Free 10 point purchasing guide for asking your web designer the correct questions
As part of any procurement process when your looking to start a business you always have to do your research. This applies to every day life and any type of decision process. If you we're looking for a builder to do work on your house you would always look for examples of the work they have done, ask for references and get quotes off at least three companies. These same principles apply when you are purchasing a website and which agency you would like to work with.
Below we have given a brief description for questions to ask your web designer as part of the whole selection process. We have also created a free website purchasing guide called 'Website Design & Development, 10 Point Purchasing Guide', that goes into much more detail and gives you a free checklist to create a shortlist of recommended web design agencies for your next project.
What type of website does your business need?
Before you start researching which web design agencies you would like to shortlist, ask yourself the question 'what type of website does my business need?'.
Within the web design industry their are many terms used to describe which type of website is best for your business, which are listed below:
- Brochure style website
- eCommerce website
- Custom development website
- Responsive website
- Content management system (CMS)
By understanding what type of website your business needs, you can make sure your shortlisted agencies offer the correct service and may even be specialists in your sector.
Download our guide
for a more detailed explanation on types of websites
How to search for agencies
Being able to choose the right supplier means having a good choice of relevant candidates to start with, using ‘Google’ as your search tool is always the best place to start, unless an agency has been recommended to you.
When you do a google search for ‘web design company’ or ‘web design agency’ you will be presented with over 140,000,000 results.
You may want to refine your search by typing in your location, ‘web design company manchester’, ‘web design companies london’ or get even more specific by typing in a search term that uses your nearest local town.
Whilst browsing through the search results and viewing specific agency websites, bear in mind the following key pointers:
- Assess their own digital presence
- Research their services
- Experience
- Quality of work
- Specialist sectors of work
By choosing three agencies using these search techniques you’re spreading your options with local and city centre agencies.
Download our guide
for a more detailed explanation of how to search for agencies
Research what type of work they do
An agencies portfolio is its main shop window, so pay close attention, have a look at their portfolio and try to find work that relates to your project and industry.
Get a detailed proposal for your project
Once you’ve narrowed your list of prospective agencies, get them all to create you a detailed project proposal.
A good project proposal should give you details on the project time-line, features and costs.
How do they manage projects?
This is where we get into the complexities of business relationships, creating a firm relationship almost certainly creates success, make sure the questions for your web designer are clear and to the point. Ask for references from previous clients, speak with them and ask how smoothly their project went!
Download our guide
for a more detailed explanation of how to manage projects
These are just a few of the topics covered in our free website purchasing guide, to become more informed and create clarity for your procurement process selecting the correct type of agency for your project download our guide now.
FREE 10 point website purchasing guide
This guide is for you if:
• You are looking to create a new website for your business
• You want to re-design and re-develop your existing website
• You are unhappy with your current web design company
• You need to create a mobile ready (responsive) website
• You want to learn how to manage the development of your new digital project
Pro tip: An agency with an opinion, is usually an agency with a long-term digital strategy