Web Design Companies & Agencies

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Why would you need a web design company or agency?

You think you’ve seen it all when it comes to websites, the good the bad the ugly, picked out a few of your favourites and said to yourself “how hard can it be?”. With so many options around at the moment to ‘build your own’ it can be easy to fall into the trap of thinking you can go it alone. But in reality, it takes years of experience and specialist knowledge to make your favourite websites not only work, but work effectively, and that’s where a web design agency steps in.

Almost everyone has a website, its your shop window, the face of your company and quite often the first interaction anyone will have with your brand, so first impressions count. With competition mounting, chances are you’ll need a helping hand to make your website work not only for you and your business needs, but also for your visitors. In short, the purpose of a web design company is to take your problems and provide creative, beautiful, working solutions.

What is good design?

Design, like any art form, is subjective, personal and emotive. But good design is about more than just outstanding visuals, it’s about understanding user experience (or UX) and making a website work in line with its objectives. Finding a web design company to effectively incorporate usability, accessibility and user enjoyment into a website will be one of the best business investments you’re likely to make. Designed well, a website should be directed by insights from current market trends, incorporate responsive techniques and be tested within an inch of its life. At the heart of good design is communication, and we’re talking face to face interaction with a human being. It is incredibly important to build trust and understanding with your website design company if you’re going to get it right. It might sound simple but without effective communication between client and designer; ideas and creative solutions become lost, issues creep in, and the end result will take a hit. When communication breaks down, the entire design process breaks down and even the best designers in the world struggle to deliver without it.

What makes a good website design company?

There’s a lot of them and choosing the right website design company (or agency as they like to be called) for your project can seem like a huge task, but it’s such an important one. You’ll need to research and (if possible) meet, as many as you can to get a real feel for how they could work for you. Each have different specialities and experiences, so taking the time to find the right fit will be be more that worth it in the end.

A few considerations to get you started:

Are they local?
Having spoken about the importance of communication it seems only natural to to suggest that the locality of a web design company could impact your decision. Yes you could find a cheaper option in another city, maybe even another country, but if communication suffers as a result you’ll likely find yourself parting with even more cash to fix unnecessary problems that might arise. Never underestimate your personal instinct; being able to see the people, the office environment and generally get a feel for the company helps build trust. Just that little bit of interaction can make both parties feel more connected to the project.

Seen something you like?
The company portfolio is where you need to go when it comes to judging the level of work you can expect to see from a web design agency. Having a look at sites they have built with a critical eye can give you a good idea of the style and functionality the designers are able to produce. Why not look at their own site, it can tell you not only about the work they produce but how they operate as a company too, if they specialise in web design, the look and feel of their own site should reflect that. If you like what you see and think it could fit your brief then it’s probably worth getting in touch.

What’s their capacity?
Web design companies come in all shapes and sizes and bigger doesn't necessarily mean better. When writing your website brief think about what ongoing support you’ll need once the website is complete. If you have a small site, and are happy to take on all of the work needed to keep it fresh and working then a small, possibly even single person web design company could be for you. If however you think you might need copywriting, photography or marketing support (to name just a few) then you might want to consider a slightly larger web design agency with a variety of services on offer.

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