Okay folks so on the back of a recent thread which got me giving my opinion on what a client should expect from their new web design company (or maybe their old/existing one as well) thought i'd ask the non-webby members that exact question.
What would YOU expect from a web design/development company?
Be honest....now don't say you want them to be honest...but yet if they told you something would cost extra because it really is a new added item over and above what you ordered, you get annoyed with them!
As well, you should compare quotes and don't say "well let's go with them because they're cheaper" it instead needs to be "let's go with them because we get great value for money on a similar cost to the others". Rarely are two quotes like-for-like. Even if you give them a specification to work to, what they provide you in their costs may vary on quantity, quality, service, etc.
Ask what is included and what costs extra such as:
logo design
professional images (library stock or bespoke photography even)
web hosting
SSL certificate
onsite SEO
offsite SEO
Content Management System (CMS) e.g. Joomla, Wordpress
Shopping Cart software - is there a renewable annual license fee?
domain name - registration and renewal
Ask about:
service levels - response rates, ways to contact them, confidentiality, copyright of your designs, web hosting login access, ftp access, mysql access (if you have a database), CMS admin login (if you have a CMS this is and should be a god-given right).
Ask about maintenance, fixes, upgrades and general or specific support - yes this will be chargeable as its additional work, or you may be offered a maintenance contract that includes some or all of this, which may also include the hosting as well.
Ask about backups. Yes most hosting companies do server backups, but as their terms and they will tell you, they are not to be relied upon as a contingency. You should be given the access to do you own backups depending on how often you update your website to need to do a backup after those updates, if you feel it necessary.
I give my clients cPanel access to their own account and show them how to do a backup, manage email accounts, check server stats, and so on. Just the easy basics. They are not shown anything else and are advised (warned even) not to fiddle with anything.
When you buy a website, you are buying so much more. That does not become obvious until further down the line when you decide to get more involved in it.
Please feel free to add your 2 cents!
Reasonably enough, you're saying (small business) clients should be informed clients before they make the purchase decision ... sad to say, most are not. I doubt whether they even know how to get hold of objective information that's relevant for a small company. I don't. You've given a very helpful list of things to think about. Linda CareersPartnershipUK
You have made the typical web designer mistake. Focusing on the technical is simply pointless. A good company should have all those things taken care of. Instead of employing a web designer who works in their boxer shorts in their kitchen who tells you that design is everything and promising the world....go to a web designer and ask the questions that are really important... 1. Name 3 companies you created a website for 12 months ago - What is the increase in Traffic, Conversion and Revenue during the last year. 2. In the past 3 months, can you demonstrate how many SHORT tail keywords have progressed up the ranks in Google. 3. What do you anticipate the return on my investment will be in the next 12 months? When you're buying a website, you're buying an online presence, reputation and shop window....trust a professional: someone who understands business over design. Thanks, theflyerexpert
“You have made the typical web designer mistake. Focusing on the technical is simply pointless. A good company should have all those things taken care of. Instead of employing a web designer who works in their boxer shorts in their kitchen who tells you that design is everything and promising the world....go to a web designer and ask the questions that are really important... 1. Name 3 companies you created a website for 12 months ago - What is the increase in Traffic, Conversion and Revenue during the last year. 2. In the past 3 months, can you demonstrate how many SHORT tail keywords have progressed up the ranks in Google. 3. What do you anticipate the return on my investment will be in the next 12 months? When you're buying a website, you're buying an online presence, reputation and shop window....trust a professional: someone who understands business over design.” Well if we were talking about choosing a SEO company, your post would be useful....  indizine indizine
“Well if we were talking about choosing a SEO company, your post would be useful.... ”Not at all. A well built site, built by a professional who knows what they are doing with very little link building will out-strip a badly built site with a ton of SEO techniques chucked at it any day of the week. Afterall, SEO is simply the icing on the cake. Thanks, theflyerexpert
Yes but if you read my OP I am talking about the build of a website, how to make sure that you find a company that can complete the website who doesn't let you down by not doing it at all, not doing it properly as agreed, not finishing it or taking forever to finish, and also what is included so you are clear what the contract includes and does not. SEO is a separate activity (apart from the onsite SEO) and therefore other criteria applies when you need someone to do that for you. Not saying you don't have a point but don't come here insulting people saying we make mistakes when you haven't grasped what the thread is actually about. indizine indizine
I think there may be other factors doing that besides SEO? You mentioned that a good site with the minimal seo can outrank a bad one overloaded with SEO. It could be the design of the site itself and how it effects its visitors and not the SEO perhaps? Edit: as Indizine mentioned  She types faster than I do. lolThanks, Dreamraven
As above, just talking about finding a web design company to build a website that isn't a cowboy, conman or just totally unethical, like some we have come across. indizine indizine
@indizine - it's you who's taken this to the SEO world ... again focusing on the technical rather than the issue, which is what I was focusing on. The issue being that customers should be making their decisions based on BUSINESS rather than on technical factoids. Like any other purchase, one should look at the benefits to the business, and make a decision based on the track record, and pick a company who's proved that spending Thanks, theflyerexpert
“2. In the past 3 months, can you demonstrate how many SHORT tail keywords have progressed up the ranks in Google.” I'm pretty sure that's SEO, and the last time I designed a site for someone, SEO was their baby, not mine. Its a different service that some designers do offer, but not everyone. “@indizine - it's you who's taken this to the SEO world ... again focusing on the technical rather than the issue, which is what I was focusing on. The issue being that customers should be making their decisions based on BUSINESS rather than on technical factoids. Like any other purchase, one should look at the benefits to the business, and make a decision based on the track record, and pick a company who's proved that spending Thanks, Dreamraven |
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