Take a look at these web design stats for the year 2013:

  • 40% of your website visitors are likely to abandon your web page if it takes more than 3secs to load
  • In 2011, a massive $1.1 trillion worth of retail sales was said to have been influenced by the web
  • Sales have spiked for over 62% businesses who optimized their websites for mobile devices

Compelling arguments, aren’t they, to rethink your website design? Before you head out in a rush to get your website redesigned (or just designed for first-timers), get this. The problem that many businesses, entrepreneurs, and freelancers come up against, is how to zero in on the right web design agency from the 1000s out there!

And here’s the kicker, almost every agency promises the sky, but the reality can be quite starkly different. Here, we provide five surefire tips to help you select a web design agency that is just perfect for your business.

Understand Your Needs

What do you want to achieve with your website? What products or services does your business offer? Do you wish to engage with customers over the web, or is your website going to be an online face for your company? Do you want to sell products online? These questions will help you introspect and get a better idea of what you want from your website.

Browse Portfolios

Always, and we mean always, ask for portfolios from web design agencies. Go through them with a keen eye, and find similarities and patterns that can work in your website design. Check the agency’s own website for starters to know how serious they are about their own claims. Contact the clients mentioned if you can, and ensure the agency’s credibility. Satisfy yourself, that the agency you choose is capable of undertaking and executing your web design project.

Don’t Be Taken for a Ride

It helps to burn the midnight oil and do extensive research on the pricing of web design projects. There are tons of resources available on this topic, and you will also find many agencies to be forthcoming about their. Compare, evaluate and choose the best price for the best work you can afford within your timeframes. Don’t be alarmed if your agency asks for 20-30% of the payment in advance, as this is a regular practice with many professional web design agencies. They ensure their safety with an advance fee, you can ensure your safety with a legal and binding service agreement.

Ensure Two-Way Communication

The best web design agencies are always great listeners. They are personable and open to discussion, wanting to hear all you want to say and contribute towards the design process. They realize that it is your website and your insight is the most important. These agencies maintain constant communication with you via phone, email, Skype; and even have helpdesk and live chat options for you to reach out. When you are keyed in to the developments, you are reassured about the progress.

Read between the Lines

Look out for obvious oversells. There are many agencies that will promise you the moon. Don’t fall for these lures – promises to get you to the top of the search rankings, increasing your sales by more than 200%, and so on! A web design agency has nothing to do with improving your visibility of Google, or improving your sales – at least directly. That is an SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and marketing effort. Also, verify portfolios because there’s a lot of plagiarized and falsified data floating around on the web.

Use these five pointers, and you should be able to nail down a web design agency within no time!

Did you find this helpful?  We look forward to hearing from you. By the way, If you happen to know some other useful tips or something that worked for you, please feel free to drop a comment.