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Finding an excellent web design agency that, in the best-case scenario, more than meets your requirements is not easy. Especially as a layperson, it is often difficult to recognize where the strengths and weaknesses of the countless service providers lie, which often leads to wrong decisions, frustration and the need to change web design providers again. In most cases, customers lack the knowledge and feeling for design, technology and user experience, which makes it difficult to evaluate whether an agency is doing a good job and whether it can manage the planned project in such a way that you, as a customer and Company can be satisfied in every respect. As Web designers from digital nomads, we know what matters, and with this article, we would like to help you find the best web design agency for your project.
Below, we will detail which factors you can best use to evaluate the service providers and what requirements you should set. Below is a list of the best web design agencies from our research.
Evaluate web design agencies correctly.
If quality is the priority, the budget is available, and the deadline is not too tight, we recommend obtaining design concepts from web design service providers who give you a good feeling. Although this increases the initial costs, a good concept and the selection of the right agency are worth their weight in gold! To save money, you can also request a screen design for the homepage, as this should be enough for the first impression and rating in most cases. When working together, pay attention not only to the quality of the work but also to communication. The agency should ask the right questions, think for you, give good advice and respond to your goals. To help you evaluate web design agencies,
Web design references:
Take your time to look at the customers and references of the web design agencies. It is not uncommon for a particular style to emerge if the websites are very individual, even better!
Get advice:
Initial consultations are often free. Ask questions to find out whether you feel well cared for and advised.
Agency appearance:
Does the website convince you? Also, on all devices? Take your time and get an impression.
Detailed list of requirements:
To ensure that you receive comprehensive offers from the web design agencies and that there are no problems later, you should send a detailed list of requirements with the initial contact. You can find out more information about this further down in this article.
Get offers:
Good agencies ask the right questions before making an offer to understand you and your goals better. If you receive offers prematurely without important details being discussed, think twice about whether you want to take advantage of the offer. It is not uncommon for higher costs to become apparent later because certain cost items were not an issue before.
Individual concepts:
Quite a few “web design agencies” use ready-made designs, change a few elements such as colours or logos and then present them to the customer. Of course, if the customer doesn’t have a budget and a quick standard solution is sufficient, you can do it that way. But this article is more about individual, high-quality web design, so working with a comprehensive and individual graphic and technical concept is the be-all and end-all. Therefore, ask about the work process and communicate your wishes!
What requirements should I ask web design agencies?
Sure, every web project has its requirements and goals. But there are still some essential points to consider for every website. Each of the following factors should given for all web design agencies:
GDPR: Make it clear that the website must be GDPR-compliant.
Content Management System (CMS): If you want to change content or create new pages, well-known content management systems such as WordPress are usually the better solution. Thanks to the large ecosystems, they offer the opportunity to build a website comparatively quickly with the help of extensions and create, edit and then intuitively publish content. They are also mostly free and are regularly updated. If it is not necessary for technical reasons. We advise you not to use a system specially developed by the web design agency. In this way, companies become tied to the web design service provider and often fall into the cost trap because extensions or changes are significantly more complex.
Feedback loops: Ensure feedback loops are planned for the concept and implementation phases. Agree on fixed dates with the web design agency to ensure that work not done in the wrong direction.
SEO: A search engine-friendly website structure is crucial if you want to be found via Google & Co. Ask specifically about it and get good advice. Since evaluating SEO measures as a layperson is difficult, we recommend getting a second opinion.
Fast loading times: A website’s performance is significant for various reasons. Amazon, for example, loses 1% of sales for every 100 milliseconds of loading time! It is essential to have a fast website, a recommended tool for testingPingdom.
Photo by Domenico Loia on Unsplash