Guide To Choosing A Web Design Agency: For Small Business Owners

In this digital age, more and more people prefer to buy online. Even small business owners should also have efficient and effective websites to attract clients who are browsing online. In this regard, it is important to choose the right web design agency for your needs.

There’s a sea of web design agencies out there, and all of them will promise to do this and that but only a few can truly deliver. You don’t want to waste time and money in hiring an unreliable web design agency. It is also advisable to prepare a list of web design agencies that piqued your interest.

Below is the list of things that you need to consider before hiring a web design agency.

1. Budget

It is essential to set your budget first before you start looking for a web design agency. This can also help the web agency to give you a design that fits your budget without sacrificing the quality of the web design.

If you have something in mind but your set budget is not enough to accommodate your request, a good web design agency may recommend something that’s within your budget. It may not give you everything you want, but it will be an efficient and effective design.

When giving the agency the budget that you want them to work with, only give between 75 percent and 90 percent of your actual budget. That way, you can still accommodate a great suggestion without going beyond your actual budget.

2. Pricing

Most agencies don’t post their prices, but there are still others that prefer transparency. However, numerous reliable website design agencies keep the prices to themselves unless you inquire about it.

If you don’t know anything about the usual prices that website design agencies charge their clients, you need to do some research so you can have an idea about the pricing. You can haggle better when you know the price.

3. Fees and Charges

Some agencies have other fees and charges that they don’t often tell their clients right away. You can ask about it directly to the agency. You can also ask other things that you want to clarify from the agency. If none of the staff is willing to discuss it, you might as well proceed to the next one on the list. If the staff is already uncooperative early on, don’t expect them to help you out immediately in the future when you need some help in the design of the web that they created.

4. Past Agency Clients

A good, established web design agency must have numerous clients in the past. You may ask for the agency’s past clients as well as the work samples that they did for a particular client.

You may ask for the past clients’ contact information and contact them directly to ask about their experience with the web design agency. If the web design agency is not willing to disclose it, you may consider taking your business elsewhere. There is a huge possibility that the client was not satisfied with their work, and they know it.

5. Client Retention Rate

You can ask the agency about their client retention rate. 60 percent is good and anything lower than should alert you and make you think whether the agency is doing something sketchy. Retention rate between 70 percent and 90 percent shows that the agency has an exceptional client satisfaction rating.

6. Website Technical Support

You must know the name of the person that you need to look for in case you require technical support. There should be assigned technical support to your website. This can prevent the agency from pointing fingers at just about anyone if you don’t have the name of your technical support. It can also make them more responsible when you know who to look for.

7. Customer Support

Customer support is different from technical support. In case your technical support is not available, you can ask the customer support for a substitute. You may also contact customer support when you have some things that you need to clarify. Their customer support must guarantee to give assistance 24/7.

8. Website Update

It is important to make it clear with the agency about the person who will be responsible for any website updates to make sure that your site will run smoothly all the time.

9. Hosting Service/Site Relocation

There are times when the web design agency may not work with the hosting service that you have. They may have their own hosting service or move your site to another host. You must know your hosting service or whether it is moved. You need to tell them your target demographic or area so that your target customers can access your site with ease.

10. Criteria and Deadlines

The agency must be able to present achievable, realistic criteria, and deadlines. They should give a precise, concise answer and avoid beating around the bush. Time is money, and they should know that too.

Keep this list of criteria in mind and find yourself a reliable web design agency.