A lot of companies have mushroomed in the web design and development domain. Faced with numerous options, the customer is often fleeced to choose the most erroneous option, wasting a lot of time and money in the process. Everyone is going to design some pages and ultimately deliver to us. But the seemingly trivial decision can have a major impact on your business and outlook.
Those desirous of having a website should realize that your website is the gateway to success. A web design that turns off the visitors is bound to fail. The web design should not only be attractive, but also relevant to the business. It helps build your brand image. Most successful businessmen, even have their personal branding website which eulogizes them and their services.
Your company has some well defined goals; so have you. Isn’t it true that your website also has some pre-defined goals and targets? A good web designer is essential for you to attain these goals, faster.
Looking at the perspectives more closely, the following guide will help you to choose the right design company.
1. The right website designer listens to you besides bringing their own ideas. You are the master of your business and know the in and out of it. The web designer tries to understand your business buy listening to you first and then suggests appropriate themes for the design.
2. You might have an idea of how your proposed website should be. The design, aesthetics, the color pattern, graphics et al. You may be impressed with the overall outlook. When you suggest the sample website to the web designer, the first thing it does is to understand your taste. A good designer understands this and proceeds towards accomplishing the desired outlook.
3. But there is also a question of creativity. As a disciplined and competitive soldier, the designer agreed to your suggestion. But it cannot be an act of being a copycat. Making a replica of what is presented is not a good idea and no original thinker will do it. Therefore a good designer shall incorporate his creative thought in the design suggested by the customer to make it even more fabulous.
4. Website design is not just about attractive colors and navigation menus. The underlying functionality and content are also important. Popular CMS systems such as WordPress, Drupal, Joomla and Magento are just essential for greater user experience.
5. As a customer, it is your right to know the underlying CMS system at the heart of your website. CMS systems are easy to edit, just like any word processing software. This way you will be the master of your own data. You can edit your own content instead of making requests to the design team.
6. Google uses mobile responsiveness as one of the key elements for SERP. People accessing internet through mobile phones have long outnumbered the persons accessing through computers. Therefore, responsive design is no more an optional add-on, but a mandatory ingredient. E-Commerce also relies heavily on mobile phones for transactions. An agency that is not able to deliver website for mobile phones is just a fad. Whether you specifically ask for it or not, a responsive designer gives you a responsive web design.
7. All said and done, the focus should not be lost on their past designs, clientele and user experience. A review of the designer’s portfolio will help you determine if they can handle your task. It will help you get an idea of taste compatibility and also their efficiency. While evaluating their past portfolio, mere screenshots will not suffice. Visit the pages to find out broken links, ease of navigation and also customer credentials and feedback.
8. Web design is not rocket science. Anyone with a computer and 2×2 room can practically ‘operate’ a web design and development company. Wherever possible, make a visit to the company, their office setup, longevity in the field, experience in the latest trends and technologies and team composition. It is possible that someone with absolutely no knowledge, but just marketing skills can acquire orders and ‘outsource’ designs from cheap web designers around and pocket a handsome margin in the process. Direct communication with the designer is a must.
9. Presence in social media is a reliable indicator of a good web design company. More than mere presence, social media presents a reliable way of customer feedback, rather than the doctored customer feedback on their websites. Any negative feedback about the company is easily visible on the social media, though at times they may be utilized to damage reputation too. Nevertheless, social media reputation presents an excellent opportunity to ensure that the company does not suffer from too many negative reviews.
10. Web design is not just about design, a presentation that is attractive. There are a lot more key competencies are involved in web design. These include website development, hosting services, marketing, social media presence and digital marketing expertise. Our website is not meant to function in isolation. The presence of the website should be visible to the world, especially the target segment. A good web design company should be able to ensure that the website attracts target customers. A good website designer should be capable of serving an entire gamut of allied services in one basket.
11. Will your design company stick to timelines? What if they take an unduly long time to deliver? You are planning to make your website live before the ensuing festive season. And the web design company is not able to deliver. This effectively means that you have a crucial marketing season. This should not happen. The company’s adherence to timelines and working to stiff targets should be analyzed from customer feedback. If necessary, personal references and enquiries can be made with past customers.
12. Problems keep propping up. There are numerous instances where the website designers after designing the website and payment is received, leave customers in the lurch. The after-sales support is missing in some cases. Give a careful look at their customer support policy. A company that offers automated grievance resolution mechanism, or 24/7 support are better off than companies that give just an email id for support related issues. The physical address and contact telephone numbers are also useful.
The team at Xiologics is competent, offers time bound delivery and resolution of services and issues, know the underlying principles and intricacies of successful web designs, experts in digital marketing, have a strong social media presence and a wide portfolio of past designs and user experience.
