How To Find The Right Website Design Company

[brandblast]

Are you looking to have your site professionally designed but aren't sure how to find the right website design company? This guide will help you identify the important points to consider and how to make an effective decision.

A version of this article is also available at http://brandblast.com/webmaster/arti...n-Company.html

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1. Self Analysis
A good Web design firm will work with you in defining your organization’s requirements, but you should still have a basic idea of what role the Web site will fill within your organization. Will it provide information on your company, like a brochure? Will it speak primarily to new accounts? Will it promote a closer relationship with your existing clients? Will it serve the needs of your employees? All or some of the above?

In order to find a Web design firm best suited for your project, your organization should be aware of the following:

oThe intended audience for the Web site
oThe intended goal of the project
oAnticipated budget for the Web site
oHow the project will fit into a larger marketing/corporate scheme
oThe individuals/departments within your organization responsible for the project

Once you have determined these initial requirements, document them and use them as a basis for evaluating each Web design firm. This document gives you a common yardstick to measure each Web design firm you will be contacting. Similarly, a professional Web design firm will respect the fact that you are taking your project seriously.

2. Generate a list
There are a number of ways to search for a Web design firm. Each method has its own strengths and weaknesses, so a combination of the different approaches will be your best bet for finding a Web design firm to match your needs.

-Other Web sites
Determine the Web design firm that is responsible for the Web sites of organizations that you admire. These organizations may be your competitors, or in related or unrelated industries. Sometimes the Web design firm is included in the site credits, or is listed elsewhere on the Web site.

If you cannot find the credits on the site itself, feel free to contact the organization and ask which Web design firm is responsible for the Web site. This can also be a good source for references for that Web design firm.

-Referrals
Ask business acquaintances, friends, and family which Web design firm designed the Web site for their respective organizations, or if they can otherwise recommend a Web design firm. Be inquisitive. Find out what the individuals responsible liked or disliked about working with the various Web design firms. Some firms are better suited for taking a project from start to finish. Other Web design firms are more inclined to work from an existing concept.

Once you have gathered a list of potential Web design firms you are ready to pare them down to a shortlist.

3. Create a shortlist
From the list of potential Web design firms, your organization’s goal should now be to create a shortlist of 3-5 that are best suited for your project. In order to determine which Web design firms are most appropriate for your project, do the following:

-Examine the portfolio
Do the projects in the portfolio have a consistent quality? If not, it’s possible that the company has experienced staff turnover. You may wish to enquire which designers are responsible for the portfolio pieces you admire most, and confirm that these individuals are still with the company.

Has the Web design firm provided solutions to other companies in your industry? Have they dealt with similar challenges to those faced by your organization? These are some important factors to consider. At the same time, look at the Web design firm’s breadth of experience – they may be able to address your immediate needs, but will they be able to provide solutions 6 months down the road, or 1 year later, or 5 years later?

Thanks to the distributed nature of the Internet, some of the better Web design firms have implemented systems that allow them to work with organizations across the globe as easily as organizations across the street. When reviewing the Web sites of a Web design firm, note the geographical location of their clients. A Web design firm that has worked with clients in many geographical locations will have a more global approach to your Web site.

-Analyze the process
Does the Web design firm have a clearly stated process for designing and developing Web sites? Do they spend enough time understanding your Web site goals and planning how those will be achieved? Avoid selecting an individual designer, on a freelance basis, to design and develop your organization’s Web site. It is rare to find a single person capable of handling the combined visual and technical elements that make an effective Web presence. Additionally, by depending on an individual, your organization is at risk of losing its investment should anything occur to that one individual.

Determine what other products/services the firm can offer
What kind of value-added products or services can the design firm offer? If your organization is not currently dealing with a print design agency, for example, this might be a factor for dealing with one group over another. Similarly, can the firm provide database and software development should your organization wish to Web-enable some of its existing systems or processes?

