Lots of people find their way to Launch Digital because their website isn’t working for them. People aren’t finding them online, or they aren’t getting the conversion rate they need. But once the decision has been made to take the leap and invest in a new website, how do you find the right web design agency?
With more options than your local dating app, you need to choose a good match for your company. Your website is the face of your business and should be a key source of new leads, so you need to make the right decision. We’ve got some tips to help you find the perfect match, someone who sees past your shabby exterior and understands the brand personality underneath.
Design and Development Process
If you’re going to shell out your hard-earned cash for a shiny new website, you want to know you’ll be getting a return on your investment. Imagine you’ve been waiting for your website with breathless anticipation, like a teenager before your first date. The website design is late, you finally get a glimpse, and it doesn’t reflect your brand. Even worse, it looks like all the other websites. AND it doesn’t include all the functionality you need.
Your website should be tailor-made to suit your business needs, and with website design best practices in mind. Talk through the web design and development process and the timeline with your prospective agency, so you know what to expect.
Experience In the Industry
Once an agency has been around the block a few times, they start to nail down their processes and iron out any glitches. Finding an agency that has been in business for a while generally means they have reliable internal processes and can adapt to different trends over time. It’s also great to find an agency that has experience developing websites for a range of industries – this shows versatility. Check out examples on their page of past clients and client reviews or testimonials.
Knowledge of Conversion Rates
Your website shouldn’t just be a pretty face; built right, it should be a valuable tool for your business. You want a team of web designers who:
– talk to you about driving targeted online traffic to your site
– help you determine the most valuable content for your customers
– give you the tools to learn about how your customers are interacting with your website
How Your Website will be Optimised for SEO
Have you heard the joke about the best spot to hide a dead body? The answer is on the second page of the Google search results – no one will ever find it there! Building an SEO friendly website is crucial to help you reach the coveted first page of the Google search for your target keywords. Your web design agency should be integrating keyword research, information architecture for effective crawlability, an optimised URL structure, responsive design, and correct use of meta descriptions, title and header tags, and image alt tags.
Relationship Fit
To steal a line from Elvis Presley, when you find the web design agency for you, it feels so right. As with any relationship, the cornerstone is good ol’ two-way communication. Are they asking you lots of questions? Do they explain to you each step of the process and any industry jargon? Are they responsive to your emails and calls?
At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how much your best friend’s mother’s company loved her web design agency if you don’t feel comfortable with them. Go with your gut and find someone who gets you.
Recommended Content Management System
When you finally get your new website in your hot little hands, it’s crucial that you can easily make simple updates, like changing pricing, switching images and adding new blog posts. If you have to go back to the web design agency every time you need a minor update, your bill will add up faster than a Vegas wedding. You want to make sure your new website has a content management system, so you can make changes with no coding required.
Hosting, Security and Maintenance
Don’t be fooled into thinking these three details are the boring fine-print that you don’t need to read. They are integral to the smooth operation of your website.
Firstly, the server. In today’s world of cloud technology and connectivity, you can use a server anywhere in the world. But there are significant advantages to having your website hosted locally, on an Australian server. Your website will load faster, and it will rank better in terms of local SEO. Secondly, you need your website to be secure from hackers, malware and other security threats, as well as being backed up regularly, so you don’t lose any vital information. And lastly, just like your phone’s software needs updating regularly to fix bugs and security issues, your website’s software is the same so check to see if your hosting provider updates the software each month.
If you need a new website for your business that is optimised for speed, reliability, and works to bring you customers while you sleep, we’d love to chat.
