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Start Digital's Mini-Guide To Selecting A Web Design Agency: 8 Questions You Must Ask

7 Questions You Must Ask When Selecting a Web Agency : A Mini Guide

Investing in a new website or redesign isn’t a big decision. It has the potential to be a mammoth game-changing decision (don’t be scared though). A website isn’t simply a place to put your company or product information. That was for the Yellow Pages. Nor is it something to have just so can tick the ‘we’ve got a website’ box. A website is meant to showcase your business and clearly outline to your audience what your company is about and how your offerings can help them. Call it powerful, a website has the ability to influence whether your business wins a sale or loses business. Not to down play it but selecting a web design agency that understands and looks out for your business is crucial.

With more design agencies than ever, it can be difficult to determine which agency will best meet your business needs. To simplify things, we’ve created this mini-guide. Here are 7 questions that you might want to ask before selecting a web design agency to entrust with your website.

Question 1: What Is Your Approach To Web Design?

A quick way to sort the wheat from the chaff. We recommend you don’t get too caught up in promises of creating a beautiful website. Any design agency worth their salt will talk up their ability to design a beautiful website.  Design is more than just what a site looks like. Design is also about what makes it a great site to use. Web design is also about what’s happening in the background. A builder may build a house but he still needs an electrician and plumber to make the house worth living in. Many web agencies forget the sparky and plumber – and paint, flooring, fittings, retic.

An agency that understands design and can demonstrate an understanding of similar sectors is important. This ensures they can design a site with the right visual elements to make you a leader and serious competitor.

An agency that understands the importance of electricity and plumbing is absolutely vital. From optimising images and tagging your headlines (H1 > H6) through to effective site structure and local hosting, your design agency needs to be able to demonstrate they go the extra mile for you.

Question 2: Do your skills pay the bills?

The usual question is – ‘how big is your team?’

5. 126. 13. 48. The size of the team doesn’t matter, it’s what you do with it. Ahem……

It’s important that your web agency has the skill set to deliver the right website for you. You also need to know your selected agency is open and trustworthy. So, some quick fire questions could be:

  • ‘Can you show me some of your web designs that are from a similar business sector as mine?’. Follow this up with;
  • ‘What would you consider the successes were in these projects?’. And finally;
  • ‘Were there any challenges you faced with these projects?’

Depending on your thoughts on in house design team vs outsourced design it may also be worthwhile asking if the team are based locally or overseas.

Question 3: Do You Have Lock-In Contracts?

Some of the larger agency’s seem to take their cues from ‘Married at First Sight’ (for the record we don’t watch it). Moving like Usain Bolt, they’re quick to put a ring on your business for the next 6, 12 or however many months. During these times, you’re contractually obligated to use their agency for any redesign, updates and other work. Even if you really don’t want to.

Locking into a long-term contract that promises to take care of your website and Google ranking might sound good but like most marriages made on TV they tend to fall apart spectacularly.

We recommend finding a web design agency that gives you the keys to your website and the freedom to own what you have paid for. Editor access is a standard but we suggest asking for full administrative access. This unlocks everything on the site and, depending on your urges to click and play, gives your business full control. Of course you’ll want to ensure the agency can be called upon to help with your websites SEO, site updates and when you’ve accidentally deleted a page.

A website is your businesses most important piece of online intellectual property and it should be owned by you. By asking about lock-in contracts and maintenance upfront, you can save yourself and your business from a lot of hassle, money and time in the long run.

Question 4: What’s The Go With Hosting?

Without hosting your site doesn’t exist. So, it’s kind of important.

Website hosting plays an integral role in the user experience and site speed, and is becoming increasingly important for Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). Your web agency should be able to provide you with local, rapid and secure hosting so don’t be afraid to ask ‘Do you provide hosting and where will my site be hosted?’ If the agency doesn’t provide hosting or the hosting is in Canada then it might be worth reconsidering.

Question 5: Do You Have Customer Testimonials Or Reviews I Could See?

A trustworthy agency won’t get offended by this question. Quite the opposite, they’ll likely be keen to show off what their clients think. This isn’t about doubting their ability but rather ensuring you’re spending your valuable time talking to a credible agency who has a history of satisfied customers.

At Start Digital we take pride in what our clients think of us. Whether we’re working with small businesses or large corporate clients we want to be loved. Call us insecure but it’s really what makes projects worthwhile.

