Okay, this shouldn’t come as a shock, but if you’re a company without a website you’re missing a huge chunk of potential clients. When your customers are ready to make a purchase decision, that first place they look is Google. If your site doesn’t exist, or isn’t optimized to show up in Google’s search results for your industry, you’re doing yourself a disservice.
Look at Past Work
This might seem obvious, but if the company or individual you’re talking to can’t provide you with an extensive portfolio, you may be barking up the wrong tree. Look for a team, like the folks over at responsive Waspbarcode.com company, that have experience on projects that you can verify independently. Extra points if the portfolio includes brands in your industry that you’re already familiar with.
Chances are if a high-quality brand hired the team you’re talking with, then they were happy with the due diligence they performed. Take advantage of that track-record and minimize the risk of hiring a flake.
Ask Respected Friends and Business Associates for a Recommendation
Trust me, if you’re just now getting to a website, then you’re already behind the curve when it comes to your competition. Get recommendations from people in your industry on agencies they’ve used for their sites. The beauty of asking respected individuals for their recommendations is that you may find some diamonds in the rough.
If another company hired a relatively unknown firm, there’s a reason; and normally that reason is cheaper rates. If a low-cost firm did phenomenal work for another company or individual you know, take advantage of the confidence that comes with their recommendation. Plus, the cost-savings can really be significant when you factor in that newer firms are aggressively looking to showcase their talents on every project they win.
Understand the Importance of Reactive Web Design
More than 30% of current search traffic is coming from mobile and tablet users. The web design firm you hire has to be able to create a website that is able to meet the demands of users in every phase of the purchase process; whether that’s researching products, comparing services or completing their purchase. If a website is only partially functional on mobile devices and tablets, then you’re going to kill your conversion rate.
Establishing Brand Consistency
This is doubly true for PC users with a variety of browsers (Chrome, Safari, Explorer, Edge, etc.). Your website needs to be written in a language like HTML5 that’s supported by a variety of browsers. For the sake of branding consistency, you need your site to look the same on a variety of devices.
Ongoing Maintenance and Updates
Work with your short-list of web designers from the beginning to build a project bid that outlines how their work will help your company reach consumers on every platform with a consistent branding message. And don’t forget to ask how ongoing maintenance will be handled. Will you be able to add blog posts to your site at will? Will updates and adjustments be made on a contractual basis, or will you be required to pay additional fees beyond regular site maintenance?
This content is written by Stephanie F.