In this chapter we will outline:
- What services web design companies and web specialists can offer
- The dos and don’ts of choosing a web designer
- Why use a web designer?
There are hundreds of web design companies to choose from, so it’s important to choose which one will be best for your company.
A web designer will do more than just lay out a few pages according to your brief. They will help you define, design and deliver a site that will best suit your customers. Apart from designing the customer-facing ‘front end’ of your site, services that web designers (and associated specialists) can offer include:
- Information architecture
planning the structure of your website in a meaningful way
- User-centred usability testing
measuring how people are using your pages
- Accessibility testing and legal advice
for instance, it’s a legal requirement to make sure that your website can be accessed by people with disabilities, so your designer should be aware of making sure the site meets the minimum accessibility standards
- Content rewriting
making sure the words and pictures on your site attract and engage visitors
- Effectively translating your brand to the web
making sure that the values and identity of your company come across loud and clear
- Revamping your corporate identity
or helping you create one, if this is something you don’t already have
Web designers, or their partners, can also offer more technical services including:
- Hosting
storing your website online and carrying out day-to-day maintenance
- Search engine optimisation
ensuring that your website appears high up in search results
- Implementing ‘back end’ work
this could include content management systems and e-commerce solutions
Your budget and the scope of your project will largely dictate what services you will need, and it’s crucial to clarify these - in writing - with your chosen design company at the earliest opportunity.
These days, many web designers will specialise in certain market sectors and technologies and will acquire new clients via referrals or word of mouth.
When putting together a shortlist of designers you can look at websites you like (they don’t have to necessarily reflect your sector) and see who’s designed them; usually this is indicated in small print at the bottom of the web page.
Web designers of all sizes with happy clients will have their work showcased on their own websites. This is also a good indicator of whether the agency will be able to do the job, but do make sure they were sufficiently involved with that site’s development.
As we have outlined, web designers will provide a range of tools and services to help you define and test your site. But you can also consider appointing independent specialist agencies to work alongside the web design agency.
Usability companies
Usability companies, for example, can audit your current site; help you define what your customers need and provide advice on how to structure your new site accordingly.
This user-centred planning needs to be done early on before the web design agency starts designing your site – remember, it will be costly and time-consuming to make any drastic changes if the design has already begun!
‘Some businesses will launch in to developing a site that looks good aesthetically but doesn’t support the function for its particular audience. A lot of sites will be Flash-based with a lot of animation, but this doesn’t support the simplest user-journey.’
Many web design companies will provide usability audits as part of their own services, but you’re free to get independent advice elsewhere – some government departments require an independent audit, for example.
Content optimisation
Content is also important, not only for your customers, but to help your site appear high in search rankings like Google. Will the web design agency help with copywriting too?
Recruiting a search engine optimisation specialist can help you structure the content of your site so that it appears prominently in search results. Again, many agencies can help you with this as part of their in-house services.
If you do choose to get specialist agencies in, you need them on board ‘at the very beginning,’ says Trenton Moss, director of usability company Webcredible. Before work begins, you will need to outline the key dates that the agencies need to get involved. About half the time, companies unfamiliar with usability testing will recruit Webcredible when the design has already begun and it’s too late to reassess the site strategy. ‘Then you just have to do what you can and it’s got to fit in with time and budget constraints,’ he says.
Marketing and brand
A marketing or brand consultant can also help you determine a strategy for your business, and this can underpin your ultimate web design strategy. The Atlantic Hotel, a luxury hotel in the Channel Islands, wanted to underline its position in the Small Luxury Hotels of the World.
‘Prior to the appointment of a web design agency, we worked with an independent marketing consultant to draw up a comprehensive marketing plan for the business, which in turn led to a detailed website brief.’
Read the Atlantic Hotel case study.
When you have decided on a shortlist of web designers, you can then approach them and invite them to present you with what’s called a pitch; a presentation and/or document that will help you decide whether the agency will suit your business.
