Choosing the website design company for your business can be difficult. Just type web design company on Google and you get thousands of options.Then you try to narrow down the search by changing the keywords like "top 10 web design companies" and then checking their portfolio. This might help, but you only get a partial picture.In addition to checking their portfolio, you also find the answers to the below questions. That can help you to minimize the risk like going over budget or provide little value to grow the business.
Below are the 10 questions that you need to ask before signing the contract for web design:
1. What is the inclusive cost of the project?
Usually, there is two type of contracts, which are hourly based or project based.As a small business you might not have a huge budget, so you want to find a company that provides project-based pricing and not hourly based. You need to ensure that you have the final cost of the project before signing the contract.
2. Are both design and development included in the cost?
If the website design company you select say that they will design a website for you, that does not mean they will design and develop the website. It can be that the company, simply hand you the design and then you will need to pay someone else to develop it for you.You will need to make sure that the design and the development are included in the cost of website design.
3. How long will it take?
There will always be unforeseen obstacles that can delay the project completion. These are normal and one should always plan for it. You need to get an estimate of the time that will be required and you need to monitor it to ensure that the project stays on track.
4. What platform and CMS will be used, and will I be able to easily edit the content?
There are many platforms like WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, etc. that can be used to build the framework for your website.You need to ensure that you have the details of the platform they are going to use.
5. Is SEO, Information Architecture, and Content Strategy included in the price?
These are important factors for your websites. Most of the website design companies do not include SEO, Information Architecture, and Content Strategy. If your website design company does not offer these services, then you can hire an SEO company that can work closely with the website design company.
6. Is there a transition plan included?
It is vital to have a transition plan for redesigning your website to maintain the traffic and sales when the new website goes live.If your website design company provide a transition plan, then you will need to ensure that you hire a company that is experienced in transition planning.
7. Will my website be built upon a responsive framework?
Google uses mobile friendliness to rank a website. Even the users want to visit those websites that work properly across all devices.You need to ensure that your website is built on a responsive framework.
8. Is there training provided to use the CMS?
You need to make sure that they provide you with the training on how to use CMS so that you can add or edit the content.
9. List of people who will be working on my website and their role in the company?
It is important to know who is working on your website and their role in the company. If the price is low, then the company might ask a junior level designers to work on your website.You need to make sure you have the right designer and developer to build your website.
10. Do you outsource or use freelancers for your projects?
This goes with know who is building your website.You need to make sure that the website design company does not outsource design or development to someone else.