Finding the right web design agency for my business

There are so many options available when you start to search for ideas on how to build your business website. It can be very overwhelming and confusing. One of the first things you have to decide is are you going to work on it alone or hire a web designer to take it on for you. There are numerous really great options that have been made available where you can sit down at your computer and develop a site on your own. Many of our clients have gone this route and it’s certainly the less expensive path, but it often lacks functionality, doesn’t show up as often in relevant search results as it could, and can look “simple”.

You want to present yourself online in the same confident way you do in person, and to do that you need to understand who you are as a company. A website should express both your brand or business’ story and aesthetically evoke the same emotions for your clients as when they walk in your front door.

This is where finding a confident web design agency can help you expand your market without pressing the limits of your schedule and know how when it comes to creating or updating your company site.

What to look for when choosing a web design agency

• Know what you love and hate about sites you have visited on the web. Everyone’s tastes vary drastically when it comes to how we present ourselves, both personally and professionally. You have spent countless hours deciding what your business needs to be and how it will serve your community, and your web developer needs to know your preferences so they can let your website “speak” for you. Do you love animated sites, do you want images of your business? Do you need someone to write copy for you? Does the simplicity of a minimalist site appeal to your market or will you want flashes of color and expression to excite your clients? Think about it, and if you know what direction you want to go, you will have better luck finding the right web developers and creating a website that truly speaks to your business or brand.
• Have big dreams, but be realistic. While you may have a lot of exciting services, products, or information to tell potential clients about on your website, having an individual page for every single item can make navigating your website difficult, and raise the cost. You may be able to combine pages where appropriate. “How many pages does your site really need to have?” is something a seasoned web agency will easily be able to help you navigate if you have goals in mind. So think about this list and come up with what feels good to you.
  • Goals – “What are the goals of your website?” should be one of the first questions you ask yourself when designing your site. Are you trying to direct people to sign up for something, to sell them eCommerce items, as a place to house your restaurant’s menu, to simply inform them about your business? Each business and brand has their own unique needs, and it’s important to narrow down what you really want your website to accomplish.
  • eCommerce – Are you wanting to sell your services or products through the website? There are many great platforms available for eCommerce sites that can help you boost sales. When you are discussing this option with a potential web team, look for signs that they not only have worked on building an eCommerce site before, but that the sites they have developed are user friendly. Go visit them and see how easy or difficult it is to make a purchase.
  • Blogging – When starting a new site, many businesses daydream of sitting down over a cup of coffee and expressing their services and love for their industry in a well written blog post — aiming to educate, uplift and bring life to their readers. Sadly, many business owners find they don’t have the time it takes to write copy for their site and blog pages get forgotten and inevitably hidden on most sites after a couple months of stressing over it. Something to keep in mind as you read this blog post is why you are writing and what it does for your business. You may or may not have heard the term “Search Engine Optimization” or SEO. SEO is the language of the internet. If you want potential clients to find you, you or your web team will need to develop a strong use of industry specific verbiage that will ensure the algorithms pick up your site and put it in front of the right people when they’re searching for you on Google, Bing, etc. Blogging is one of the ways to do this, but start out with a realistic goal. Keep in mind that many web development agencies employ or contract out this work and you may find paying a bit more for this service will help your business shine and reach a larger range of clientele than you knew possible.
• Understand that although there are some do-it-yourself website platforms available, it takes time to build a site that represents your company to its fullest. When you are looking at agencies available, ask them what their process is and get a clear picture of the site launch expectations. You can ask them to share their process with you and what typically holds up launch dates to avoid pitfalls when building your site.
• SEO, as we mentioned, is the way potential new clients find you. One of the barriers constantly faced by our clients that build their sites on self-serve platforms is that they don’t see much traffic. This is because a website has to have specific code written in to have the best search engine optimization results. Currently platforms like Wix and SquareSpace, although fantastic, aren’t developed to do this for their clients automatically because of the template format.

After you get all of your questions answered, ask yourself, “Does this agency understand what we do, why we do it, and how to use the best platform to create the best site that fits our needs?” You will find that a lot of people can build you a website but not a lot of people hold the knowledge that an agency well versed in marketing can offer you. When you are trying to reach the masses, it is helpful to have a team that knows the values of not only your website but also how to market you in a multitude of digital outlets including social media, television, and radio. A well versed team in your corner is worth its weight in gold.

Here at Arrow Marketing, Media & Consulting, our core value is to build businesses through better marketing. Better Marketing to us means tailored, made to fit, inspired by our clients marketing campaigns. If your first priority is to put up a strong website then it’s our first priority to help the world find your business by building a site that makes you proud. Your confidence in our team of designers is our goal. We work with a handful of designers internally and contractually to guarantee your money and time are not wasted.

We hope that in this process we can offer you the support you need and the site you want so you can get back to doing business as usual.