Helpful Tips to Evaluate Web Design Companies

Written by:

Chris Jamison - Director

Published on:

December 2, 2021

Reading time: 6 minutes

Summary

Researching web design companies require “trusting your gut” and cultivating empathy for your market
Find a trustworthy outside opinion to confirm or clarify your research
Creating an easy-to-maintain system to track your research is essential
A priority list will guide your research to ensure you receive the best value on your investment
There are a variety of easy-to-use online resources to provide information about potential companies

Good news. By following along this blog series, “How Do I Select a Web Design Company?” you’ve completed the pre-planning phase. You have reviewed your reasons for building a website. You’ve also considered the messaging and type of content you want to deliver to your clients. And you’ve done an inventory of the benefits your website will offer to your business’ operations.

So the next phase is to research and evaluate companies enthused about building your new website.

Trust your Opinion, Kinda

An illustration of a business man holding a large handful of archery targets and throwing a big dart

Evaluating a website design company requires equal measure instinct and curiosity.

Back to another food analogy. Forming an opinion about a meal from a restaurant doesn’t require expert knowledge of cooking. Instead, you taste the meal and “trust your gut.”

Evaluating a website design company is similar. You’ll view the company’s portfolio and other websites they’ve created. Their work will cause your mind’s eyes to delight or slump out of frustration.

If you have good taste or have a background in marketing, you’ve already got the instinct half of the recipe.

The compliment to instinct is curiosity. Curiosity about the fundamentals of web design and branding, of course. Most importantly, foster curiosity, or empathy, about the needs and tastes of your customers.

Empathy is a precious tool your business can use to improve relationships with your clients. Concerning empathy for customers, Sandra Mathis, writing for TechTarget, writes, “Empathy in customer experience requires asking the right questions and keeping an open mind to gain insights into the customers’ needs and address their problems.”

Even if the reasoning skills for your opinion are the result of years of refinement, in the end, it is just one man’s or woman’s estimate. It is wise to ask for opinions about the quality of those prospects' portfolios from peers you trust. Especially if they happen to represent your target market.

Your peer doesn’t necessarily have to be a designer. It will certainly help if they have a background in marketing. If they can describe in clear detail the causes for their reasoning, that’s what counts.

Track your Research

An illustration of a business woman standing upon a very large piece of paper and writing notes using a giant pencil

Making a record of your research is worthwhile. Your system can be as complex as you require.

Here’s a list of potential options:

Bookmarking websites – Make bookmarks (or favorites) for the web design companies you prefer and contain them within one folder.
Notetaking software – Microsoft OneNote is a great way to collect bookmarks and screengrabs of compelling websites. One option would be to create a new Notebook and add new notes for each website. [Tip: You can use OneNote’s Web Clipper extension in Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge and Mozilla Firefox to create new notes. You may then send them to a Notebook of your choosing.]
Digital Document – Creating a Microsoft Word Document or Google Docs Document and including typed notes and web addresses (URLs) for each website is a simple yet effective way to create a paper trail.
Spreadsheet – Similarly to a digital document, a spreadsheet can hold bits of research on potential web design company hires. Popular spreadsheet creation software includes Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets.

Create a List of Priorities

Illustation of a man in a suit standing atop a ladder and writing upon giant Post-it Notes taped to a wall

The phrase “Fast, good, or cheap. Pick two” is a cliché. In this case, it holds more significant meaning. Besides its primary meaning, it illustrates that value is relative.

You are investing many financial and personal resources into your relationship with your web design company. Therefore, the company you hire must return value on your investment.

The web design company you hire must deliver a website that works as intended. That is the baseline of service you deserve.

But high value could mean your company receives a quality website at an affordable price. Even if the person you deal with could use charm school. Or maybe spending a bit more is worth working with a local company that allows for face-to-face meetings?

Read below for some example traits to prioritize: (This list is not in order of importance)

Affordability
Industry experience
Timeline
Niche
Personality fit
Types of services
Location

Ideally, you can find all of them in one company. However, set one or two aside as dealbreakers when creating your list – they are necessary traits.

You may want to include notes within your research that list the overall desirability of a company.

Where to Look?

Illustration of business woman, scanning the horizon and holding a flagstaff while scaling a staircase

As the saying goes, “Google is your friend.” You will ask a lot of them during your research.

You may want to look at the local listings within Google Maps as well.

While Google is an essential research tool, there are other online resources to consider.

Online marketplaces such as Fiverr, Bark, and Craigslist contain listings of web design companies.

These services list companies in their navigation by their service type. Also, searching using the query, “web design company,” is all you may need to find many potential companies.

Searching through social media platforms is an excellent method of locating potential companies.

Some recommended platforms include:

You may not know of Behance and Dribbble. Those platforms are collections of projects created by design agencies of all stripes, including web design companies. Many of the listings showcase the culture and skill of the company. And they all include high-quality work. Each listing will contain a link to the portfolio of that web design company.

The final suggestion is not necessarily an online resource. Your local Chamber of Commerce likely has web design companies within its membership. It may be a good idea to call your local Chamber of Commerce and ask for helpful tips.

Thanks for reading this article. If you are researching web design companies and are interested in my services or want to talk about web design, please send a message.

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