Things You Must Ask Your Web Design Company….

OK so lets get a few things straight.  Most web designers know nothing about marketing.  WOW, really?  It’s true.  Truth be told I didn’t know anything about web design when I started this company.  I hired Brett, my amazing web design guy.  He doesn’t know anything about SEO.  Don’t tell him that….He’s learning.  What does this say?  You will have to pay for a website and then find a SEO guru to optimize my site?  Nope!  I am going to help you pic out your web design company.  Some of these questions I don’t want to be asked.  I will lay it all out on the table exactly what you need to look for and ask before you pay for your site.

Can I see examples of your work? – This is important for obvious reasons, call the people and ask if they liked working with the web design company.

Can I change my site myself (Content, pictures, video, etc..) – You need to make sure they offer an easy to use content management system.

Do I have to host my site with you? – Ouch!  I guess the right thing to do here is allow them to go anywhere.

What will you do for me SEO wise? – You can drop your keywords but your website provider needs to name the pages properly, Name H1 properly, name pages properly, add tags to photos, fix errors on code,  do your meta tags properly and most of all research your competitors to see what it’s going to take to become search able not just for your name.  This takes time, lots of it.

Is my website actually my property or is it yours? Well this is a huge deal in the web design business because we want credit for what we built.  But it’s much like a house and home builders don’t keep your home with a sign in the front yard…..That would be leasing right?  You purchased your site so if you ever want the files you should have access to them.  Not access, but be able to have them.  No web design company will want to do this and you will probably scare them away but it is a great question.  Most companies will ask that you have to host through them and that if you leave your site stays here.  NO GOOD!!!

Whats the time frame of when this site will be completed? This is a great question for so many reasons but know that things can change.  It will be different for all web design companies but the bigger the site and the more flash and extra’s you have the more time it will take.  Be patient and let them finish, rushing causes problems.

How much does a website cost? Take in consideration if you want custom things it will cost more, if you want more pages it will cost more.  Websites we do range from about $500 to $5000.  For $5000 our site would equal that of a $15000 or $20000 site.  Most companies will charge you half up front to cover cost that need to be covered.  The other half should be paid immediately after the site goes live.

Do I get email accounts and how many?  Ask if they will host your email and how many accounts do I get?  Great question….you’ll thank me later.  Oh remember though, if they are not hosting your site than they are not responsible for your email.

Can I get a proposal in writing?   Make sure all of these are in writing exactly like you want it.

Can you integrate social networking into my site?  This is so important right now and will be more important down the road, make sure it will be done.

Can I see the analytic’s of the site whenever I want? These are your stats and you need to follow how people landed on your site and what pages they visited, how long they stayed and much more great stuff analytic’s will share with you.

How many revisions am I allowed?  This is so scary for web design companies and thats why I put it last.  I would say 2 revisions maybe 3 depending on how big.  Web design companies should take revisions into consideration when charging you for the site.  However you need to be completly happy so make sure you go through a throughough question and answer so they know exactly what it is you are looking for.

These questions should tell you mostly everything you need to know.  Why did we share this with you?  We want to educate you so that you have the power.  Knowledge is power and with that we hope you tell all your friends and business partners.

Thanks for reading and have a blessed day!