1) Is your website designer asking you the right questions?

Regardless of whether you opt to use a freelancer or a professional website design service, they should always ask you plenty of questions. They should know you’re not an expert at web design and should have the ability to ask questions that you understand and explain the reasons why.

If they’re not asking you relevant questions such as: What do you do? Who are your potential clients? What are your goals? and What do you need the website to do for your business? then maybe it’s time to move on.

With the right questions asked and more importantly, the right answers, your website designer should be able to produce what you need.

2) Successful websites are more than just pretty

When you speak to your chosen website design service listen to what they say. If the only thing that they talk about is how the website will look then ‘alarm bells’ should definitely start to ring. Yes having a great looking website is important, but the results of how your website will perform is vital.

They should be explaining about how they, or you, will be able to measure user numbers, conversions, bounce rates, time on the website, where traffic is coming from. If they only talk about the colour and type of font used on the website then are they really bothered about the site being successful?

3) Is the website design service competent in many aspects?

The website design service that you choose should be an expert in their field. Not only do they need to be able to build great looking websites, they need to be able to demonstrate that they know how to help you and your website grow post launch. This could include SEO, inbound marketing strategy, social media, content marketing and online advertising to name but a few.

4) Will they tie you in?

We’ve designed many websites for companies in Mansfield and from across the UK and one thing that we’ve found is no matter where you’re based there are some very underhand tactics going on. We don’t mean to scare you, probably 99.9% of web design companies are genuine and want the best for you. But, we’ve had a number of clients in the past who have found themselves contractually tied to their previous developers.

When you decide to work with a new website design company make sure that you understand how your website will be built. If it’s created using an inhouse system then the chances are moving the site at some future point may prove difficult. Make sure that you have full ownership of your domain name (website address) and you know exactly what’s involved.

5) Mobile responsive websites are nothing new

As the use of mobile devices and internet searches on mobile devices has increased year on year, your new website design should be mobile responsive. No website design company should offer you the option of ‘adding’ on a mobile responsive version, it should be standard practice.

Over five years ago Google and other search engines ruled websites should be responsive or have versions that work fully on mobile devices.

6) Is the website design service rated highly?

Look for signs online that your potential new website design company is really great to work with. You could view their social media feeds, look for testimonials and reviews on third party websites or even call a few of their clients from their portfolio.

7) What are the ongoing costs and how much will it cost?

All websites have ongoing costs, whether it’s website hosting, domain renewals, care plans, security or ongoing marketing help that you’ll need. Find out what costs there are going forward to begin with.

Summary

If we were to offer one piece of advice, it would be to actually talk to the web design company. Sounds simple, but a conversation is a really good way see whether there is good synergy and fit with you and your business. Email is great, but by speaking to your web developers you’ll get a much better feel for them.