During this stage, your organization should make contact with the potential Web design firms that are on your shortlist.

4. Get proposals
Once you have selected your top Web design firms, request that they send you a proposal. Ask that their proposal include an overview of your requirements and their proposed solution. This will help to determine which Web design firm understands your requirements best. Also ask that each Web design firm include a description of their development process and a price breakdown for the various aspects of the Web site project.

5. Evaluate the proposals
Start off by examining each proposal individually. Before dealing with the content, evaluate the format and presentation of the proposal. The winning Web design firm will be creating your organization’s image on the Internet, viewable to millions of Internet users. How did they present themselves? Do they communicate with you using their Web site and digital documents?

Maintain a list for each proposal, consisting of its strengths and weaknesses, and the strengths and weaknesses of the respective Web design firm based on its other materials (Web site, portfolio, brochure, case studies, etc.).

After your organization has reviewed all proposals, compare them with each other. How do they fare in terms of presentation? Do they present upgrade paths for your project, going beyond the needs of the immediate goals outlined?

Once you have made a decision, contact the Web design firms that did not win the contract, and share with them the strengths and weaknesses of their proposals, and the reasons (in general terms) why your organization selected the winning firm. Lastly, contact the winning Web design firm and let them know the good news.

[eightfifteen]

Or you can just contact me and relax know that you made the right decision.

[matauri]

While a good article, I would have disputed some of the criteria you have stated.

First...you have not targeted your reading audience. Is the article for the corporate entity, or for the small to medium business? Different game rules apply to all. Grouping them is paramount to arogance over the clients capabilities.

1. A medium to corporate entity would have the resources to facilitate this task. Wheras a small to medium business owner wouldn't. Therefore a good web designer would be one that can take what the client wishes, work with it, then liase with the client in the aftermath. This may take more work on the part of the web designer, but he must charge accordingly. Small to medium business owners don't have to to go through all the trivialities concerned with building a web presence. They want to simply hire a designer to do as they ask. Flexibility, versatility and creativity are the key words here.

2. Again this is targeted at the larger business owner. Making lists of websites that have the attributes you find appealing, is also looking at taking out a second mortgage. The small to medium business owner gets deflated at the costs involved by hiring high profile designers. They then tend to go to the opposite end of the spectrum, the cheapest & nastiest or the DIY. Prospective website owners should also know that the same result can be achieve at a lot less expense. Therefore, the best way to decide on who you want, is to simply search for designers, then ascertain their talent. Once you have done that, you have a better comparison of the cost factor, as you are getting a broader spectrum of those to compare to. I have seen websites cost in excess of $4million dollars, yet visually look no more than about $10k. These aren't the types of websites that prospective site owners should be comparing.

3. Yes for the most part...except. Never underestimate the quality you can get out of freelancers. First off, a freelancer has your project in their hands from beginning to end. It is not in a production line. With a multistaffed design business there is no guarentee that the staff that carry out the plentitude of tasks involved in the design process are the best in their field. The best are usually freelancing. A freelancer web designer is accoustomed to outsourcing aspects, and will have a list of the best involved in each field. After all, their reputation is dependent on being the best. There is also the cost factor again...the freelancer has no overhead costs such as office rental etc, so therefore their sites are much more competitive.

Items 5 & 6 definately valid points. If a design company no matter what size (freelancer or not) can not project themselves well in the initial presentation of the consultation & quoting process, then where is the confidence that they will project themselves well with your project.

Like I said, well written article, but just as you cant blanket designers, you cant blanket potential clients either. I would have like to see it directed to different target audiences. As it stands you have told the potential site owner to do a lot of hard work that they may not understand, and that they should go with a larger business rather than a freelancer or small man outfit to get what they want. Too many big holes there.


Cindy

[eightfifteen]

Matauri, you were right on the money when you said small-medium sized companies get floored by prices. We offer large agency quality for one-third of what the big boys in town charge, and people still scoff at the price. This problem is getting worse since every owner now has a nephew, secretary, whatever, that bought a copy of Frontpage.

