After recently seeing a new website of our friend’s dad’s business, we were shocked that there are web design companies out there selling such outdated products.
So, we felt compelled to write this list of 5 questions you should ask a web design company before you decide to hire them.
1. Will my website render properly on all devices, be it a smartphone, tablet, laptop or desktop computer?
In previous years, you would have to build two websites to serve these markets – one for the desktop, and one for the mobile devices. Those days are gone (thankfully). Now there are ‘responsive websites’ that render properly between all devices, smart phones to desktops. Simply enlarge or shrink your computer screen while looking at one of these sites and the site structure will move around to fit each device.
2. How much do you charge for ongoing maintenance and updates?
While the site itself may have been cheaper than other quotes you have received, their ongoing hourly fee may be way higher. Since they are the company that built your site, they should be the ones that make updates to it. Be sure they aren’t going to charge you over $200/hour.
3. How long will the design and development process take?
This may be one of the most important and overlooked questions to ask. Most people assume that websites take over 6-8 months to build – this is no longer the case. Most reputable website companies can, depending on how complex your site needs to be, create extremely well built and attractive websites in 6-8 weeks (with quick responses from the clients, of course). Ask your company how long it will take until you have a finished website. If they say more than 2-3 months, you may want to look elsewhere.
4. Will there be any SEO built into the site?
An attractive site is great, but only if people are able to find you. Most companies still build sites without any SEO built into the site (i.e. SEO tags, SEO content, image ALT, etc.). We always compare this to building a beautiful house in the middle of nowhere, with no roads leading to it. Makes no sense to redo your site unless your audience can find you. At RODA marketing, we build SEO into all of our sites. This way, your site launches and you already have a head start on your competition.
5. How long will you take to make requested changes to my site once it is finished?
You don’t want to hire a company that will finish your website, then consider their job done. In today’s online world, you need to constantly adapt to stay ahead of your competition. If you send a request to your web company and they tell you “they will get to it once they finish other projects”, you have a problem. Just because your website is finished does not mean you are no longer important. At RODA marketing, we respond same day to all emails, and attend to requested website updates right away.
So there you have it, next time you are searching for a web design company to redo your company website, be sure to ask them these five questions. The results may surprise you!