The Easy Way to Spot a Bad Web Design Company

The Easy Way to Spot a Bad Web Design Company

Good Looking Website

This is one of those times that judging a book by it's cover is in your best interests. A webdesign company's website is it's book cover, so naturally if their website is not stimulating...chances are that they will create an unstimulating design for your website...which in turn is YOUR book cover. If your bookcover is amateurish, your potential client may very well pass you by, imagining that your service or product to be as exciting as the site they've just seen...not very!

Website Looks Vs Website Price

If the client liaison of the webdesign company drives a Ferrari, there's a very good chance that they are overcharging their customers. Web design prices vary greatly. There are no set guidelines for quality nor are there any recommended pricing structures, so one must use one's own discretion here. I can't tell you that is a good price for a small website, because it depends on the web design itself. If I may use a fine art analogy here. R 1 million is a ridiculous price to pay for a Tretchikoff, but an incredible bargain for a Van Gogh.

Web Design Examples

If the web design company does not supply examples of their work or some form of portfolio, it can mean one of two things. Either the company is just starting and has no work to showcase yet, or they are not confident to display their work because it is not very good. The other problem I've come across here is when a web design agency has a long list of clients that they have allegedly done work for, but no links to the work itself. In cases like these, you can rest assured that at least half of their clientele are made up and the other half of their clientele are upset by their shoddy workmanship. Bottom line is: If the company is any good, they will proudly display examples of their work. If the company just doesn't have any work to display, you're taking a gamble.

Good Service is Hard to Find

We all want to deal with people who respond promptly and keep their promises. The level of service is vastly different from company to company, and if, like many of your countrymen you are tired of being jerked around and faced with utter ineptitude on a daily basis, it's important to sift out any web design companies that are likely to give you gray hairs. The first kind of web design company you will want to avoid is the long-winded kind: Should you ask for a quote from a web design company or get in touch with them via email and they do not get back to you within twenty four hours (taking into consideration weekends & public holidays), then you can expect this kind of service for the entirety of the job. They are either too busy to take on any new jobs, or more likely, they are lazy and do not feel that you are important enough for them to reply promptly. The second kind of web design company you will want to avoid is the silver-tongued kind, the kind who send a charismatic sales person to butter you up to make up for their own skill inadequacies. Please keep in mind that many web design companies will simply tell you what you want to hear. "Yes, we have the skill level to do that.", "Sure, we can meet that deadline.", "Of course, you will be number one on Google.", etc. Unfortunately, it's not always easy to tell apart someone who can do the job, from someone who simply says they can. If you have any doubts, why not ask for references or testimonials. If they are as good as they make out, surely they will have one or two happy customers to vouch for them.

SEO

A good web design company will design your website with search engine optimisation in mind. It is no good to have a beautiful website that no one is ever going to see because search engines can't read the format in which it was designed. Ask your designer about their website marketing options. A lot of companies say they offer this but really don't know much about it. If a designer can't tell you exactly how they have optimised your site for search engines, then they probably have not.