There are plenty of website design and development companies out there in the current market, and it’s possible to find website design agencies who are willing to work for practically nothing. But the bottom line is that successful web design is a subset of marketing, and it’s only by hiring a marketing consulting firm with extensive web experience that you can really expect to grow the online aspect of your business. Here are some common red flags you should look out for when working with web design companies:
- You Can’t Ask for Certain Looks to Be Recreated
There’s nothing wrong with taking inspiration from another site you’ve seen. A marketing consulting firm will be able to tell you if that particular element is a good idea for your design or not. But if your web designer simply tells you it can’t be done, then you should be concerned. This may be a sign that your designer knows very little about coding.
- Mobile Is Considered an Add-On
Mobile usage of the Internet has skyrocketed, and a site that isn’t mobile-friendly is far less likely to pull in customers than a responsive site. The bottom line is that these days, if a site doesn’t work on mobile, it doesn’t work at all.
- Everything Takes a Different Plugin
It’s not unusual for a “custom website design company” to do nothing but customize free platforms like WordPress. This isn’t always a problem, but you should know what you’re paying for. The plugins that some of these designers use to make up for their limited knowledge of coding can be security risks, as well as causing glitches on your site when updates are necessary.
- You’re On Your Own After the Initial Design
Web designers often face a dilemma when it comes to ongoing support, since some customers want to make endless changes to a fully functioning website. But your designer shouldn’t respond to this concern by completely abandoning you after the design is complete. You should receive training on how to use and update your website, at the very least.
- Promotion Efforts Aren’t Included
One of the greatest advantages of working with a marketing consulting firm is that you’ll know you’re working with experts in search and social media promotion. Both of these are vital to the overall success of your business. About 93% of all web experiences begin with a search engine query (and 70% of clicks go to organic results, rather than paid results), so search engine optimization has the potential to bring in huge numbers of customers. Some aspects of SEO are also controlled by the structure of your web design. So if your web designer says that’s not within his or her purview, you need a new design company. Social media integration is equally important when it comes to conversion; about 20% of people on Facebook have bought an item because they saw content about it on Facebook.
Do you have any more questions on how to promote your business via your website? Join the discussion in the comments.
