Introduction

When it comes to creating a website for your business, one of the hardest things to do is finding a website design company that you can trust. Especially in the midst of Covid-19, there has been a surge in the number of freelancers and freelance companies joining in the sea of design providers out there,
making it even harder to decide which web designer is the right one for you.

This is definitely not a task you should carry out without caution. Times aren’t good, money is scarce. You certainly don’t want to receive anything less than optimal for your business to get your money’s worth. After all, your business’s website will almost always be the first point of contact for most of your potential clients/ customers. In most cases, not having a website is enough for a prospective client to decide not to engage your services.

But how are you supposed to know? It is not every day that you create a website. For most, it is a final straw that they bank on to stay relevant in a post-covid world. For others, it is the very first step into owning their own business. There are simply not enough experiences with a web designer for an individual to judge what is good and what isn’t. This is exactly why I am writing this article. If you are someone who is about to decide to create a website for your business, then please read on.

 

1. Does your web designer listen to your ideas?

No web designer or web design company should know your business better than you. You are the expert, you know what you sell best and you know why you are even considering a website in the first place. Especially if you are already reading this article. A good web designer would hear you out and listen to your ideas of a good website instead of forcing their opinions onto you.

We all have this habit of “leaving it to the experts” which, more often than not, leads to disappointment when the design churned out doesn’t turn out quite the way you want it. It is an unpleasant for both you and the designer so, make sure you do your homework. It is the least you could do to make things easier for both parties, unless you are fine with whatever web design the designer has in his stash of ready-made templates (not recommended).

Suppose they aren’t willing to listen, or worse, limit you to only certain “demo” designs. Then they are most probably planning to use ready-made templates to create your website OR, they lack the expertise to design a website according to how you want it. Remember, you have to take charge. It is your website. If you feel that they are unable to create what you want, by all means, back right out of the deal.

2. Are they able to build on your idea/ improvise ideas of their own?

Okay. I know I said that they should listen to what you have to say but it is also crucial that your web designer is someone who is able to improvise. The last thing you want is a designer that does exactly what you say, without adding in the flair of expertise.

As much as you are the expert in your business, when it comes to web design, it is their domain.They should critically access your idea and give realistic feedback on what works best for your business in terms of design. This feedback should aim to better your business, not tear down your original idea.

As contradicting as it may sound, you and your web designer must always be meeting in the middle. If they just give you an exact replica of what you show them, then you aren’t getting your money’s worth. Besides, web designers are designers after all. Not you.

3. Are they designing with a CMS platform? – WordPress/ Drupal/ Magento

CMS, the abbreviation for Content Management System, basically allows website owners to easily make changes and updates to their website on their own. Without it, you’ll have to contact your web designer/ developer every time you need a tiny change made on your site.

As a client, it is important that you know the differences between the best CMS’s available out there (WordPress, Shopify, Magento etc) and its limitations. If your website designer is any good at all, they should know exactly what you are talking about. They shouldn’t be recommending OpenCart or Shopify when you’re looking at making a website for your blog.

What about “hard-coding”?

There are so many web designers offering static website designs (HTML) and flaunting the fact that they “hard-code” their websites. Although it sounds nice on paper, hard-coding in 2020 makes little to no sense. The benefits that come with it are not usually tangible unless you are a multinational corporation, which I am going to guess that most of you here are not.

If your designer is trying to upsell a static HTML website to you, you should probably back off. With how much technology has evolved the conventional website creation methods, making websites no longer require such ancient methods.

4. Is your web designer a freelancer?

This is probably going to sound a little controversial but please bear with me, there’s a good reason for this. Now, I know I said earlier that money is scarce, times are hard and you should spend your money carefully, but when it comes to website design, you really get what you pay for. If you have been looking around for a web designer, you’ve probably seen many “good deals” out there. We’re talking about $200, $500 or anything below $2000 even. These people flood the market space for web design and have probably messed with your idea of how much a website should cost.

Regardless of the price, when you engage freelance designers, you’re probably gonna get freelance quality. No tech support, no web security, no maintenance or any form of guarantee. Which is about 60% of what makes a good website. You might even be duped into paying more for a “re-engagement” to clean up on the problems they leave behind, and because your website is already created by them, it would be hard to say no. They know it best after all. If you decide not to engage them, they might even make it harder for other developers to come in and fix it. So, thread lightly.

This is not to say that freelancers aren’t capable of churning out good, solid websites. Just bear in mind that you’re literally (arguably) paying for a piece of design for a website, no more, no less. Unless this freelancer is someone you know (a friend or family), you should probably start looking for someone web-trained on your end to take over after the website is done up. If you don’t, then be prepared to face technical challenges that are gonna cost your business about as much or twice as much to fix, than the initial cost of the website.

5. Have they been around for some time?

A good way to gauge the substance of a web design company is how long they have been around. The longer they have been around, the more experience (actual experience with clients) they have. With more experience, it means that they have had to overcome the fast-moving changes of the internet and adapt to it. And with all this considered, it is even more likely they will still be around in the next year or two to help support your website.

So, make sure you sniff out the iffy web design companies that are just here to earn a quick buck. Most of them don’t make it past the one-year mark. Especially with Covid-19 around, many of these new players are here just to make enough money to pass the rough tides. Every year, just like cafes, there are tons of new design companies that pop up yet less than half actually do it seriously and are in it for the long-term.

I always like to tell people who are interested in getting a website design done up this one fact over and over again. Website design, or web development in general is, in essence, a simple service. Although it can come in many different forms, it isn’t as complicated as other forms of digital services out there (ie. software engineering, cybersecurity etc).

That’s why it isn’t really all that important to find the most trendy or creative web designer. The important aspects lies in the not-so-designy parts of the deal (security, maintenance etc) and whether they are capable of supporting you in the months and years to come.

6. Are they strangely underpriced?

Like I said in my point about freelancers, underpriced websites are most likely too good to be true. You are definitely trading off some of the benefits in exchange for a lower price. While there are exceptions where website design companies cut corners to make owning a website more affordable for the regular joe, most of the lower priced ones are probably better to avoid unless they tell you exactly what they are cutting out of the deal to allow them to price so cheaply.

Your website is the storefront of your business. One of the first points of contact a potential customer or investor will have with your business. You really shouldn’t be competing to get the best price when it comes to your business website. Especially with websites, you probably get what you pay for. Anytime a web designer tells you they are able to build you a custom website for an amount below $2000 ($3000 for eCommerce), what they really mean is that they will help you install a $99 WordPress theme that hundreds or even thousands of other websites use, and replace the text and logos with yours. It is essentially “custom”.

If you want your website to be just a loose piece of asset to tell others “Hey! I have a website too!”, then by all means, try and get a good price you’re happy with. But if you want a website that value adds to your business, then you have to be willing to invest in it.

A good website opens up many new avenues to put your business on the map. Coupled with services like SEO and decent marketing efforts, you will definitely see a good ROI just by having a website. A bad website however, will only serve as nothing more than a keepsake or dead-weight.

So, make sure you ask yourself these questions before you embark on a journey to finding the right web designer.

Finding the right web design agency is by no means an easy task for a business owner, especially if you’re not familiar with tech. But once you find the right one to get the job done, be prepared to see your business prosper. Things will only get better.