There are countless website design firms and each one claims
to provide the best solutions in comparison to all the other firms. For a
business looking at all the different providers it can become quickly confusing
and when faced with a deadline and a growing need for a better online presence,
making a choice is difficult and critical. In order to make the best choice for
your current situation you must evaluate each design firm you are looking at
and make an informed decision based on your research and not the firm's sales
pitch. There are several key factors you have to determine before you contact a
single designer. Following are 5 of the most important traits that should
influence your decision before finalizing a particular firm.
Does the company
provide SEO optimization in the web design- Website design and search
engine optimization are so closely related that the lack of planning for seo
during the design and layout of your website will be a handicap in how search
engines interact with your site during indexing and ranking. If your designer
understands seo and plans for online marketing during the design phase your
site will see massive returns on your investment in way of traffic and customer
conversions. Everything on your website from the content, layout, page titles
to even the website name itself is all part of seo and factored by the search
engines. Ask any potential design firm about relevant links, keyword research,
meta tags and on-site optimization. If you do not receive educated answers your
website will suffer for their inability.
For more: Website Design Leicester
Does the company
offer unique custom solutions- Having a unique design is very important in
distinguishing yourself from your competitors. If a company uses readily
available templates for your website then you will be unpleasantly surprised to
see your exact layout and design on numerous other sites. Look at the firm's
portfolio of past projects and see if they offer a range of different design
solutions or if they look very much the same with the biggest difference being
the color palette. The design firm you choose must be professional enough to
provide you with new ideas and concepts that will further promote your business
and help it stand apart in your industry.
Does the company
design with your business goals in mind- Even though a unique and
attractive site is a necessity, your website also has to perform the goals for
which it was built. A beautiful website without a clear call to action telling
the visitor what to do is useless as a marketing tool. A professional firm will
be able to incorporate unique design and functionality to promote your targeted
products or services, capture new visitors and turn visitors into customers. If
a design firm does not begin their initial research with the proper information
about your company goals, then the website they produce will fall short of
those goals also. You can learn quite a bit about a design firm by the initial
questions asked during your consultation. These questions point specifically at
the area the design firm is most interested in and if your company needs and
goals are not at the forefront of those questions, then they are not the most
important driving force to the design firm.
Checkout more: Social
Media Management Leicester
Does the company use
the latest web technology available- The software and languages used in
website design are constantly improving and being updated by the companies who
developed them. If your website is not being updated in order to be compatible
with new technology you will one day find that your website does not physically
perform any longer. It may be something as simple as a slider stops working and
remains on a single image or it may be as drastic as your website has
rearranged itself and is no longer legible. Even the software people use to
view your site is constantly changing and being updated to allow the use of
more advanced features. How your website appears when viewed in FireFox may be
completely different than what visitors see when using Internet Explorer or
Google Chrome. A professional design firm can produce websites that work as
expected in all the different browsers and devices that access it. Make sure
the designer offers websites that are cross browser compatible and mobile
responsive to ensure your website can be viewed from anywhere and on any
device. Also look at their support policy to ensure your site will be updated
in the future as new technology is introduced and current technology is
improved.
Does the company
allow you to make changes to your own site- If you cannot access your own
website in order to make changes then you are not in control of your website,
the designer is. Your website is a marketing tool and as such it should be
updated with fresh current information on a regular basis. This is only
accomplished in one of two ways which will drastically affect your wallet and
your marketing efforts. You call or email your designer and request the
changes, paying whatever fee they charge for the service and then you have to
wait until they can complete those changes, or you have complete control of
your website and can easily make changes yourself whenever you see fit. A
professional design firm can create a website that allows you to have complete
access to content, images, pages and posts and allows you to make changes on a
regular basis without the need to pay them an hourly fee. This should be a free
feature and you should never pay to have access to website you already own. Ask
if you will be able to easily make changes, if there is any special software
needed and if there will be any charges for this access. If you will not have
full access, or if the designer wants to charge extra for that option, then you
have not found a professional.
We have covered a lot of information so I would just like to
sum it up into key points that you should take with you. A professional design
firm will have SEO expertise and apply that knowledge to your website starting
on day 1 of the design process. They will also provide unique website designs
tailored specifically for your company and will not repeat designs in layout
and presentation. They will focus their efforts on upholding your company goals
during the design process and will offer a site that can meet those goals. A
professional will use the latest technology to create your website and will
ensure that future updates to those technologies are incorporated into your
site as a standard update policy. And last but not least, a professional design
firm will always allow you access to your website in order to make changes at
no cost. Without special software I might add.
I encourage you to do the necessary research before you
decide on any design firm for your next project.
To learn more about website design and the internet in
general, I encourage you to make a visit to our Digital Marketing Leicester.