So, you are convinced you need a website for your business. It is always a good idea to give your idea for a website a life by doing some research to find the right web designing company.

Let us tell you finding the best agency to design your online presence is not an easy task. You will have to perform comprehensive online searches to find companies that fit into your budget and match your requirements. A good company is a mix of creativity and technicalities.

Selecting a web design company that is right for you

Once you have shortlisted few of the best website design agencies, do the following to pick the most suitable one.

1. Visit agencies’ website – The site a web design firm creates for its own brand is a good indication of its design style, and creative and technological capabilities. Does it look impressive? Is it easy to navigate and understand? Does it meet your design standards and preferences? Even if it does not exactly reflect your own style – a good design agency will follow your brand guidelines and style requirement, not their own. Your whole purpose of visiting their website should be to see if the site is created as per latest design trends and offers a good user experience. If all these are fine, you can safely choose to work with them.
   
2. Check their portfolio – Once you are satisfied with their website design and presentation, the next step is to check their design portfolio. Every business usually has a portfolio section on their website, go and check out some samples of their work. Ask yourself few of these questions:
   
   • Does the website look professional?
   • Is it easy to use?
   • Are any of the featured clients seem comparable to you in terms of size and offerings?
   • Are any of these sites matches your requirement or scope?
     
     Your answers to these questions will help you make an informed choice.
     
3. Contact them and set up a meeting – If you find their portfolio decent enough, the next step is to call and schedule a meeting. Be attentive to how they handle your calls – do they ask questions about your business, or they straight away jump into hard selling? While the person who attends your call may not necessarily be the one you will work with, but that person, his way of handling calls and conversation will reflect the overall personality of the company; pay attention to details because why not? After all you are going to have a long-term business relationship with them.
   
4. Ask questions – As a prospective client to them you have all the rights to ask questions and be sure about them before getting into a contract. Few of the questions that you may ask are:
   
   • Have you designed any other website in the domain/industry same as ours?
     
     The answer to this question will help you understand their experience in your industry – competitors, level of competition and latest trends. Even if they do not have experience in your industry, make sure to ask for a wide range of work samples in varied domains – you should not go for a firm that deals in a narrow niche. A web design company with wider exposure is relatively helpful.
     
   • How much importance do you give to user experience while designing a website?
     
     Their answer will help you understand the value and significance of user experience in their minds. A good designing agency will know that UX is the heart of every successful website and will assure you user-centred design. Just do not go by their answer, to double confirm and ask them about their specific approaches, including methods and tactics they apply to make sure they genuinely care about user experience in their design.
     
   • What Content Management System (CMS) do you work in?
     
     Typically, design firms specialize in one or two CMS platforms. Every CMS has its own merits and demerits, and a good design company will be able to objectively explain to you the pros and cons of each of these platforms to help you make an informed decision.
     
   • Can I meet your team of design professionals?
     
     Beware of a hoax company. A lot of companies write a lot on their website about their team. However, the reality is they are a single salesperson who calls, pitches and after getting the project outsources it to a bunch of freelancers who do not really care for quality and standards. Hence, it is important to meet the in-house web design experts face to face.
     
   • Can you explain to me your website design and development process in detail?
     
     A good design firm will comprehensively explain to you about each process and explain how things will work for your project. They will be transparent.
     
   • What happens if we want to make changes or updates to the website once the project is completed?
     
     This will help you understand whether the company is reliable and care for long term relationships. A full-service web design firm should include a basic training session for your team to explain how things work and show how to make changes and updates. Have a list of things you think you will need to update fairly and ask which of these things will be editable in the content management system.
     
5. Go with those who listen – You are an expert in your industry – you know more than anyone else about your business and its requirements. No one knows your business better than you. If a web design agency does not listen to your ideas or preferences and conservative in their thought process, then you probably should not work with them. Your collaboration with them should be fruitful and constructive.

After you follow these processes and you are satisfied with your research and confident that this company will help you grow your business, go ahead, and collaborate with them. Once you find the right web designing company that you can trust to achieve your goals, your job will become easy; you can focus on expanding it further.