How to choose a Website Design company (without getting stung)
- Create a Peach
- Sep 4, 2015
- 5 min read
You've done the hard work, you've decided to set up the business you've always wanted to do. Now you realise just how busy life can get! Invoices, orders and getting your name and product out there seem to take up more time than you ever imagined possible.
Then it dawns on you that you don't have a website when all of your competitors do. Fact is - in today's fast pace, techno-driven world, you need one.
Cue more stress and sleepless nights trying to decide whether to go with a DIY website builder (great in an ideal world, but very rarely look and work the way you want them to, not to mention the amount of time it takes to get one live), a 'Bargain Basement' website developing company you found online, that promises to make your (and 100s of others, all at the same time) website, for an unbelievably low price, and it's not until you receive the final bill you see that the price has jumped in huge steps and strangely looks very similar to many other websites in the same field.
Alternatively you go with a local, friendly website developer that can meet you in person, discuss your needs, get a real 'feel' for your brand and work with you on ensuring that the website you receive is the website that works for your business.
Seems a simple choice when its written like that hey? So why are there so many brands with a less than perfect online presence? Let's take a look....
1. Pay Peanuts, Get Monkeys
Okay, so when it comes to website design, not many people get away with paying peanuts, but the saying still applies. You will get what you pay for.
If you're offered a website for a rock bottom price, you can 99% be sure that it won't be user friendly, it won't have sleek design and it won't offer the features you need to ensure customers choose you, over a competitor. As fickle as it may be, customers love good design and something pretty to look at. It's nearly, if not as, important as a website that actually WORKS!
2. Top dollar isn't always top drawer
Let's say you send out a message to several website designers, saying you have £900 to spend on a fully functional website.
You get several replies; most say they can design a website for you for the full £900, with no questions asked as to what you actually want for the website, it's features and no real clue about you. A small local firm (we'll call them Create a Peach) offers you the site for £750, you ponder at whether this means it won't be any good. But in reality THIS is the one you want to go with.
Why? Because straight away you can tell they won't be ripping you off - they had the chance to charge you the full whack, but were upfront and honest with the cost. Plus they're local, which means you can set up a meeting and hone the exact design and functionality needs for your site.
3. All in good time.
Another super important thing to factor in, is the expected time frame that your website will be live in. Any good website designer will tell you this straight away, this may vary slightly, depending on the availability of images / text etc, but delays should only come from your side. Not theirs!
If delays start happening you can bet your bottom dollar you're not their only client at the time and defiantly not their most important.
At Create a Peach we only design one website at a time.
Other design firms may think this isn't the best way to earn money, but we prefer it this way - it means you get our complete focus on your website, and we're available 24/7 (although we do like our sleep!). Whilst we get to truly immerse ourselves in your business and deliver something that we have enjoyed making and know you'll be delighted with.
Most of our websites are published online within 10 days (sometimes even sooner - depending on what you want on your site). This quick timeframe doesn't come from making a slapdash design - no way. It's possible simply because we want your site to be worth it, and work for you.
4. Factor in your Monthlies
Some / most / a lot of website design companies will charge you a monthly fee, simply for hosting your site. This can range from £50per month, to over £200per month. Obviously this is a huge amount to add to your yearly expenses, and one that isn't always openly disclosed when you're given a website quote. It can make what seems like a reasonable website, quadruple in cost over the year.
Most will say this will also cover any changes / maintenanece you want made to the site, but over a year, lets say you make 5 changes to text, images and added a few products. You've paid minimum £600 for approximately five hours work. Baffling.
There are a few design companies, hint hint - Create a Peach, that don't believe in charging a huge monthly fee. When we design a website, a whole years hosting is included, meaning that -you guessed it- no monthly fees! The quote we give you is the only price you'll pay for the year!
If you do need maintenance on your website over the year, we can do this on an ad-hoc basis, completed within two days, at an hourly fee of £20.
Oh, and our hours are true hours. There are a lot of product, text and image updates we can fit in to an hour.
Going back to our earlier example of 5 hours' worth of maintenance a year -
Maintenance & Hosting package as seen with other web design companies = £600 a year.
Ad-hoc Maintenance and Prepaid Hosting with Create a Peach = £100 a year.
Simple really.
5. HELP!
Websites, computers and all things tech - some people are better at it than others.
I can't knit, but if I was ever so inclined to take it up I would have several people of the elder population on speed dial that would help me in an instant. That's what you need with your website, you're not an expert in website design, we are, that's why if you ever have a problem with your existing site, or are simply after some advice on a potential site for your business we're here to help 24/7.
This is a hugely important factor when choosing a website design company. You need help and you need it now. Make sure they can deliver!
TO CONCLUDE
-- Go for the middle man on pricing. Ridiculously cheap usually means poor design and poor functionality, ridiculously expensive can mean slow and insincere.
-- Timing is important. You need your website online yesterday. Make sure you get a definite 'live' date. And ensure everybody keeps to their timetables.
-- Monthly fees are SO important. They bump up the cost of your website by huge amounts, and for little return. ALWAYS check the small print, or ask directly for these, if they won't tell you, or only give you a rough estimate, steer clear. This stuff is important. Where possible, choose a company that doesn't charge monthly fees. *CoughCough*.
-- Make sure you can contact them night and day (or at some point anyway) to discuss with a human being any issues, concerns, worries, or just to debate your favourite biscuit. (Don't do the last one, unless it's with us and it's a really important choice).
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