out about any additional costs you should expect and get a complete written estimate that includes project timelines as well as terms concerning redesign requests and after-sale support.

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