There are a variety of questions to ask a web design company before you hire them and here are a few of the questions that I have been asked over the years and some questions that my knowledge of the field tells me that they should be asking, but might not be.
Have you built a similar web site before? - This does not have to be exactly like for like, but a web site (or combination of sites) that involve the same complexities. For example, a property lettings site will need a database of properties, but does not need a shopping basket. So this would be acceptable if you are advertising products for sale, but if you want to run a full ecommerce web site with checkout and payment facilities you want to see more.
How much will the initial website price? - This is one that potential customers always ask, but a few companies sometimes hide extras. Does this cost include taxes? What round the annual hosting of the website and the domain name registration? Are there any monthly license fees or any other fees that might be incurred in the first 12 months?
What are the annual hosting and maintenance fees after the first year? - Your web designer might pass the web site in excess of to you to host, but most will host it for you and charge you for this. You need to budget for this in future years and know whether it will be a small amount or as much as the original creation of the site.
Who’s name will the domain name be registered in? - Hopefully your web design company will register the domain name that you are paying for in your name (even a ‘free’ domain name is paid for really). But some are sneaky and register it in their own name. If they cannot promise to register it in your name then walk away. Otherwise, if in some years you want to move to a new web design company you might be stuck with them refusing to hand over the domain name for you.
Where do you get stock photos from? - This is a question that every customer misses out on, but is crucial. It is vital that stock photographs are properly purchased and licensed. Just copying photographs and images from other sites and Google Images could land you in heaps of hot water and leave you facing a hefty bill for damages.
Where do you rate on local searches? - Most web design companies will get stacks of their work through local searches, if they understand and know how to optimise their own web site well. But, if you search for web design and their town and they do not appear on the first page of Google, it is a good indicator that they do not know the first thing about optimisation. In this case, how can they optimise your website to make certain that you are getting search engine visitors!
These are just a few of the initial questions you need to ask a website design company before you hire them. Make sure that that you find them approachable and simple to work with and you are onto a winner.
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Written by Keith Lunt, who offers a web design Formby service. For more useful tips, call into the internet marketing blog .
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