There are loads of web design companies in the Aberdeen area and throughout the North East of Scotland. So if you need a web site built – how do you pick one in Aberdeen that offers website design that is perfect for you?
It isn’t easy.
It get’s harder if you are not a web guru yourself. How are you meant to figure out what a good website designer looks like? What they do? Or how much they cost?
Don’t panic, help is it hand!
This simple guide should help you select the most suitable website designer in Aberdeen for you, ensuring you get the website you want for a fair price.
Step 1: Decide Why You Need a Website
You want your website for a reason and you need to be clear about what this reason is.
Perhaps you want to get enquiries via email or telephone? Maybe you have stuff that you want to sell online?
For example you may wish to:
You need to make sure that you have your reason clearly defined so that your Web Designer knows what your expectations are.
Step 2: Decide Your Websites Goals
It is important to have an idea of what you are trying to achieve with your website. After all, you wouldn’t hire a salesman and not brief him on what he is selling, and who he is selling it to. A website is no different.
Your website is an online salesman that should help you make money as long as it is setup to target the right people with the right message.
Try and be as specific as possible when setting your goals. Goals such as “selling more stuff” or “advertising what we do” are no good. Say exactly what you want it to achieve. For example:
Once your web designer in Aberdeen knows what you are trying to achieve then they can design a website to meet your goals.
After all, how would you know if your website is helping your business if you don’t know what it’s goals are?
Step 3: Look At Your Local Competitor’s Websites
Spend a couple of hours looking at your competitor’s websites and see which you like. Make a list of the good ones – but remember one very important thing when looking around…
Does the website have the same purpose and goals as yours?
It is tempting to be lured by fancy features, or nice graphics. However, if the site doesn’t make you want to find out more about the company then it may not be right for you. After all a website is a business tool designed to meet your goals – it isn’t a fancy online brochure designed to look pretty.
Most web designers in Aberdeen put their company details at the bottom of the page so you should be able to see who designed each site. Use this information to create a list of design agencies in Aberdeen whose work you like.
Step 4: Get Referrals
Speak to your suppliers and business colleagues and get some recommendations. Try and get as much information as possible about how successful their website is. Above all, Make sure you ask one very important question.
Does your website generate customers, orders or money?
They should know – however you would be amazed how many people don’t actually know.
If they don’t know, or are unsure, then their designer is probably unsuitable. Why? Well the site hasn’t been built to meet any goals. It is simply sitting there costing money – not making any. What is the point of that?
Step 5: Check Out Web Design Portfolios
Once you have a short list of designers approach them and ask to see examples of their work. This might be better done in person so they can provide more details on each of the projects.
There are some vital questions you should ask any designer – from Aberdeen or elsewhere.
If the designer has done a good job they should be able to answer these questions. If they don’t know or are vague then this is a warning sign.
Step 6: Find Out How They Will Approach Your Web Design Project
Every professional web designer in Aberdeen will have a system. Get them to explain how their web design system works.
Make sure you are happy that they know what they are doing and have a well thought out process for building your website. Most of all, make sure it suits you.
Step 7: Get Testimonials
Ask if you can approach some of their Web Design clients in Aberdeen. If they are unhappy about this then this is another warning sign. They should have nothing to hide if their clients are content.
When you approach their clients ask them if they were happy with the work they had done. Also, most importantly – you must ask one thing above all else.
Does your website generate customers, orders or money?
You don’t need specific figures (they may not been keen to provide them) but you should get a similar story as the Web Designer provided about how well the site performs.
Step 8: Price
Only one thing matters when calculating how much you should spend on your website.
Your website should bring in more money than it costs
One of the biggest mistakes a business can make is to commission a designer based purely on price. This is approach will cost you more money. Why?
Which would you rather do?
Your website should always make you money, rather than costing it. So when calculating how much to spend use the goals you developed earlier to try and figure out how much income you could make over 2 years.
The income figure will give you an idea of the revenue you can expect from the website. You then need to decide the profit you want.
So if you expect £10,000 of business via your website over 2 years and want 50% profit then the budget for the website should be around £5000.
Giving your web designer a budget is a great idea. They can then build the best website possible for your budget.
If you feel your current website is simply an expense then you may need to have it reviewed and improved by a professional designer. They should be able to point out any issues and proved recommendations on how to improve it so it makes money, not costs money.
This may be a more cost effective way of improving your website for people on a budget.
Summary
Picking a web designer from Aberdeen can be confusing. If you have a clear idea of what you are trying to achieve, and the goals you are trying to meet then you will have a far greater chance of getting a good website – regardless of who designs it.
Following the other advice given above on picking a Web Designer in Aberdeen should provide an even better result.
