Putting together a website from scratch when you have no previous experience and don’t know much about them can be daunting; there are so many specialists to deal with, things to set up and lingo to learn. A simple solution is to find a web design company that does it all for you, and with many companies offering all-in-one web design packages there is everything from bargains to be had to terribly overpriced rubbish available, the important thing is to be able to spot the bargain.
Check out the portfolio
One of the most obvious ways to get an idea of the quality of a designer is to look at their portfolio of websites. Naturally, they’ll only send you the really good ones but with package websites there shouldn’t be much difference between the best and the worst, so any selection will give you an idea.
Never judge a book by the cover
Some of the best known commercial brand names in the market turn out some of the worst deals, basically surviving on their name and the fact people just assume they’re getting a good quality deal going with something familiar, so shop around, some of the best websites come out of very young freelancers whilst you typically find the best service and deals in small to medium sized web design companies that really have to fight for their place in the market.
Try to get a feel for them
Many package companies work over the phone or are based too far away for you to visit, but you can get a feel for how stable and professional they are off of a few phone calls and questions. If the “senior designer” or “managing director” is also the person who answers the phone when you call, you can be fairly sure you’re dealing with a one man company, and asking how long they’ve been in business gives you an idea of their stability.
This stability can be really important with websites. With a package deal most companies just load your site up and put it live and you never get a copy of it on disk, then the company goes bust and your website disappears with it, possibly your domain name too, so look for stable firms, ask if you’ll get a copy of the site on disk and make sure you legally own the website and domain name and not the designer.
The process
If you get a good feel about a company and the price is right the process should be a simple one. An initial phone call or meeting will tell them who you are, you give them some photos and a copy of your logo, they’ll write and design a site around your notes, set up the domain name and e-mail, put it all live and charge you an annual fee for keeping it that way. Some packages include free time for updates too which can be useful for changing prices or updating your portfolio photos.
Bespoke can be better
The only problem with package websites is that they’re never truly exceptional, that takes a bespoke approach and close, expensive attention from a highly skilled designer, but this is only really important for international corporations, graphic design agencies and other such businesses. Most small businesses need to focus on the essentials; easy to navigate, easy to find information, easy to contact you and showing up somewhere on the search engine results.
