What You Need to Know When Hiring A Website Development Agency

In the fast-paced business world where time is money, it can be difficult to find a professional and credible website development agency. Web-development services offer a considerable advantage when it comes to giving your website a boost and a revitalization to remain current. While your entire website doesn’t need a consistent overhaul, content, and aspects of your website should always be changing. Don’t let your company website go stagnant, here’s what to look for in a website development agency.

Five Things To Know Before Hiring A Website Development Agency

1. What kind of web standards do they follow?
Web standards are not the same for each professional, so it’s important to know what they follow prior to hiring them for your job. Web standards refer to the design and coding of a website, which can allow it to grow and change as new technology emerges. Codes such as CSS (Cascading Style Sheets), XHTML (Extensible Hypertext Markup Language), and ECMA Scripts are just some of the technologies and languages needed to certify that your website will be accessible and functional on numerous platforms.

2. Who will be doing the actual work if they are part of an agency?
It’s quite common that graphic designers and web developers are part of an agency that collectively works on client services. If you plan on hiring a website development agency, find out who exactly will be creating the content and work for your company. This aspect is important because you want to know who they are one-on-one and that they have an interest in your business. The better they understand your company’s brand, message, and overall aesthetic, the better work they can produce.

3. What references do they have?
A professional is only as good as his or her work. Ask the candidate for references, and be sure to speak with previous clients. Some professional web developers and their agencies may have reviews from past clients or even letters explaining their accomplishments. Talking to previous clients will give you a good sense of the web developer’s work ethic and professionalism, which are two important features you want in someone who will be creating content and delivering services for your website.

4. Is their price too good to be true?
There is a reason for the saying, “If something is too good to be true, it probably is.” This can be applied to so many aspects of life, but in business, it’s important to keep an eye out for scams. If you get a quote from a web developer that seems a bit low for the amount of work required, it may not be your best bet. Saving money is great, but if it comes at a cost in quality, you aren’t doing yourself or your business any favors. Be sure to find and hire a quality website development agency who offers a competitive quote.

5. Be available for consistent communication
When hiring a professional to deliver web-development services, don’t assume that you can hire someone and not be involved until the final product. In order to create a successful and effective project, you will need to be in constant communication with the web developer or graphic designer you hire. It won’t be several telephone calls per day, but at least a couple of emails or conversations per week so you can check on their progress and address any questions they might have. Keep yourself open for collaboration.

Creating a website requires all of the puzzle pieces to be working together in tandem. In order for your website to be a success, you’ll need to find the right website development agency to put all those pieces together into a cohesive web design for business and your brand in a way that is relatable to consumers.

Two Important Things A Website Development Agency Should Offer

1. SEO services

Search-engine optimization (SEO) refers to features and characteristics of your website that help increase its ranking on search-engine sites—the most important being Google. Because the overwhelming majority of search engine users only visit websites on first-page search results, local SEO  plays a huge role in determining if your website will be stagnant or will be an invaluable asset to your business and its customers. Some—but not all—of the things that influence a website’s search-engine rank include the following:

• Content. Content refers to the information on your site. Search engines reward sites that have comprehensive, valuable, and relevant content that benefits users. In easy to understand terms, content is what search engines use to determine if you’re the real deal or a fraud.
• Multiple platform capabilities. The days of searching the web using only desktops and laptops are gone. The majority of today’s search-engine users rely on mobile and tablet devices. If your website isn’t functional on these platforms, it won’t be at the top of the search rankings.
• Backlinks. Backlinks to diverse, relative and authoritative websites improve your site’s ranking.

The best website development agency is the one who has a strong understanding and knowledge of SEO. The agency knows the things search engines reward and use them when creating your website.

