Assuming your business web site is an important marketing tool, looking for a company to create your online presence can be an unsettling and confusing experience. In our years of experience we have run across the same questions and concerns from potential clients time and time again. We feel confident in sharing some tips with you as you look for the best fit for your new or improved web site.
Apples to Apples: Before you contact a web design company, make sure you have sketched out a rough outline of your web site so you can compare apples to apples. This way you will avoid asking the first company to quote you for a small project but by the final quote, you have added more features so you cannot accurately compare quotes and services.
Staying a float in a sea of web design companies
Price vs. Cost: There is no getting around it; you want value for your money. It is tempting to focus on the price but be careful that you do not end up spending more with the lowest bidder. How is this possible? Realize that in the end, most good web designers and coders make about the same rate. The variable is how much time they are willing to invest with you as a partner – or just a customer. Some companies will quote you low but they are not willing to lose money on a project so they will cut every corner needed to keep from losing money. A poorly designed web site can cost you much more money in the long run and actually drive away the very customers you intended to attract. Good things are not cheap, cheap things are not good and cheap things cost more.
Ownership: Please purchase your own domain using your own name and email. We cannot tell you how many times we have had to help a client start over with a new domain and web site because the web designer purchased www.yourbusinessname.com in his or her own name. At Web Editor’s Inc., we have a very open policy towards site ownership. If we do register a domain, we do so on your behalf using your name and email. All artwork, source code belongs to you.
Hit by a Bus: When you are talking to web design companies, try to get the sense if it would be easy to move later down the road. We call this the “get hit by a bus” policy. If we were hit by a bus, you would have all the information you need to take your site to a new web design company. We are confident in our work and would never pressure anyone to stay with us if they are uncomfortable.
Sustainability: Another complaint we hear often is “My web designer disappeared!” We have a theory that many web designers and programmers are young, inexperienced and not suited for customer service. If you make a request when they are busy or a request they do not agree with, you may never hear back. It is important that you be able to work collaboratively with your web design company. We invite you to drop by our office in downtown Temecula and meet with us face to face to discuss your needs and share your vision.
