At some point, every business uses a web design company. And when they do, they have exceptionally high expectations of what that company can do for them. Often unfairly…
In this day and age, ‘web design’ is a misleading term. A good web design company doesn’t only deliver a creative design. It knows about internet marketing and how to help you grow the online side of your business.
If yours can’t, then it’s time for a change methinks…
What a Good Web Design Company Does
It’s very simple
- Communicate what you do, visually and textually, so that visitors quickly and easily understand the service you provide
- Advise you on how to drive traffic to your site, so that potential customers know you exist
- Monitor how your site is used so that it is regularly optimised for the needs of your visitors
The challenge is that most web design companies tend to over-focus on only one part of the puzzle. Stunning design but poor usability, technical wizardry that is devoid of personality etc
Web Design Company: Guiding Principles
Your web design company is only as good as the information you provide them with.
The more detailed and specific you are, the better the finished site. It means you having a clear idea of what you expect visitors to do once they land on the page.
In working with web-design companies here are 5 guiding principles to follow:
Principle 1: Avoid the ‘design’ trap
Warning lights should start to flash, if the ‘look’ is the dominant factor in your conversation.
Looks are always important but you can’t rely on looks as the driver behind online business success.
Companies that are ‘design driven’ are invariably weak on understanding websites as a marketing and communication tool.
Principle 2: Produce A Design Document
This is the blue-print for what you want to produce. A good web design company will expect you to produce one and will help you.
It provides information about your:
- Market and target audience
- Products and services
- ‘Look and feel’ ideas – what you like and don’t like
- e-Commerce thoughts
- Content and how you want to manage/edit it
- Technology fears
- Ideas about driving traffic to the site/page
Principle 3: Consider Web Copy early on
Be clear about how you are going to publish your web copy. Start to consider the font, font size, characters per line and word count as early as possible.
If you don’t do this, there is the risk that you end up with defined areas that are too small or acres of space that are difficult to fill.
What you write ultimately determines whether you are going to develop a good relationship with your visitors – don’t leave it to chance.
Principle 4: Project Management
You are investing considerable time and money in your website so you need a good project manager to pull together all of the design, technical and commercial considerations.
Whether it is you, a colleague or the company, make sure that what is being created is focused on helping you to achieve your marketing goals
Principle 5: Always Test
Don’t waste money and build a site without first testing a small part of it.
No matter how great you believe your vision to be, you have no idea how visitors will react until they give you their feedback.
Create a page or two that you can test. Find out whether people find it easy to understand or navigate. Get a feel for whether the ‘look’ works or alienates.
Often, what you think is wonderful is very different to the thoughts of would-be customers. It’s sad but true…
Final Thoughts About Web Design Companies
I know this all sounds very dry and pedestrian for something that you think should be sexy, sassy and cool.
But behind the creation of the most inspiring and commercially effective products is careful planning and accurate thinking
These simple principles will potentially save you £1,000s.
Follow them and not only will you improve the chances of having a web site that works, you will also win the respect of your web design company
Related Posts
If you found this helpful, you may want to read other posts in the Internet Marketing category.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
This is a nice blog. I agree with a lot of the points raised here,and would add that the need for greater awareness of the role of the coder, the designer and the seo agency together are paramount – if you want your website to return the money you have spent on it.
Chris
Great article Joe.
The big problem is, as you say, that there is too much focus on design.
Really understanding the clients target audience, their needs, frustrations and what keeps them up at night. All businesses solve some sort of problem these problems need to be presented to the clients target along with solutions, guarantees, social proof and personality.
All of this is provided by good copy, why oh why do designers rely on the client to do their own copy? Although the client is positioned best to understand their audiens and industry without good copywriting skills they are destined to failure on the web.