If you’ve ever thought of hiring someone to do your web design or development work, you’ve likely asked yourself: How do I choose a firm that’s right for me? It’s a tricky question that requires a lot of research, and the answer is not as simple as “go with the cheapest one”.
Even seemingly similar agencies can vary widely from one another in every dimension—from process, to price, to professionalism. So before you make a leap of faith and spend tens of thousands of dollars, take a deep breath and do some reflecting on who you are, where you’re going, and what you want.
Here are a few rules of thumb to help point you in the right direction:
Know Who You Are and What You Want.
Before engaging any firm, it’s extremely important that you nail down your business model, basic marketing strategy, and project goals. Don’t pay for web design services until you can answer the following questions:
- What are you selling/offering?
- Who is your target audience?
- Who are your main competitors?
- How are you different from your competitors?
- Why should people hire you or buy your stuff?
- What image or personality do you want for your business?
- What kind of work are you looking for?
- What’s your budget for the project? Your timeline?
If you can comfortably answer these questions, proceed to step two. If not, you may want to confirm a budget with your CEO or take a step back and find someone to help you with business consulting and marketing strategy. Some firms can help with marketing strategy (in a consulting role), but we’ll likely expect to be paid for that work.
Be a Good Student.
After you’ve figured out who you are and what you want, you can start thinking of which firm best meets your needs. However, because of the technical nature of web work and the way firms advertise (no billboards or commercials), this will probably take a lot of time and in-depth research.
Here are some questions to ask yourself, to help you wade through the fog:
- What does a web design project entail? Do some research to define basic terms like XHTML templates, Photoshop comp, etc. This may sound obvious, but people don’t always know what these things mean. Knowing the basics will give you insurance for making a well-considered choice. And if you don’t know, ask us!
- What does this firm do? Thoroughly read service and “about us” pages, case studies, and work history. This will give you a good sense of whether a firm can even execute on what you’re wanting. If it’s not at all clear what they do anywhere on their site, consider that they might not have their business model nailed down and proceed with great caution.
- Is this firm any good? Look at the sites they’ve launched (warning: sometimes firms put up screenshots for sites that haven’t launched, so double check). Maybe even have a technical person you know look at the code for these sites. Is the firm’s code clean and standards-compliant? Is the company’s design good from a marketing standpoint (and not just from a subjective one)? In other words, does the firm understand basic marketing principals?
- What’s this firm like? Read blogs, company bios, etc. Do their business ideas align with yours?
- What do other people say about this firm? Do people (other firms and freelancers) know and talk about them on blogs, Twitter, etc.? Do they speak at conferences? Do they publish articles? “Yes” answers to these questions indicate a reputable design business.
- Get some references. For many reasons, these are probably not available on the “client” page of the firm’s site, so you’ll probably have to ask.
Once you’ve got all the questions answered, you can draft a short list of firms you might want to work with. From there, it’s time to get in touch. Provide as much detail as possible about your project and ask questions about anything that’s fuzzy.
Know How to Negotiate. With Your Company and Ours.
If you’re like most clients, you probably have a tight budget, a short timeline, and a lot of people in your company with their own opinions about what this project should entail. Of course, firms hope you’ve convinced all your stakeholders of the value of your project before you call, but in some instances it might be necessary for you to go through internal negotiations with your team, or to negotiate with us. Here are some ideas about how to get what you want without pissing anyone off or digging a hole:
- Don’t try to drive a hard bargain. We appreciate an entrepreneurial spirit just as much as the next business, but when it comes to web design projects (at least with honest firms) being pushy or cheap will not get you what you want. Good design and development take time, money, and patience. If you try to squeeze more than be squeezed out of your budget, you will be disappointed with the results. And the project will not be relaxing for anybody.
- Know what stuff costs. As much as we hate to say it, you should probably get cost estimates from more than one firm. Having a perspective on cost will help you gauge the value of what you’re getting.
- Know exactly what you are going to get. Review every single bullet point in your estimate. Ask all the questions you need ask. Be granular, academic, and persistent. Know how many pages will be designed, how many different design comps you’ll be getting, what the “discovery” phase is all about, what an XHTML template really is, whether maintenance is included, and what your project manager does. You get the idea.
- Know what’s necessary and what’s not. Do you really need a custom CMS or would a simpler, off-the-shelf solution work better? Have some tough, in-depth talks with your team to figure out which features are strategic and which are chafe. However lofty your ambitions, 98% of the time you don’t need every single feature you can think of to get you where you want to be.
- Understand the value of what you’re getting. Small firms like Blue Flavor try to strike a balance between offering a great value, proving high-end and high-quality work, and making a living. For those who recognize the value of what we bring to the table, we are often willing to negotiate and go above and beyond in our work.
Nail the Project, Impress Your Boss.
The take-away here is that choosing a firm to do a big project involves a lot of front-loading, a lot of research, and a lot of knowing who you are and what you want. Though initially tedious, this due diligence will help you find the right firm, make your project a success, and inspire high-fives and party behavior from your team.
