How to choose a web design agency: ten questions worth asking
- Choosing a partner
Choosing an agency is hard because you are paying for something you cannot see yet, from people you have only just met. A few good questions will tell you more than any pitch deck.
Ask to see work, and ask what they did
A portfolio shows what they can make. It does not show who made it. Ask which parts the team did, what the brief was and what changed afterwards. Better still, ask to speak to a client. A confident agency will say yes.
Ask who you will actually deal with
Some agencies sell with senior people and deliver with juniors. That is not always bad, but you should know. Ask who will be your contact, who does the design, who writes the code and what happens if one of them leaves.
Ask what is and is not in the price
This is the question that saves the most money. Does it include content, photos, SEO set-up, a second language, training and the first months of support? Does the quote say how many rounds of changes you get? Vague answers now become extra invoices later.
- Who owns the site, the design files and the domain when it is finished
- What hosting and care cost after launch, and whether you can leave
- How long it will really take, and what you must supply to keep to that
- How they measure whether the site is working
Watch how they respond to your goals
A good agency asks about your customers, your margins and what a new enquiry is worth, before they talk about colour. If the first conversation is all about their process and technology, you may be buying their interests instead of your results.
Be wary of guarantees
No honest agency can promise first place on Google, or a fixed number of leads. They can promise a sound foundation, a clear plan and honest reporting. If something sounds too neat, ask how they would prove it.
Finally, trust your impression of them. You will be working with these people for months. If they explain things plainly and tell you when something is a bad idea, you are probably in good hands.