You have decided to enhance the performance and visibility of your company. You need a web site that will be a part of your business vision and reflect your business goals. Now you only need to see which web design firm provides the services you need. Belgrade, Serbia, Europe… Modern technology gives you more variety, where the distance is no problem. But how to distinguish the good from the bad web design companies? How to evaluate which web services you need and which services are the best and most affordable? Offers, prices, references… you could spend countless hours comparing Internet consulting companies that you have found.
If you follow a few basic steps, you will come to the right and the best web design company for you very quickly, and you could redirect your time to the work of the design, the promotion and marketing of your site.
- GATHER INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR COMPANY, BUSINESS OBJECTIVES, FUNCTIONALITIES AND INFORMATION THAT YOUR WEB SITE SHOULD HAVE AND A PICTURE THAT YOUR WEB DESIGN SHOULD REVEAL
Before you start thinking which company to hire to create a web design for your site, you must know why you’re doing it and for whom. The history, the mission and the vision of your company have to be familiar to you. The most important thing is to know the reasons for making the website and your presence on the Web. What are your business goals? How should a web site contribute to your business? What message does the web design need to convey? Do you already have any ideas about features and information that you want to be a part of the web site? Web development and design of the site can begin only after answering these questions.
If you are not sure about some of the answers a web design firm with experience will help you reach them. But make sure that you have prepared, in writing some of the basic information about your company, business and business models, so that you can send it to web design companies you are considering. This information will assist them in creating unique and personalized offers and the right web design solution for you.
2. CHECK REFERENCES! CHECK OUT WHICH COMPANIES STAND BEHIND THE WEB DESIGN AND SITES THAT YOU LIKE
Checking out the sites of the competition or those with a similar or the same activity can be inspiring and very useful. Go back to web sites that stood out with the design and the general impression, and where you feel comfortable. Internet consulting companies responsible for the web design and web programming, often leave a signature link at the bottom of the site. If you see that a company is often referred to, visit their website, check out their references.
Often personal recommendation is even more essential. Ask colleagues and friends if they know who did the web design of their sites? What are their experiences? Portfolio of web design work can be found on the websites of many companies, and even visit the sites which they worked on, but from a personal recommendation, you can find out the best kind of relationship they have had with customers, and how much the client was satisfied with the overall work.
3. VISIT THE WEBSITES OF WEB DESIGN COMPANIES THAT YOU ARE CONSIDERING
Most companies have on their web site a portfolio of their design work. Go through the pages. Which of these companies have worked on sites for businesses that are similar to yours? What kind of an impression does the company’s site leave? Are they professional or sloppy? Is it easy to find your way on their site and know where to look for information? Has the web design of their site caught your eye? Are they businesslike? Are they reliable? An Internet consulting company that didn’t value the web design and web site of their own company will unlikely bring you the desired results.
4. NARROW DOWN YOUR CHOICE AND CALL THE WEB DESIGN COMPANIES THAT YOU HAVE SINGLED OUT
The portfolio of a company can serve to evaluate the quality and the creativeness of their web solutions, if the web design is beautiful, appropriate and with a message, websites functional and usable. But only from a direct conversation with the company, can you find out whether they can offer you professional, fair treatment and a communication that will make the creation of your site easy and efficient.
5. ENQUIRE ABOUT COST OF SELECTED SERVICES OF THE CHOSEN WEB DESIGN COMPANY AND THE TIME LIMITS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF SITES
The price for a web design and other services such as web development, Internet marketing, search engine optimization (SEO) will influence the final price offered by the contacted company and it will certainly have a significant impact on the final selection of the company. Price list of some of the companies will be available for download. You need to take notice that the price in the price list is often not the one that will be offered at the meeting, after consideration of your request. Prices that are presented are often the lowest ones, and the solutions that are offered for that price are too universal to fit any company that values quality and their presence on the Internet. Do not be surprised if all additional changes from the original solution are charged, and if the final price is not as low as initially thought.
Do not be turned of by the fact that some web design companies do not have a price list on the website and you can’t get a price of the website development and the web design before a meeting. These companies probably want to distance themselves from misleading or inaccurate estimate of the price that would likely be changed after careful consideration of your request for the site. Take these companies seriously and do not hesitate to contact them, because they have a unique and personal approach to each client, and hence the price that will be formed will be the final cost for just the kind of web site that you need.
Do not wait until the last moment to start developing a web site if you need it urgently, because it can affect the pricing and the openness of the job. If the deadline is short you have to make sure that the selected web design firm can complete your site on time, and avoid later finding out that you have to prolong the finalization.
6. BE SURE THAT THE PRICE, OFFER, SERVICES, TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF YOUR COOPERATION BE IN A WRITTEN AGREEMENT
Do not start until you sign a formal agreement with the selected firm. Let the written agreement contains the price, the services you get for that price (whether it was just the web design and/or web programming, hosting lease, optimization…) and the conditions and continuity of work and payment. Such a contract will protect both you and your company from possible misunderstandings during or after its completion.
If you have followed all these steps it is very likely that you have come across Implementek.
Implementek is an Internet consulting company with offices in Belgrade and Los Angeles dedicated to creating professional static and dynamic web solutions, web development and design sensibility that accompanies the image of your company, providing consulting services and advice on how to improve your e-business. Implementek has an individual approach to each client and in collaboration with clients, using our experience, but the wishes and the vision of the customer creats Web sites that stand out and really produce results.
