Web design services are one of the most important investments that you will make in your business, but only if you invest in a good designer. A poor designer can even ruin your business before you even get it off the ground! So, how do you go about finding reputable web design services?
Web Design Services: What to Look For in a Good Designer
So, you’ve chosen a business name, registered your company, obtained a domain name, and now it’s time to get a website that is representative of your new company designed and published to that domain. With so many web design companies out there, though, how do you know which companies are worth hiring and which are less than reputable?
They Listen
One of the most important things that a designer can do in our opinion, is to listen! Some web design services will have their own design idea in mind for your site and that’s fine if that’s what you want. But if you hire a web designer with your own ideas for your website design in mind and your designer doesn’t listen to those ideas, they aren’t the kind of designer that we’d advise working with. Now, this is not the same as a designer who listens to your ideas and discusses them with you but advises trying a different approach for a more easily navigable website with a more profitable outlook based on market research. Whether they advise you against an idea or not, your web designer should ALWAYS hear you out because as a client (as a person) you deserve that much.
They Are Researchers
In addition to being creative, good web designers are also researchers. They spend time researching current trends in website development, they research statistics on existing website designs, they look into the psychology of color, the behavior of website visitors…they do all of this so that they can create solid website designs. When a website designer doesn’t do this kind of research and simply creates a website that looks “nice”, you may end up with a site that looks pretty, but that isn’t going to do you much good if your website isn’t laid out in a way that encourages surfers to click and buy!
They Understand Your Business
It’s unreasonable to expect a website design company or a single designer to understand everything about every business niche there is. What you can expect from a good web designer, however, is that they will take the time to talk to you about your business so that they can get a better understanding of what you do. With that better understanding, they will then be able to do the right kind of research for your web design and create a design that reflects your niche, your product, and that meets the demands of your customers. Will a generic website built by a designer with no understanding of your business make sales and get you customers? Perhaps, but it’s important to remember that your website design is just as much a part of your brand identity as your logo.
They Are Honest
It can be difficult to tell if a stranger is being honest sometimes. When we talk about a web designer being honest, though, what we are actually talking about is how they address your concerns, questions, and requests in regard to your site. For example, your designer’s job is to create a website design that you approve of, but in many cases – as with our designers here at Online Presence Manager – we also work hard to optimize your site for search engine ranking and to create a website that sells your product or service.
For example, should you come to one of our designers and suggest adding something like a scrolling news bar at the top of your website, they will almost always recommend against it because it makes your site look amateurish, it takes away from valuable website space, and it makes your business look as though you aren’t in touch with the modern digital world. A less honest designer, however, one who cares about nothing but making that paycheck, is going to do what you ask because it will get their job done much more quickly. Will you end up with a website that has the one function you asked for? Yes, but if your designer is willing to lie about one thing, they’re willing to lie about another, so who knows what kind of foundation your website is built on?
They Aren’t Rude, Forceful, or Pushy
It seems like such an inconsequential matter when you think about the manners of someone you are hiring to design your website, but here at Online Presence Manager, we believe that it matters. When you purchase a product or service from anyone or are contemplating that purchase, you should never be made to feel like you have no choice, like you’re a waste of time, or that you’re going to miss out on something if you don’t do it this minute. Investing in your company web design is a big investment in your business’s future and you deserve time to think it over!
Looking For Reputable Web Design Services?
If you’re looking for reputable web design services for your business website, Online Presence Manager can help. For a free consultation to find out how we can help you to build your business’s website and online presence, just give us a call at 727-475-6460 or fill in our online contact form and we’ll get right back to you!