It’s worth noting though that it pays to be cautious even with great reviews. Here are a few tips for assessing reviews:

  • Evaluate the number of reviews –  it’s easy to get a few so a good number of reviews is best.
  • Pay attention to which businesses and industries these reviews come from – 23 4-star reviews is amazing! But if they’re all from catering, food and restaurants businesses, they might not accurately convey the agency’s ability to create your IT and technology website.
  • Look out for comments that describe the people working in the agency – you’ll be dealing with them a lot so it’s good to know what others experiences are/were

Question 6: Could I See Your Portfolio Of Your Recent Work?

Reviews and testimonials are excellent but nothing is better than seeing an agency’s work for yourself. Design is subjective and what looks good for one client might be a dogs breakfast to another. If you’re meeting with agencies that have a super cool, minimal style and that’s what you’re looking for then awesome. They might not be such a great fit for information heavy government-esque sites. But damn, we wish we were one of those fresh agencies….

An agency’s portfolio will shine a light on their ability to deliver a site that works for you.

Question 7: How Often Is My Website Backed Up and Restored After A Disaster…?

No one, agency or business, ever wants something to go wrong nor to even think about it. However, because things happen it’s best to be prepared. The right agency will consistently back up your website and have a contingency plan that is able to restore your website if anything were to go wrong. For the record we back up all our client sites weekly.

Conclusion

While nothing is ever foolproof, asking these questions will help you gain invaluable insight into an agency’s creativity, experience and principles. Ultimately, these insights will demonstrate whether they’re a good fit for your business.

If you’re interested in hearing about how Start Digital manages our client websites, is suspicious of lock-in contracts and has the skills to pay the bills, give us a call at (08) 6144 3710 or shoot us an email.

startdig

We are a collective of designers, coders, producers and technologists from around the world who collaborate on a shared passion for innovative websites. Based in Perth, Western Australia, we bring style and innovation to the projects we undertake. Taking time to understand our clients requirements we strive to produce quality web design work for an affordable price. We then leverage our years of experience to make sure that our websites are responsive, SEO friendly and meet the clients requirements.

