As a new business owner choosing a web design is probably one of the most important decisions that you will make.
Putting your business image in to the hands of novice designers or designers that do not take the time to fully understand your image can effect the type of market that you attract and can even make or break your business.
What are your goals? Do you want to draw a limited number of premium clients, or do you want to attract a massive amount of the least desirable market? A fine balance is always suggested.Make sure that you thoroughly define your market to your web designer. This information is crucial in logo design and page layout. Even the colors that are chosen in the design will attract a different kind of market!
There are alot of things that are going on behind the scenes of a website. From keyword selection, onpage optimization and the type of code being used. Ask alot of questions and get informed.
A web design company is similar to a contractor building a house. His job is to put together all the pieces together to build it, from logo design, content writing, hosting, and onpage optimization.
Make sure that you talk to them about everything that you are getting. Be sure to ask them if you are getting onpage optimization done to the site. Onpage optimization is like the building blocks for any future internet marketing that you will do. Do not skimp on onpage optimization!Write out the text for your pages to give to your web designer, even if your not the most experienced writer it will give the web designer a better idea of the message that you are trying to convey.
When writing the content for your site keep in mind key word phrases that you want your site to rank for. Search engines "Spider" your site for popular keywords so that they know how to rank your site.
Copywriting can sometimes cost anywhere from $500-$1000 a page for keyword optimized content and can go up in price for technical websites! By prewriting your text your web designer will be able to understand your business better and you can save significantly on copywriting fee's.
Pay close attention to what they ask about you and your business. Follow your instincts. Does it sound like they are familiar with your product or service? Does it sound like they are passionate about what they do?
When choosing a web designer ask to look at their client portfolio. Their client portfolio will give you an idea on what to expect and will give you the chance to point out certain things that you like about other sites that they designed.
How long have they been in business? Beware of businesses that havnt been around awhile. Fly by night business might leave you hanging and locating another web design business to handle the mess left behind can be costly and very time consuming.
Best advice: Take your time when choosing a web design company and look for a company that can offer full service.
Ask how much maintenance will cost? Adding pages and updating your site is crucial in keeping your site fresh to the search engine spiders when they come by to index the site.
Sometimes web design companies have sites that are made so that the client can maintain the site themselves. This will allow you to add pages and make updates. If your not skilled on the computer this may not always be the best route to go.
Check and make sure that you own the copyright to the entire website, graphics, content, etc, so that you can use it elsewhere if you need to.
In addition, make sure that you actually own the domain. Down the road you may want to change hosts or find someone else to manage your site.
What's the over all feel to the interaction with the web designer and business in general? Are you receiving personal attention? Do they answer your emails or calls in a timely manner? Do they seem like they have time to help you? Are you dealing with the same person or bouncing around between secretaries?
Your website is crucial in the future success of your new company. By doing in depth interviewing you will be able to find a match for you and your business.
We have been in business for over 12 years and our designers are some of the best in the business. Take a look at our client portfolio page. http://www.cyberlaunch.net/clients.htm
I look forward to meeting you and answering all your questions.
-Charles Warner (President Cyberlaunch.Net)
