We have interviewed hundreds of marketers and web design experts over the last few years. In all that time, there have been some common time wasters that consistently come up. We are here to help you take those days back with expert advice on what not to do and what steps work.
3 Pro tips on what not to do when looking for a web design agency:
1. Even though we love Quora, don’t just use it when you’re asking a question that effects your job or how well your company performs.
Why? Because you get a lot of junk. People self promoting. And other, less than helpful, things.
2. Don’t just Google for a web design agency. Just don’t. You get millions of results. It is a time suck.
There are only about 100,000 agencies in the US and 500,000 worldwide. There are better places to do an agency search.
3. LinkedIn Groups, for the most part, are just as dangerous as Quora.
They may get you some names of agencies, but don’t assume they really are the best fit for what you need. Most people name agencies they have heard of but have never worked with. Or, they list agencies they currently or previously worked at. This is not the best way to get to a qualified set of contenders.
4. Don’t just look at award winners. Many of the best web design agencies do not regularly submit to awards.
Submitting to awards takes time and money. Some agencies do not want to be distracted or simply prefer to invest in other things. A better strategy might be to find a longer list of agencies who you know can deliver and then see if some are award winners. Do you see a clear difference between those with awards versus those without? Did they just pay to be listed as a web design award winner? This happens, keep it in mind. Is winning an award something you want t focus on?
Next steps to selecting a great web design agency:
1. Build a brief with a clear scope and key performance indicators (KPI)
2. Search and select web design agencies for a short list
3. Prepare top questions to ask web design agencies to narrow your list and vet them
4. Get down to the final three and use both objective and subjective measures to judge them. Even if you are running a formal RFP, there are ways to save everyone time and set criteria to help keep the agency selection transparent.
No matter how you select your next web partner, we wish you the best of luck and are here to help. If you ever find that you or your team needs outside advice on agency selection or management, we would be happy to speak with you.
Check out more digital marketing insights from our web design hub and go search for web design partners on Agency Spotter.
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