Your website is a virtual shop window that offers an insight into who you are, what you do and what you stand for. It needs to look right, communicate correctly and help drive business.

If your website does not effectively do these three things then you’ll need to get in touch with a web design agency that can help.

The Problem Is - Which One Do You Choose?

The internet is saturated with web design and build agencies, some are good but to be honest the majority are poor.

Firstly, you need to establish your goals. Are you selling products, displaying your portfolio or announcing your services?

What do you want your visitors to do? Put yourself in your visitors shoes.

Take a look at your competition and see what works effectively for them.

Once you have your goals in hand and an idea of what you are trying to achieve then consider these things:

Your Budget

You need to have a budget in mind. A good web agency will work to your budget and let you know what is achievable. It is in their interest to make your site successful.

Ask For Referrals

Ask around, speak to clients, colleagues and friends and see if they can recommend a design agency. Recommendation is a sure fire way of finding a reputable web design agency.

Check Out Their Website

Once you have a list of potential agencies you will need to check out their website. Are their designs to a high standard? Are their sites easy to navigate? Informative? Well organised? A good web design agency knows that their own site is it’s most powerful marketing tool and will put a lot of effort into perfecting it. If their own website is not up to scratch then move on to the next in the list.

Check Out Their Work

Look at their work and check that it’s as professional as their own website. Make sure they take pride in their work, all to many web agencies mimic sausage factories by churning out work in order to get money in with no real interest in long term client relations. A good web agency will look after you, your site and care about your business and your objectives. The more successful they make you, the more likely they are to get repeat business.

Client Testimonials

Don’t be afraid to ask for client testimonials, if they are serious about building relationships then they will be working hard to achieve kind words from their clients. If their clients are happy then you as a client are likely to feel the same way.

Meet The Team

You have narrowed your search down to a couple of possible options, now its time to meet the people involved.

You can tell a lot from a face to face meet, you will know from the off if they are people you are going to feel comfortable working with. A good web agency will listen to you brief, make suggestions on how to achieve your goals and put ideas forward (they should make sensible suggestions and talk you through the reasons for them. Don’t be baffled by bull-shit, you need real results so don’t be afraid to ask for proof). They won’t sell to you, they will be honest with you in the hope that you buy into them.

Ask About Pricing

Get them to give you a rough idea of cost, and be honest about your budget. They will always be able to offer an option to suit your budget, but at the same time it is their duty to recommend solutions that will make your site successful.

Get Proposals

After the initial face to face meetings get the agencies in question to put proposals together for you. You will then know if they have understood your business, your brief and your long term goals. You will also now have a fixed price for completing your project.

Once you have done all this you should have all the information you need to choose the right web design agency for you.

Your website is an integral part of your business and needs to be in the right hands from the off. Don’t just go with the cheapest solution, they are generally cheap for a reason. Go with the one that has the proven ability to achieve your goals. In the end you will save time, money and also have a site that you can feel proud of.