Freelancers in general are fine for SOME aspects of the website project, but I would not trust a freelancer for the complete production. The web site is too visible for that.

[brandblast]

Matauri,

Thank you for taking the time to review my article and provide feedback, it's always appreciated.

You pose some valid questions which I'm happy to clarify.

The article is targeted towards a general audience who feels the website that will be the online representation of their business is important enough to warrant some preparation and thorough research.

This is not simply focused at a larger corporate client; both first time owners and corporate entities can take advantage of the helpful information provided.

Small business owners will find this information particularly useful because they have to ensure that the decisions they make with their money is based on solid research, they can't afford to make a wrong decision which will essentially cost them more to fix.

To imply that a small business owner would not consider this an important business decision worthy of research and careful evaluation is stereotypical and unfair to the thousands of savvy small business owners worldwide who run their small businesses with outstanding professionalism and discipline.

The reason why I refer to website design firms is that it is simply a better business decision to choose a team of professionals dedicated to your project, a freelancer will not have the collective expertise ultimately resulting in a sub par website. Choosing a freelancer doesn't even give you a price advantage since most freelancers rates are fairly close to those of design firms without the added benefits.

You wouldn't hire one person to build your house; there are too many disciplines that combine to provide you with a stable, functional home. The same goes for website development, so many variables unknown to even some "professional website designers" are involved that one person simply can't possibly have expertise in all of them.

I'm sure the freelancers on WPW will converge on this thread to attack this statement but it simply is true.

We take redesign projects on a weekly basis from clients who didn't do their research and ended up with a website which simply doesn't achieve their expected business goals. Many of them chose a freelancer or design firm without carefully scrutinizing their abilities and credentials.

Taking this discussion to a price point doesn't work because price although an important part of your decision, is less important than getting it right the first time and avoiding additional redesign costs down the road.

We have many successful clients whose development costs averaged $750, so it is possible to find a quality design firm for a reasonable price, the advice that resounds throughout the article is not "pay more", it simply is "get more".

Once again, thank you for your feedback.

[mikmik]

(Nice resources on your site, brandblast!)

Good points, brandblast. I agree that your article addresses most scenarios.
However, I would also consider the businesses that want a local, more personal relationship that a small, or single person operation could provide.

Could not a person such as myself, Matauri, eightfifteen, and the like not offer specialized resources through affiliates or associations with programmers etc?
This is,understandably a logistics situation that never the less a single person could facilitate all the clients needs by coordinating the resources. I am not talking about very large projects, but I think that a properly arranged 'network' would be able to provide the same level of service with the added benefit of the customer still having a close ear of the developer.
Whatcha think?

[brandblast]

Mike,

Thank you for your kind compliment on our resources, it is appreciated.

I believe what you are saying is that the freelancer is then acting as Designer and Project Manager of his chosen team for a specific project.

I agree that this is a viable option and should be fully considered.

The internet has changed the way people work, so essentially a team made up of people on different corners of the globe can be just as effective as an in-house design team.

My comments prior were mainly focused at the one-person design team who knows a little about everything therefore can't really give his clients an edge on any one particular area.

[alienzhavelanded]

There is nothing wrong with a one person design team, especially if the client is satisfied with what they get.

Happy coding,
The Martian

[Dragonsi]

Some very good points made above and I just wish to point out the small/medium business feel.

Where I am based in west Wales (UK) - 80% of businesses fall into the SME (Small/Medium enterprises) market and from the clients I have already picked up, they much prefer a small local business to perform their website development. I can safely say that 90% of my clients would never of chosen a non-local or large website company. They want the friendly - face 2 face approach that a local company can offer (compared to email or telephone consultations). Dispite the fact that I am a 'one-man' opperation and I have had to turn down work because I felt that the requirements of the project was above my programming and coding abilities. Most clients are happy with the fact that I can provide good quality sites at a 3rd of the cost of the 'big boys'.

