I was talking to a prospect on the phone this morning and she said that all web design companies seem to be offering the same service and she’s not quite sure which one to use. Anyway, I’ve given her some advice on phone and she said she will think about it and call me back tomorrow.

I’ve decided to write a blog post about it because I think many people are having the same problem/question when choosing a web site design service. The short answer is, no, not all web design services are the same. The good news is that you can find out if the company or designer is right for your business by asking a few simple questions. But before you do so you need to know what you want to get out of the website, in other words, what is the main purpose of having a website? Do you need your website to inform people or to sell products or services? What is your business’ unique selling point? These are the type of questions that you should have answers to PRIOR contacting any web design companies or web designers. If you already have the answers then I hope you will find the following part useful.

Always ask to see their website design portfolio. Spend at least 10 minutes on their website and try to get a feel of how well their website was designed. Is it visually appealing? Did you find it easy to navigate around the site? Have they done any work for your competitors or companies that are in the same industry as you?

Most web design companies or website designers are not “Jack of all trades”. Don’t afraid to ask them questions like – “what do you think your strengths and weaknesses are?” The truth is that smaller web design companies or freelance web designer cannot provide the top quality service for everything that relates to website. Some are better at the graphic design; some are better at coding/programming and some are better at SEO (search engine optimization). You need to weigh each one of these aspects and pick one that is more important to your business than the others. For example, if you run a photography business then the graphic design would be the most important aspect.

How much after sales support will they provide? Never under-estimate the value of good after sale supports because if you are getting your first website then chances are you probably don’t know much technical things like CSS and HTML, which means if you want to change anything you will need to contact the company or web designer who built your website in the first place. One big advantage of using a smaller company or freelancer is that they can give you more attentions, and some would also give you advice on website promotion, SEO and other online marketing methods. So if you completely new to the Internet, you will find that these information valuable, even if they charge a little more than the others for building the website.

The number of Internet users are growing each year. By having a web presence your business or brand will be reachable by more people. Think of the website like a 24 hours sales person that promotes your business 24/7. It’s true that the cost of getting this “sales person” may seem like a big investment, especially if you are just started up. However, if you break down the cost into 24 months, that’s assuming you will use your website for only 2 years, you will realise the cost of this investment isn’t as big as you thought. And if the work is done properly, it will most likely to pay for itself after 3 to 6 months depending on what business you are in.

Here are just some of the things that a well-designed website can do for your business:

1. To drive your targeted market and increase their level of awareness on the products or services that your business offers.
2. To get leads and eventually conversion of these leads.
3. To strengthen customer relations by making your business easily and readily accessible using the power of your online presence.
4. To build your credibility as a business.
5. To save on cost in promoting, advertising, and marketing your business.
6. To meet the needs of your customers and respond to the demands of the modern times.

It is extremely important to get your website right if you want to see good results. If you do not have any knowledge in building a website, you may consider finding a professioanl freelance web designer or web design company to do the work for you.

The Internet makes searching for the right web design company quick and easy. Don’t waste your time on newspapers and yellow pages, because many good-and-affordable web design companies don’t advertise on those mediums. You will be able to find more good web designer or companies from Google, Yahoo or MSN. Go through at least 5 pages and make a note of the ones that you like and then filter them one by one afterward. Don’t afraid to contact their clients to find out how good of a service they received.

There are many benefits in putting up a professional looking website to help growing your business when you have just started up. It will help to list all of your reasons and purposes in establishing your website and place them in the order of your priority. You also need to identify the kind of website you need that will also determine the appropriate website design that will be created especially to meet your purposes by your web design company.

Remember that your website is a reflection of your business. Traffic and conversion will also depend on how good your website is. A mediocre website will not do your business any good. It may even hurt your business.

Overall, if you have just started your business and you do not have the expertise to setup a website, it is essential to find a professional to do the work because the benefits you will get from it (if done properly) are worth far more that the extra cost. Don’t expect to see any big results instantly, however, if you put enough work into it you will soon realise that your investment is well worth it.

Choosing a good website design company is something that should be taken seriously. There are so many web design companies that offer similar services. Finding the right one can be a real challenge; but when you are able to do so, you will see the benefits of their web design service.

Here are some tips on how to find a good web design company:

Identify Your Needs
Before you set your eyes on finding the right company to do your website design, you have to identify the needs and requirements of your business. You must be clear on what role your website will play in enhancing your online presence as well as contributing to the growth of your business.

These are some of the questions that many web design companies would ask you:

• How do you plan to use your website?
• Who is the target audience of your website?
• What is your budgetary allocation for the website?

Your website will depend on your expectations as well as the information that you want your website to contain. It will help to determine these things in advance to make it easy for you and your web designer to conceptualise and implement a good design for your website.

Gather a List of Web Design Companies
When you have already identified your needs as well as how your website will cater to the requirements of your business, you can start creating your list of your potential web design companies. You can do this at the comforts of your own home just by going online and patiently search from the internet.

You may also want to ask for referrals from family or friends, or if you come across a website that catches your attention, you may inquire or search the web design company that have created that website.

Choose the Best Company
You can now narrow down the list of your potential web design companies based on the following criteria:

1. How they meet the four Cs – Capability, Credibility, Consistency, and Cost.
2. Have a look at their website portfolio and see if their style is suitable for your business.
3. Length of experience in the web design industry.
4. Turn-around time.
5. How they respond to their customer needs and queries.

Evaluate Their Proposal
A good website design company will send you a proposal for evaluation. To be able to get the best deal, compare the proposals you have received with the following considerations:

1. Over-all soundness and feasibility of the proposal.
2. Strength and limitation.
3. Package including value-added features.

When you have done the above, you will be able to pick the best from your list. If there are still gray areas or some questions in mind about their service, then by all means phone them up and clear all your queries about their website design service.