2. Copywriting
Copywriting is writing for advertising and marketing purposes. Copywriting is a very important aspect of website development. The best website development agency hires excellent copywriters or they outsource their clients’ copywriting needs to a copywriter who has the skills, knowledge, and experience needed to produce writing that results in the customer taking action. Some of the key components of effective copywriting include the following:

• A compelling title, headline, and introduction that easily leads the reader into the copy body.
• A copy body that has well presented, factual information that relates to the customer’s needs.
• A list of benefits customers can look forward to if they purchase your product or services.
• A compelling and persuasive call to action.

An important but often overlooked aspect of copywriting is testing. Various statistical tests can be used to determine if copywriting is effective. The best website development agency is the one that maximizes results by using statistical testing methods.

SEO services and copywriting should always be offered by a website development agency. If they’re not, you should seriously consider choosing a different developer for your website project. Spending money and time on a website can be an extremely rewarding and exciting experience when you hire the right web developer that provides all of the services you’ll need.

It’s important to understand how hiring the right website development agency can truly make or break your business in regards to the results you see. To have a successful website, you need to be able to attract customers and keep them coming back. If you have limited experience, hiring a professional website development agency is a great way to make a statement that will have a positive effect on your business and revenue over the long term.

One of the main reasons businesses create a website is to promote their products and their company. Websites are great for reaching new customers, which means a wider audience base and more sales. Choosing the right developer for your project is imperative to the success of the website and your revenue. A website development agency should be up to date on the latest trends, knowledgeable in ways to promote your specific company needs and develop content that speaks to your visitors.

Web design can make or break your business with first impressions being all you have to attract customers, and a good website development agency will either mean success or failure.

Some Things To Consider To Make Sure Your Web Developer Brings You Success

Will your site stand out from the crowd?
Giving your website a unique twist will help it catch visitors’ attention and keep them coming back. With hundreds of thousands of websites in existence, you need something that makes your website memorable. Blending in with the crowd is not something a good business should do because it makes it easier for viewers to write it off as nothing special.

A good website development agency will be able to take important pieces of your business plan and use it to their advantage in creating a website that is unique to your company.

Will your site be easily navigated?
When a customer visits your website, they should be able to access everything easily. Having organized tabs and a menu bar allows them to navigate the website and find exactly what they want. An overcrowded or disorganized website will be extremely off-putting to visitors and could result in them leaving without finding the information they wanted.

A website development agency can make navigation simple through coding and programming the website to operate efficiently and effectively.

How will the website perform?
Website performance and navigation go hand in hand. If the website development agency you choose doesn’t create a functional website, it could mean bad news for you and your business. A web designer should ensure that your website functions properly before and after updates, content modification, and even continuously monitor performance.

Any glitches or kinks in the system need to be ironed out before visitors get to your website. A website that doesn’t work isn’t one that will function the way you need.

Is the design comprehensive?
The design is one of the most important pieces of website development. The design is the gateway and the first look at what your business is and what you are trying to achieve or sell. While many DIY site builders can probably create a quality web design and layout, they are stifled by restrictions.

Professional web designers are not held under these same restrictions with graphics or text. A designer will be able to develop a custom design meant only for your company and your brand. When something is custom, it means it’s unique. Having something that is exclusive to your business will set you above the rest and give you a “leg up” on the competition. A design professional will utilize their wealth of knowledge within the design industry to improve your ideas and achieve business objectives in a way that is positive for the business.

Do they provide attention-grabbing content?
While having a great design will attract visitors to your website, the content is what will truly set you apart from the competition. Quality over quantity is something you should try to adhere to when creating content for your website. The information provided can be in-depth but make every word count, so you aren’t taking up space with placeholders.

Make things easy for visitors to find. They want the information they are looking for within mere seconds, so be sure to provide them with quality information that they can sift through quickly. 

Hiring a website development agency can ensure all of these areas of your site are covered. You don’t want to hire someone that could make your business or website worse. Take your time and choose someone you can trust—once you’ve considered all of these factors—and make sure they offer you all of the important services we’ve discussed. If you have any questions or would like to speak to a professional about web-development services, contact our team today.