The subject of price does naff me off. As already stated above, small businesses fall over in shock when I give my quotes, dispite being lower than larger organisations, they are expecting a website for a few hundred bucks - not realising how much work goes into the project (design, build, testing, optimising, etc).

The subject of locality is changing as the web gets closer and younger owners/businessmen become active in marketing their businesses. I am about to take on my first international project and as comunities like this one become common, I now know that if there is something that I am asked to do but not sure if I am capable of, I can just ask for help on forums and alike - and there's a very good chance I shall recieve this help whether paid or not.

The big drawback I can see with small design companies like myself, is longevity >> will that small company still be in business in 12 months time, when a major update is required on said website..?

Well, I'm still here and approaching year 2. I know that I have no intention of stopping yet - my advantage >> low overheads... I work from home, don't pay any staff wages (except me) and my general bills are tiny... Working from a large office and employing 10 people to do 1 project has BIG overheads >> now this could mean big trouble if work slows down...

[a_snowden]

Hi guys,
some interesting and relevant points here, but it seems to me that, as in most such discussions, one VERY important factor has been forgoten or glossed over......where do the visitors come from?

In my experience far too many sites are designed without thought to how targeted visitors are going to find the website.

Matauri... most SME's I deal with don't know enough about WWW marketing to brief a designer correctly, so who takes responsibility for making sure that the site will provide a good ROI? I think the web designer should be able to at least advise clients on this very important component of *successful website* design.

IMHO too many web designers pay too much attention to design esoterics and not enough to getting results. Not all websites need to get visitors from SE's, but most do, and it seems to me that not enough designers know how to design for this, particularly in the SME end of the market.

Wether you charge prices people scoff at, or bargain basement prices, if the website doesn't get measurable results the client has wasted their money.......

[CLBridges]

It seems everybody's correct on their specific points here.

Matauri's right.. the article does seem to be written more for a larger business. If the small to medium business owner were to read the article, they'd *GULP* at the enormity of the task and just end up asking their "nephew, secretary, whatever, that bought a copy of Frontpage" (haha) to design their site.

Mikmik's "network" theory is correct as well. Whether that network be one freelancer and his techy friends or a design firm and their staff, what's most important is that one person understand the whole project from start to finish and see that it gets done.

Hats off to Dragonsi for not biting on projects that could end up being more than he can chew. It's been my experience that just the opposite seems to be the norm, especially when dealing with design firms. I don't think it's intentional though. Probably more like they didn't pay enough attention to what the client thought he was getting and/or what was actually possible ie. didn't understand the whole project.

I was a little confused at first as to what a_snowden's point was, but I think he was suggesting that the article should include something about asking the potential candidates if they incorporate standard SEO technology in their site design?

All in all, it's a great article.. but written more for the individual/organization with a better than average understanding of the internet and how it all works. Those without it probably wouldn't get past Step 1: Self-Analysis. Does this mean they aren't "serious" about the project? Of course not! It means they need the article written before this. The "So you think you need a website? for Dummies" article.

Perhaps finding the right design firm/freelancer depends (first) on how much you know and (second) on how much they know?

[Upstart]

Originally Posted by eightfifteen

Matauri, you were right on the money when you said small-medium sized companies get floored by prices. We offer large agency quality for one-third of what the big boys in town charge, and people still scoff at the price. This problem is getting worse since every owner now has a nephew, secretary, whatever, that bought a copy of Frontpage.

Old timers will remember the "desktop publishing" craze when everyone's nephew was a graphic designer. As with that, we'll have to wait out the period of time it takes for the general business person to get a handle on what's involved in building a website and what it is they're paying for.

And some of it is us learning how to best position/describe ourselves and how to interview clients for their needs.