You won’t need to provide the web designer with a detailed brief just yet, because as part of their preparation, they will meet up with key people in your business to try and understand more about your organisation, the problems with your current site, timescales, budget and your overall business goals and corporate identity. They will then take this information and spend one or two weeks putting together a pitch.
For example, the web design agency BlackOrange will typically have an initial meeting before the pitch so they can meet the team, and requirements and ideas can be freely discussed.
BlackOrange
‘Some early design concepts are sometimes included, and a breakdown of costs, timeframes and deliverables conclude the document.’
Traditionally, it’s been advisable for businesses to put detailed requirements together before appointing a designer. But this is easier said than done: many companies won’t always know what they or their customers want, even if they think they do.
‘What everyone seems to think is you can sit in isolation, figure out a business plan and appoint an agency to do it. But that’s actually where you need the most help and advice.’
At the same time, companies should not be naïve and say they have no clue what they are doing as they may be taken in by overzealous account directors. At the very least, before meeting with the potential agency for the first time you should have a clear idea about:
- Your corporate identity/brand
- Your competitors and the nature of your business; is it fast-moving and liable to change?
- Your main business stakeholders
- What your customers need, or at least what you perceive those needs to be
- Broadly, what you think a new website will achieve for your users
On a more practical level, you should also have an idea of:
- How much control you want over your site’s development
- Your timescales, and any flexibility with dates
- Your budget, and any contingency for extra requirements
Our top tips when trying to choose between pitches include:
- Don’t automatically be bowled over if the designer’s pitch includes a sleek, preliminary design before you’ve even got the project off the ground.
It might look impressive, but the reason you’re appointing an agency is to establish a design that will best suit the needs of your users, rather than use one that just looks good.
‘When we pitched to the RSPCA, we were told that the other agency would go in with a design. We said we wouldn’t, as we didn’t know enough about the company. We’d also be doing a design that would impress the people at the table – not the users. We won the pitch.’
- Do notice who is pitching to you
If you’re mostly dealing with a salesperson or account manager, be wary – they may have the drive and enthusiasm, but they may be overselling what they can deliver.
- Don’t agree to solutions to problems that may not exist
Without proof to back the problem up, these can be costly extras that may not suit your business in the long term.
- Do deal with the experts
Will you be dealing with specialists throughout the whole process? For day-to-day dealings, your first point of contact should always be someone who’s directly involved with the development of your site.
- Don’t get bamboozled by jargon
If the design agency can communicate its points in plain English, this is an excellent start.
- Do choose a company you’ll get along with…
not just until the site launches, but beyond.
‘One of the key reasons we chose our agency was that we liked and trusted the people we were going to be working with. It is refreshing that their level of commitment to us as a customer has remained constant following the completion of the initial site build.’
Read the Newmarket Racecourses case study.
- Don’t always go cheap
the agency may be undercutting rivals in order to gain business, but it won’t necessarily deliver value in the long term. It may also be outsourcing development overseas. Is locality important to your business? Always ask the agency how it’s broken down its prices.
‘Don’t select an agency on price – if there’s a huge price difference between one agency and another, there is a reason.’
- Do trust gut instincts
ask yourself if you can both fit culturally – can you have a good working relationship with these people?
- Do make sure the designers you choose can react quickly
never underestimate how quickly your requirements can change during a project. If this happens you’ll need someone working for you who can make those changes as soon as possible.
‘We were doing some work for Nokia and we captured requirements early on in the process. But when the iPhone was launched, those requirements changed quite quickly. People had something else to reference against. They couldn’t articulate what their requirements were before the iPhone arrived, then all of a sudden they wanted something different. You have to be flexible and agile during the development process.’
- Do allow time for selecting a designer
whether it’s an individual or an agency.
‘Choosing an agency always takes longer than the client thinks. With most pitches the client says they’ll decide by a certain time and it takes longer. The extra time it takes them to decide compresses the delivery time.’