Faced with the complexities and various technical aspects of the web, building your website can be overwhelming. Let’s face it, for some businesses, their websites are their main source of advertising and any issues could effect the company’s bottom line. Choosing the right design & developer is a very important move for your company, so heres a little advice and warning signs.
Trying to Build & Design the Site Yourself VERSUS Hiring an Agency/Business
You see the commercials all the time, online ads too, “Build your own website, easy and free!” Well that’s never the case. Online website builders are downright terrible. They are limiting in the sense of the amount of pages, content, pictures, etc, that you are allow to have on there. They also aren’t free in the end. You end of having to pay a subscription fee of some sort, and sometimes those fees can get ridiculous. On top of that, there is no way to “move up” in the online world, meaning the site will not grow as your business does. For example, if you want to add certain modules or capabilities to the site, most “free” building software, can’t handle it and you have to start all over again and go down a different path anyway. Also, beware, I have seen many instances where these companies trap you into staying with them, saying they own your site, your content, everything, and when you want to leave or move, that can prove to be very difficult. I could collect so many client testimonials about this case, and the bottom line, don’t fall for the FREE builders or “big box mass online companies”.
Maybe your technical ability is slightly above average, and you try to develop your site on your own with HTML or a CMS software. If you can do it, go for it, but again, there are some negatives that come with this choice as well. You might notice limitations and lack of professionalism from the site. You could see site performance issues, errors, and much more. On top of that, managing and building a site takes time, time is money, and your time is valuable. So hiring a developer would help save you time and stress (and the giant learning curve), and provide you with that logo design or website design that you have always dreamed of.
So of course we are going to say, out of these three options, choose us. Hire an agency, a small business like Web & Moore! Why? Well, we are different than most design agencies in several ways. We are a small company that produces big results. Our site designs are state of the art, our SEO is top notch, and our graphic design capabilities are limitless. Also, we don’t just build you a website and leave it at that. All of our websites get a full SEO Component Install, an aspect that MOST design companies leave out. We make sure each and every site is perfect and fully complete in every aspect before leaving our hands. The best part, when you call, you talk to me, Samantha, and every time you call back, it will be me answering…not one sales/design rep after another (where each time you call you could be talking to someone else), someone who doesn’t know you or your company well. When you call me, you get that personal experience that you won’t get with larger companies. I am very personable and easy going, and my small team of staff and I put our heart and soul into all of our work no matter how big or small the project may be.
Of course we want you to choose us for all your design & development needs, but if you want to keep your options open, here are some tips and tricks to look out for…
Finding the right agency could be difficult if you don’t know where to look. DO YOUR RESEARCH. Check out the company’s own website…that site should reflect their business, and if their site is ____ then well, what do you expect yours to be? Research reviews on the company on RELIABLE review sites like Angie’s List. Communicate with the developer and get to know him/her, and if your not feeling the vibe, then move onto the next. Look at the company’s portfolio. Ask if the company designs what YOU want and not what THEY want. Make sure your not hiring some “backyard designer” aka some kid that learned one template in WordPress and changes the colors and a few other things and then calls it a website and continues to do that over and over again. Get a quote/proposal from the company. Select a provider with a competitive mid-range proposal, not the higher nor the lowest. You get what you pay for. Also, compare what you get for that money. Some companies may seem more expensive but give you so much more. Watch out for hidden fees too. They could quote you and start the build, then all of a sudden you get an invoice for a ton of fees you weren’t expecting. I hear of that happening ALOT. Here at Web & Moore, we will NEVER do that. We try to give the most accurate quote possible and if the job goes over, we will talk to you FIRST explain the situation, and come up with a fair solution. No hidden charges here.
Warning Signs
Avoid companies with a high turnover rate, poor communication skills, personality clashes, conflicts of interest, disagreements with strategy, etc. Also, look out for signs that a company cannot do something they should be able to do. This includes a variety of web services along with other marketing initiatives. Be wary of a company that makes recommendations that do not fit within the budget, provides unclear payment terms or demands full payment upfront (that are unwilling to adjust based on your feedback or situation) and can’t communicate why. If it sounds sketchy, it probably is.