Originally Posted by article

contact the Web design firms that did not win the contract, and share with them the strengths and weaknesses of their proposals, and the reasons (in general terms) why your organization selected the winning firm.

Suppliers in all disciplines advise this but does any client actually do it? It's much like getting a budget number upfront out of a new client. Many (most?) will be mum on it because they think it gives them an advantage.

[lseeley]

Great discussion, which illustrates that getting the right web design for the right person requires a lot of considerations. Unfortunately, the buyer doesn't always realize how much is involved.

Our firm offers both marketing and design, and just like many of you, we've had the "sticker shock" reaction from some clients when they get our design quotes, despite our extremely moderate prices. And yes, they always have a nephew/daughter/cousin/friend who designed their own site and will be happy to do it for free! The problem is, many of these sites are not that attractive, not that functional, and definitely not designed for SEO. The site owner, not realizing this, thinks he got a great deal.

Like so much else in the internet world, this means that whenever possible, we need to educate the client about exactly what is entailed, and why a professional design will work better for them:

1. Does their design work at all screen resolutions?
2. Do all the images load properly? Are they sharp and clear, or fuzzy and non-optimized?
3. Does the site take too long to pull up unless you have broadband, or is it friendly to dial-up users?
4. Does it have all of the information you need, and is it easy to find?
5. Has someone put hidden text or other search engine no-nos on there?
6. Does it offer secure online shopping?
7. Does it match your company's image and industry?

In my experience, tactfully posing questions such as these and explaining why they are important can help turn a holdout into a customer.

[capnatura]

-Examine the portfolio
Do the projects in the portfolio have a consistent quality? If not, it’s possible that the company has experienced staff turnover. You may wish to enquire which designers are responsible for the portfolio pieces you admire most, and confirm that these individuals are still with the company.

Hi, I'm a designer but, just as you, probably, I try to put myself in the client "shoes", so I visited your firm website and took a peak at your portfolio...

IF I WERE A CLIENT I would ask you this questions:

1. If your "portfolio speaks for itself", as you say in your site, why don't you put the URLs in them? Can't any visitor, client or not, take the "full" on-line experience?

2. Do you really think a client will ONLY take a JPEG picture as a proof that your company was indeed responsible for the websites design?

3. What do you mean by "random selection of our portfolio"? Is it a 'random' script or a selection of your work? (this way, it can't be random)

4. Why most of your portfolio 'sites' (by a great percentage) can't be found in the web (by guessing their URL, at least)?

5. Why doesn't your own firm website equals in design "quality" those shown in the "examples of our work"?

6. Why doesn't your "Latest Clients" (The Wrinkle Cure and DeRussell Products) web design "quality" equals, or are at least similar, to your portfolio overall design quality?

7. Is it possible that your portfolio pictures (examples) are not of your responsability and/or of your team?

IF I WERE INDEED A CLIENT I would have the right of asking this questions, don't you think 'brandblast'?

Thanks for your time,

Ricardo Pereira

[venividi]

Originally Posted by eightfifteen

Matauri, you were right on the money when you said small-medium sized companies get floored by prices. We offer large agency quality for one-third of what the big boys in town charge, and people still scoff at the price. This problem is getting worse since every owner now has a nephew, secretary, whatever, that bought a copy of Frontpage. .

Oh, it doesn't matter: nephews, secretaries and whatevers are not real competitors, On the contrary, I would say. Most of the sites I've been working on since last year are sites made by amateurs. When they contact me, the site owners are already aware that a site is not that easy to do. this means that I am spared a lot of words to convince them.

Freelancers in general are fine for SOME aspects of the website project, but I would not trust a freelancer for the complete production. The web site is too visible for that

An experienced freelancer has allies in a variety of fields. But I notice you said 'in general' ... so that's all right :-)
Valeria

Web site design and translation
http://www.vernondata.it
http://www.e-passport.it

[CLBridges]

Originally Posted by lseeley

Like so much else in the internet world, this means that whenever possible, we need to educate the client about exactly what is entailed, and why a professional design will work better for them..

