15 QUESTIONS TO ASK BEFORE CHOOSING A WEBSITE COMPANY

Having the best possible website for your business is absolutely critical. In fact, it may be the difference between success and failure. A well-designed, informative, fully functioning website will generate traffic and improve your leads and sales. It will make you stand apart from your competitors and help you meet your business objectives.

While it may seem pretty clear that you need to have a really fantastic website, achieving that can depend greatly on the team and the platform you select to build the site. The industry is highly fragmented, with wildly varied options available in terms of platforms, cost and service. If you are ready to build your website or feel it is time for an overhaul, partnering with a website development company such as Web Force 5 is the best option.

Questions to Ask Website Design Services

To ensure you’re going to get a website that does exactly what you want, these are the questions you need to ask prior to engaging a professional website development company.

1. Will My Website Be Custom Designed?

Websites can be built using a template or they can be custom designed. The huge advantage of custom website design is that your site can be tailored specifically to your business needs. It will be totally unique and help you stand out amongst your competition.

2. Will I Have Input into the Website Design?

During your initial consultation with web design companies, you want to communicate the vision you have. That may include the aesthetics, the functions you want to offer and how you want the site to operate. You will want to choose a company that engages with you about your website and that really wants to know what your business entails and the goals you want to achieve.

3. How Exactly Will My Website Be Built?

Find out as much detail as you can about the steps taken in creating a website for your business. Get some clarity around the actual design process, the construction and the timeline for completion.

It is also worth clarifying how many design revisions are included so you know whether any additional costs may be incurred. Web Force 5 has created a proven highly processed method for custom website design to bring a website to life.

4. What Services Will Be Available to Me?

Explore all the services a website design company can offer you. Yes, they do web design, but do they also provide web development, copywriting, social media marketing or security for instance? Working with a web design service who provides the whole package takes the pressure off you so you can focus on running your business.

5. Will My Website Be Mobile Responsive?

With so many people using their handheld devices to access websites, mobile website design is essential. Your website must be responsive to all devices including tablets, desktops and mobile phones.

6. Who Will Manage My Website?

Find out exactly who is building your website and who will be managing it in the long term. Some website design services outsource the work to a third party which can complicate communication. It is better if you are dealing with the web design company directly and ideally, they should feel like a partner in your business.

Web Force 5 works directly on creating high quality websites, from the initial consultation all the way through to execution. It will be managed through a dedicated account manager to guide you through the whole process.

7. Is CRM Software Included?

Using customer relationship management software is vital because your customers are everything to your business, so you want to nurture existing clients, entice the old ones back and find new ones!

Having all your customer details in one place makes it easy to access them and being able to import and export your client data, provide good communication and upload files to client records can be hassle free if set up well.

8. Will I Be Able to Update the Website Myself?

It is important to make sure the website design service you choose uses a content management system to enable easy updates to your website when they are needed. Using a CMS takes the hassle out of updates as they are easy to navigate and put you in control of content so it is especially important if you will be updating your web pages yourself.

9. Do You Integrate SEO?

Search engine optimisation is an important inclusion of any website design service so clarify if that is part of the package. Your website should capture many of your business goals, one of them being improving your ranking in search results.

10. What are the Exact Costs?

Don’t be caught out by hidden costs. In your initial consultation, ask for all costs to be specified so you know what to expect from the beginning of the process. Some costs to check are initial set up fees, ongoing maintenance and other available support.

Once you have discussed your project in more detail, go back and check in about the costs to see if anything has shifted. Select a website company that will help you achieve your objectives within your budget.

11. What Are Some Examples of Websites You Have Created?

Ask to see some of the work the company has created for other clients, especially those that are in the same industry as you that have similar websites. Being able to test the company’s previous work and navigate around other clients’ websites will give you insight into what you could expect for yours.

12. How Will We Communicate?

Effective communication throughout the entire process is incredibly important, for both you and the design company. Ask how their team communicates with you, both for their needs and yours. Ideally having one point of contact is best to streamline communication. Agree on whether phone, email or another method is best and perhaps set up a regular schedule if appropriate.

13. How Will You Help Me Meet My Goals?

Ask how the company will help you meet your business goals through your website. A designer should know what to incorporate into the design to help grow your business. A professional website development company will give you a confident and detailed answer.

14. What Do You Need from Me?

To avoid messy communication initially, speak with your website builders to confirm exactly what you need to provide to get them started. You will need written content, images and a logo, but ask for a detailed checklist so nothing is missed. Clarify what you will be providing and what will be included in their service.

Budget will play a role in this with a lower cost website requiring the written and visual content to be provided by you. With a higher budget, perhaps you want them to rebrand your company, provide content and arrange photoshoots.

15. What Support Do You Provide?

Once your website is live you will most likely need some training on the web platform that has been used so you can update and maintain your website yourself. Ask if they offer training or any support to cover this.

There are a lot of choices available and selecting a professional website development company can be daunting. However, ask the right questions, research the success of various companies and you are most of the way there.

You want a website design company that shares your vision for bringing your business to life through your website. Web Force 5 offers fantastic solutions such as our Continuum platform which is a custom designed fully featured CMS. It is a low-cost option, and no technical skills are required.

We can also assist with a fully featured ecommerce solution using platforms such as Adobe Commerce, BigCommerce, Shopify and more. Other digital services are also available including bespoke SEO and Google Ads.

Get in touch with the friendly and knowledgeable team at Web Force 5 for a free no obligation chat. Our global team is ready to help and will ensure your website is exactly what you need.