How to Find the Best Web Design Agency for Your Business

If you plan to invest in a website for the first time or to reinvent your current website then you should ask a web design agency to help you create your perfect online presence. As the company will be working for you for a while, you need to make sure they understand your business, your ideas and that you can have a good working relationship with them. If you are new to hiring web designers then check out the guide below to help you make the right choice for your business...
Where to start
Do you have any friends or business contacts that have recently had a new website designed? If so, ask them which company they used and if they were happy with the service and end result. Make sure you take the time to do a little research of your own using the internet as a starting point. Firstly, decide whether you want to work with a local company or a national agency. This really all depends on how you like to communicate. If you’re happy with phone calls and emails then you can choose a company based anywhere in the UK or even abroad. If you’d like to meet them in person in order to get across your ideas then you should carry out a local search, for example if you are based in Leeds try searching for ‘web design Leeds’ to get a list of local companies.
Establish areas of expertise
When you contact your chosen design companies, ask them whether they specialise in certain industry areas or types of website design. You may come across some companies for example who design websites purely for the financial industry or have strong experience in flash animation or content management systems. Which company you choose depends on your personal requirements. If you want a company who truly understands your industry and business then you might want to opt for one that has previous experience in your area. Always ask for a list of websites and previous work which they have carried out so you can then assess the standard of work they provide.
Extra services
Some companies you approach may have other departments which offer extra online services such as copywriting or search engine optimisation. You might want to consider working with a design agency who can offer these additional services as you will need them at some point. If you are new to the area of online marketing then make some enquires about how these services can benefit your business. You will certainly need some help with optimising your website so that it can be viewed by potential customers. Very briefly, search engine optimisation is about optimising your website for phrases which people type into then search engines to find businesses like yours. For example if you offered a web design service in Leeds and you wanted to attract potential customers you would optimise your website for ‘web design Leeds’.
Make sure that before you make your decision, you get quotes from at least three different companies so that you can compare the level of service, expertise and what you can get for your budget.