Your website is the heart of your online marketing and should align with your brand identity. It should also be designed to drive more business conversions, such as making an online purchase or signing up for your newsletter.
Before you interview designers, make a list of what your site needs to include. This will help you focus on the nitty gritty details and eliminate any unnecessary options.
1. Look for Experience
While it is not as important to look for formal credentials in a web designer (for instance, you would not go to a doctor who didn’t have a degree and license), experience does matter. A reputable web design agency, such as Fox & Lee, will have worked on many different projects, and this will give them the ability to provide you with a wide range of options for your business’s website.
Another thing to look for is whether or not they have experience designing websites for brands similar to yours. This will help them familiarize themselves with your industry’s trends and audience and be able to create a website that is more likely to meet your goals.
Also, make sure to pay attention to how quickly they respond to emails and questions. This can be a sign of how well they communicate, and it is essential that your communication styles match. If they aren’t a good fit, you will need to move on to the next step in your search for the right custom web designer. This will save you time and money in the long run.
2. Check Their Portfolio
When choosing a Melbourne custom web design, it’s important to check out their portfolio. This will give you a good idea of their style and how it matches up with your own. Look for screenshots of their previous work and live websites they’ve created. You can also read testimonials from their past clients on their website.
Make sure you’re comfortable with their design approach and that they understand your business goals. This will ensure that your new website is a good fit for your business and that it will achieve the results you need it to.
Another thing to keep in mind is their turnaround time. Some designers may be able to turn around a draft within a few weeks, while others might take a little longer. Popular designers can sometimes have waiting lists, so be sure to ask about their schedules when you’re getting quotes.
You can also find out if they’re familiar with SEO best practices and mobile-friendly web design by looking at their past work. If they are, this will help you rank your website in search engines and ensure that it’s viewable on all types of devices.
3. Check Their Pricing
Web designers should be able to clearly explain their service pricing to prospective clients. Clients will be more likely to hire them if they understand what the cost will be and how it will benefit their business.
For instance, a one-page personal website is going to require less work than an enterprise-level website with e-commerce capabilities and dedicated product pages. Similarly, web design companies should be able to price projects according to their complexity.
Additionally, they should include a comprehensive scope of work in their proposals. This should cover the key aspects of their services as well as the little things. This is especially important if there’s a hard deadline like a product launch or event.
Lastly, web designers should be able to provide an estimate of how long it will take them to complete the project. This will give the client a clear idea of when their site will be available. They should also be able to offer other services like content creation, SEO, and performance tracking as part of their package to add value to their services.
4. Ask for Referrals
It’s no secret that word of mouth is a powerful marketing tool, especially when it comes to a service like web design. That’s why it’s important to ask for referrals from current and past clients. This can help you narrow down your options and find a custom web designer who is right for your business.
You can also look for referrals from businesses that serve your target market. For example, if you are a vet web designer, you might reach out to businesses that offer pet software, booking engines or industry specific CRMs. These are businesses that work with vets on a daily basis and will likely notice if their website is not up to par.
It’s also a good idea to ask potential designers for examples of their work. You can ask them to provide screenshots or links to live sites. If they are unable or unwilling to do this, it may be a red flag. Additionally, you should ask them about their process and timeline for creating a new website.
5. Check Their Reputation
It’s important to find a web designer who will understand your vision and deliver on your needs. To help ensure this, make a list of the things your website must have. This may include things like logo design, secure website hosting or content creation. Make sure to note that these are non-negotiable, and it will help you narrow down your options when looking for a custom web designer.
You should also look for a designer who has experience with projects that are similar to yours. Ask them about their process, and see if they can give you a timeline for major deliverables. This will help you get an idea of how long it will take to launch your site, and make it easier to plan your own schedule for review and approvals.
If they have testimonials from past customers, be sure to read through them. Check if they are positive or negative and see what themes emerge. If they’re mostly positive, this is a good sign that the agency has your best interests at heart.