HOW TO PLAN YOUR WEBSITE AND HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT DESIGN AGENCY? - TOP TIPS

Posted by James Martin on September 23rd, 2017

Usually, people are excited to have a website but most of the time lack of knowledge results in loss of money and time. There are few questions to ask yourself before commencing a web project which will help you to get good results with less budget and in less time. These questions will provide a better understanding of your requirements to the web design and Logo Design Manchester agency.

Before hiring a web design agency you should answer the following questions or sometimes you may need to consult with a web design agency to guide you in the right direction.

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF YOUR WEBSITE?

Online presence, information based website, to generate online leads or sell online.

WHAT KIND OF WEBSITE DO YOU NEED?

Standard Static Website / Brochure Website: A standard static website would be the best solution for you if you simply want online presence with no frequent changes. For example a restaurant or takeaway, small solicitor firm, or an accountant etc.

Website with Content Management System (CMS): This kind would suit you if you need frequent changes to your website, it will allow you make the changes using a normal browser. Most of the time organisational websites, academic websites, large solicitor firms need a CMS.

E-commerce Website: If you want to sell something online then you need an e-commerce website (online store).

Custom Web Application: Sometimes you may have some custom requirements such as you want to collect data, need a property listing system for letting agency etc. which can be fulfilled by a custom web application.

Blog/Wordpress: You might need a blog website if you are a blogger.

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO INITIATE THE WEB DESIGN PROCESS?

• Logo File
• Website content (at least home page content)
• Navigation list (website sections for example about, services, contact etc.).
• Products details and pictures if you are looking for an e-commerce website.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A CHEAP WEBSITE AND AN EXPENSIVE WEBSITE?

The website design prices vary depending upon your requirements, above mentioned different kind of websites (standard, CMS, e-commerce etc.) cost differently. For example, a standard website could cost you £600 and an average price of an e-commerce website starts from £2000. Clients usually ask why they get quotes with a big price difference for the same kind of website? the answer is there are the different approaches used by design agencies to build your website.

WEBSITES GOOD PRACTICES

A good design agency creates website with high web design standards, few are given below:

• Custom web design
• High coding standard
• Responsive web design
• User-friendly interface
• Good use of colour
• Quality photographs
• Easily readable content
• Correct call to action
• Fast loading page
• Consistency in design throughout the website pages
• Search engine optimised coding

WEBSITES POOR PRACTICES

• A below standard and cheap website
• Template based web design (the same template would have been used by thousands of other businesses) that can never give you a unique look. You will be lost in the competition.
• Poor coding
• Non-responsive website
• Complex and cluttered interface
• Poor use of colour
• Poor quality photographs or pirated photos (for which a legal action can be taken against you, not the design agency)
• Slow website with long loading time. The user normally decides within first two seconds to stay or leave the website, if your website is taking longer than you are losing traffic.
• Inconsistent layout
• Lack of search engine optimisation (Incorrect meta tags, poor use of HTML tags, etc.)

It doesn't mean that the more expensive the solution is the better it would be. There is always a limit and beyond that limit, you are paying for nothing.

This guideline will not only help you to initiate your web design project with the right information but also will help you to choose the right web design agency.