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Felicia Chong
Felicia Chong
07:05 12 Feb 21
I will definitely recommend Start Digital as a professional and reliable team for all services related to SEO. Huge thank you to Neil, Savannah and the Start Digital team. Not only have they listened to what the company needs, they managed to troubleshoot and provide cost effective solutions catering to our business needs and budget. Their ability to take on big and small projects for Saferight as a company accumulatively is outstanding. They have been flexible in their offerings when it comes to web development services and SEO solutions which has been one of the core drivers of the company's growth.
Jack McLoughlin
Jack McLoughlin
17:04 29 Jun 20
Thoroughly professional and well communicated. Thanks Neil
aimxi online
aimxi online
04:37 15 May 20
I am from Brisbane, my name is Craig, I have a dog training company, it was my first time attempting on page SEO, after calling nearly all SEO companies in Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne, this was the only place that gave me some time to help me out. 5 star from me, well done in being a human and not worrying about what you could have got from me. hats off to you !. from dogtrainingbegins.com.au
Sheri Macmahon
Sheri Macmahon
09:04 17 Jan 20
Knowledgable, inspiring and helpful. Getting my online presence created and managed by the Start Digital is the BEST decision I ever made. Edit. 16 Feb 2012. 6 months after Start Digital launched the web page they created for my business I rank #1 I'm too busy to even supervise the page. Just set and forget Start Digital have it covered. Thank you
Hello :-)
Hello :-)
12:39 12 Jun 19
Neil & The Team at Start Digital are fantastic to work with. Our new website is exceptional. The guys here have fresh, modern ideas and the process from start to finish was flawless. Highly recommended.
Blank Walls
Blank Walls
03:57 11 Jun 19
Neil and the team at Start Digital provide such an excellent service and have been a massive help for us since we launched late 2018. Their attention to detail is unmatched compared to other digital agencies we've dealt with, and the team go out of their way to ensure the best result is achieved in the most time & cost efficient way. Thanks again Start Digital
Move Homes
Move Homes
00:18 11 Jun 19
A huge thank you to Neil and the Start Digital team! We engaged them to redesign our Move Homes website to take our brand to the next level. Not only does the website look fantastic, but throughout the website build we received frequent and transparent communication- we knew exactly what was happening and why. Start Digital listened to what we needed and would offer their advice on how to achieve our goals. Aside from their expertise, they’re also great people and really easy to deal with. We look forward to working on more projects over the coming years!
Sheila Woods
Sheila Woods
04:36 12 Mar 18
Neil Mason and the Start Digital team have done a tremendous job with the design and implementation of Interstaff’s new website. Our brief to Neil was for a clean, modern website which visually communicated our brand values, ‘sharp, dependable, expert and human’ to both business and individual clients, and importantly to offer an engaging and easy-to-navigate online experience optimised for SEO. We are delighted with the design as well as the level of consideration and attention to detail Neil and his team put into shaping the online experience of our brand. Start Digital have been very flexible and easy to collaborate with and nothing was ever too difficult. They went above and beyond – even working over the weekend to help us have our website ready to launch ahead of one of our key business seminars. We look forward to continuing to work with Neil and his team in the future and would definitely recommend their services.
iQuest Consulting
iQuest Consulting
05:48 21 Feb 18
The Start Digital team built us a new website and have been managing our SEO for over a year now. During that time our site has moved into the top five on page 1 of Google for keywords such as IT Company Perth and IT Support Perth which has increased our traffic considerably. We're very proud of our website and highly recommend Start Digital.
Heather Bush
Heather Bush
01:02 16 Feb 18
Neil and his team at Start Digital go above and beyond expectations. Having worked with many web agencies I can honestly say that Start have been one of the most open and cost effective agency I have worked with . They come highly recommeded
Anthony Godin
Anthony Godin
05:11 04 Jan 18
Excellent Perth website design, development and SEO agency
Uniting ChurchWA
Uniting ChurchWA
06:58 06 Dec 17
After years of tolerating our old website, we are now proud owners of a sleek, responsive and easy to use new site, thanks to Start Digital. Professional, practical, affordable and easy to work with-Neil and his stellar team delivered our site along with 22 additional sites for some of our congregations. Our organisation is complex and this project was massive. Throughout the project, Start Digital were flexible and patient with us. They responded quickly to emails and phone calls, kept us in the loop and always made time to touch base in their cool office. We can’t thank the team enough for their tremendous effort. It’s only been a month, but we have received plenty of positive feedback since launching the new site. We look forward to working with Start Digital for future digital projects and highly recommend anyone who needs a new website to give them a call.
Amantha Imber
Amantha Imber
08:25 02 Dec 17
Neil and the team created an AMAZING website for Inventium. We have received so much positive feedback since launch. I highly recommend Start Digital - they are awesome!
Lee Bramley
Lee Bramley
03:54 16 Nov 17
Fantastic Service, Really Knowledgeable in all areas of Website and Marketing strategies, they built us a fantastic looking site and nothing was too much for them throughout the process, We also found them to be very reasonably priced compared to other quotes we had, highly recommended.
Dean Capelli
Dean Capelli
06:22 11 Jul 17
Start Digital have built 3 websites for The Highways Group. We've been impressed with their attention to detail and quality of design every time. They're a friendly, professional agency and our go to web team.
John Argiropoulos
John Argiropoulos
07:45 19 May 17
We highly recommend Start Digital service, their efficient , personnel approach and professional skills gave us great results thanks .
Mitch Capelli
Mitch Capelli
22:13 25 Nov 16
Knowledgeable and excellent service at a great price I highly recommend Start Digital. We engaged them to redesign our website and manage our online presence. Previously we were a few pages back on a google search, however after only a few months we are in and around the top 5 on the first page. The guys at Start were great to deal with providing straight forward easy to understand information without the typical sales pitch that we have experienced many times before from other providers in the industry. We continue to receive updates on the progress of our website and their SEO service all for a very reasonable rate (ie. much cheaper than we were previously paying for a lesser service)
Eva Wood
Eva Wood
01:24 23 Nov 16
Neil and his team was responsible for the design and re-branding of our website, business cards and marketing material. They quickly understood our business, they identified the market we needed to target and delivered an excellent solution to match. We would highly recommend Start Digital.
Compac Marketing
Compac Marketing
04:05 14 Oct 16
Neil and the guys at Start Digital took care of some problems we had with our website performance. They were really efficient, responsive, easy to get along with and gave us some great pointers to help us with SEO. Unlike many digital marketing companies out there, Start Digital were very genuine and well-priced. Would definitely recommend their services to others.
Paul Avery
Paul Avery
05:23 13 Oct 16
Great design ideas and technical capability means a complete solution for small and medium sized businesses like us. Neil & Co actually take an interest in what you are trying to achieve rather than just turn and burn volume website factories out there! I recommend them.
Claire Leech
Claire Leech
02:11 04 Oct 16
We have had the pleasure of working with the team at Start Digital recently as we wished to update our website for our restaurant business. WOW! An amazing new, innovative, trendy and professional approach taken by these guys has resulted in a brilliant new site, clearly directing so much more traffic through our business resulting in increased brand awareness and google presence. As a relatively new business, Start Digital will definitely be going places ! We really look forward to continuing to work with them in the future and watch both our and their business grow! Thanks Neil and the team at Start Digital.
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