Your website may be the online face of one’s business ? so it’s imperative that you look your better. However, it’s not enough simply to look great. Business websites, particularly e-commerce driven sites, need solid, reliable and secure coding and development underneath the hood.
It’s possible for anyone to claim they’re a designer currently. WYSIWYG editors such as Microsoft FrontPage, free hosting and design packages, free website templates and pre-made blog skins signify one can possibly look semi-decent without any familiarity with coding or design principles.
However, for business critical websites you’ll need a professional that understands design, e-commerce, HTML, CSS, dynamic scripts and languages, database integration, web standards and appearance engine optimisation.
What to watch out for first?
First of, any designer or web agency that you assist should be able to demonstrate a robust portfolio of previous work. There’s no better method to judge the standard and experience with a professional when compared with seeing their work for yourself.
Of course, if the web page design agency continues to be established for a long time of time, with a good number of ongoing clients, this means that that they offer a reliable, quality service.
What should a company offer?
Web design is both a creative and technical skill. However, most people are baffled through the coding expertise and services a web design company offers. The best agencies provide a wide range of business website services, nevertheless, you should at the very least ensure they have these:
– Bespoke manual HTML and CSS coding (not from an editor or template)
– JavaScript, PHP, Flash as well as other dynamic scripts and languages
– Basic search engine optimization (including creating meta tags, titles, effective headers etc.)
– W3C-compliant code
– e-commerce solutions (including shopping carts and secure online payments)
– Bespoke content management systems
– Offer social media marketing functions, such as forums, blogs, comments and linking
Of course, you may not need each one of these areas for the website. However, should your designer can demonstrate ability in each skill it’s a good sign that they can’re professional and competent.
Briefs and processes
When requesting a short, the structure agency should ask clear, insightful questions and answer any concerns or issues that you bring up. Similarly, they ought to inform you what sort of project will progress.
For example, they might provide estimated time scales, information on key stages when draft designs can be approved, instructions for design amendments etc. Of course, all quotes and project details should be organized clearly by leaving nothing to chance. It should also be agreed in advance which will own the copyright of the look and coding upon completion. It’s a common misconception who’s automatically transfers to your client upon purchase.
How much?
Of course it’s tempting to consider the lowest priced option ? but there’s some truth in the maxim that you always get everything you buy. No respectable (and successful) website design agency should charge extortionate amounts. However, if you want a professional looking e-commerce site with expert functionality as well as a unique look, then expect to pay some hundred pounds.