Originally Posted by Upstart

And some of it is us learning how to best position/describe ourselves and how to interview clients for their needs.

Exactly! (Wish I could have worded it that way!) Only a very small percentage of those looking for design services would be able to offer enough details as to what they need when asking for proposals. Realizing this, a client should be cautious of any design firm submitting a proposal without asking a few (if not many) questions first.

Carrie**

[brandblast]

Ricardo,

Thank you for taking the time to visit our website and pose your questions, I’ve answered them below. I have also taken the liberty of taking a look at your site and am happy to provide you with some needed help at the end of this thread.

1. If your "portfolio speaks for itself", as you say in your site, why don't you put the URLs in them? Can't any visitor, client or not, take the "full" on-line experience?

[ANSWER] Our portfolio is made up of a random selection of some of our valued clients, we choose not to display our urls so that our clients are not bothered by questions from visitors in their initial stages of securing a development company, our clients are not our sales people and we don't feel they should be used in such a way. With the exceptions of our latest clients section, which is up only until the next 2 launches, client urls are provided with formal proposals and only upon client acceptance. We respect and honor our clients right to privacy even if it means taking heat from competitors like you.

2. Do you really think a client will ONLY take a JPEG picture as a proof that your company was indeed responsible for the websites design?

[ANSWER] We don't expect our client's to take a JPEG as proof of our expertise, please see the answer to this is Question #1. Since we're always open to new ideas please provide the url to your portfolio, after searching your site for 5 minutes I couldn't locate it.

3. What do you mean by "random selection of our portfolio"? Is it a 'random' script or a selection of your work? (this way, it can't be random)

[ANSWER] We randomly selected a handful of clients through an internal process, which I am not open to disclose. I'm under the impression you are unclear as to what random means, here is the dictionary meaning:

RANDOM: Without a governing design, method, or purpose; unsystematically: chose a card at random from the deck.

4. Why most of your portfolio 'sites' (by a great percentage) can't be found in the web (by guessing their URL, at least)?

[ANSWER] Guessing urls is not an effective method of searching for a website, experienced designers know that many company websites don't necessarily have the company name as the domain.

5. Why doesn't your own firm website equals in design "quality" those shown in the "examples of our work"?

[ANSWER] Perhaps the biggest mistake one can make in reviewing a website's "quality" is basing their research on looks alone. Quality of a website encompasses many different components. A website that provides useful information to existing clients and brings in new clients on a daily basis in considered by us and any other website business owner out there to be a quality website. I see you have a flash based site, which provides little to no information, and is difficult to read and navigate; furthermore it contains no search engine optimization
or a portfolio (At least I couldn't find one after 5 minutes of looking around which was generous).
Although somewhat visually appealing I doubt it provides you with the business functions you require, is that considered a "quality" website?

6. Why doesn't your "Latest Clients" (The Wrinkle Cure and DeRussell Products) web design "quality" equals, or are at least similar, to your portfolio overall design quality?

[ANSWER] We are in the customer service business, sometimes our clients wish to provide us with the creative direction of the site, or even design the look themselves and have us turn it into a website.

As a professional design firm, we try to provide feedback but will always honor the client's wishes as to the creative direction of his/her site.

To not show our latest designs because of that would then be an injustice to our prospective clients, dont you think?

7. Is it possible that your portfolio pictures (examples) are not of your responsibility and/or of your team?

[ANSWER] Brandblast is a reputable business with many repeat customers who enjoy the professionalism and integrity we bring to their projects. I find your comment unprofessional, and ask that you use this forum as a learning tool so you may be better able to handle your client's needs.

IF I WERE INDEED A CLIENT I would have the right of asking this questions, don't you think 'brandblast'?

[ANSWER] Ricardo, you are not a client and I am still here answering your entirety of questions.


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