Building a website can be like building a house: challenging!
When you start, do you even know what you want? Maybe you have an idea of certain features your house needs to have, but you aren’t quite sure how those will fit together in the finished home.
Do you rush off to hire a builder? Do you hire an architect? Will the guy with the hammer and saw know how to build a home that fits your needs? Will the architect take you through the planning and cover things like appliances, lighting and quality of materials? Are there out of the box home building materials one should just use? It’s probably why this process can be and often is frustrating for those who take on the task of building their own homes.
Like all the players involved in building a house, the web designers, copy writers and software developers involved in building a website can’t cover everything on their own. Each one is an expert in a certain area. Designers think about the look and user experience and how it will make you feel. Copy writers focus on the words and the effect those words will have on people (and hopefully search engines). Web developers are all about the functionality and the platform.
This is why you need to think about who you will partner with to build your website and not just focus on design, platform or developers.
Choose a proven website/marketing company that can:
- Bring all the pieces together and help you understand short and long term goals
- Help you plan and design in a way that works for you and your target audience
- Determine and implement the right software pieces that meet your needs
- Help you furnish your website with content and images that tell your story
- Lead you over the long haul to meet your growth objectives
- Be there when you need them
Criteria for Choosing a Website Company
People often show up to a website meeting with a website platform and design in mind. While both of these are important, they shouldn’t be the primary factors. If they can’t be implemented to support your big picture needs, you’ll be frustrated in the long run.
In the list of criteria for choosing a website company, platform should be fourth or fifth. It’s more important to consider:
- Who is the company you want to work with?
- What is their experience like?
- How long have they been doing what they do?
- What processes do they use?
- Do they have tools in place that help guide you through the process? Will they show you them?
- What are their websites and how do these sites perform?
- Who are their clients and are they happy?
- How do the company’s web developers stay up-to-date on browsers, trends and more?
- What does that company do after the website is built?
- What is the diversity of talent within the company? Is it just programmers? Are there marketers there too?
- Do they use analytics to drive decisions?
Characteristics of a Good Website Company
A good website development company can work with any design. They will work with you to plan out your content, functionality and SEO structure. A good website company will be thinking about next steps even in early planning stages so that they can continue to help you after your website has launched.
Much like choosing a company to build your house, you want an experienced web development and marketing company who can bring your website (or home) together and lead you through the process.