Important Tips for Hiring a Web Design Company in Raleigh, NC

Business unicorns envision Raleigh as the East Coast’s Silicon Valley. That’s exciting!

We understand that it’s a big decision for you to choose a reliable web design agency in Raleigh. After all, it’s one of the most significant links to making a jaw-dropping first impression on your customer.

Raleigh has a strong-tech scene. And, the good news is most businesses in the city are turning to websites and web app development. It’s time you embark on a triumphant digital transformation journey. However, as the tech market in Triangle continues to grow, it can be a little tricky to find the best technology company in Raleigh.

In this blog, you can look out for tips to hire a web design and development company, and the top things to know before hiring. Let’s start.

Tips to Hire the Best Website Design Company in Raleigh

Saying, “we want a high-performing website that gets better business,” is excellent. However, does it include customer satisfaction, increased revenue, or profitability?

When you think of having a “great website,” it’s best to start with a new mindset. The mantra is simple—your digital transformation journey will be more meaningful when you have your website goals plotted precisely.

It’s always easier to create a compelling website when the objectives and needs are in place. It’s a great place to begin!

1. Plot Down Your Business Needs and Website Goals

We know the words “website design—North Carolina” are playing profoundly on your mind. However, before you plunge into researching, filtering, and finalizing your website agency in Raleigh, take a moment to brainstorm with your team and chalk out your website goals.

It’s a good idea to be crystal clear on what you want your website to do for you. The ideating exercise always works splendidly with cohesive teams. Where should you start?

i-Tip: You should know there are different website categories. The types include eCommerce, corporate, wiki, blogs, and more. It is essential to understand these categories to build a brilliant site that stands out. Why? It will help you to know the design elements and the *design costs**.*

Top things you’d want your website to do—some examples:

• Add credibility to your business. Around 41.4 percent of SME owners held the opinion that a digital presence was necessary for their enterprise. Moreover, a further 37.5 thought it was imperative. (Source)
• Make potential customers stay beyond the blink test. Fifty milliseconds are all you get to create the first impression. Many first-time visitors stick around websites for 50 milliseconds. You’d want a web agency partner to work on your website and blend compelling content and eye-catchy designs, to engage customers. (Source)
• Attract customers—increase inbound leads and conversions for your business. Engage more customers with SEO and online marketing techniques

When you have your website goals in place, you would have a confident demeanor when talking to the web design companies. It also makes the interviews more meaningful as the company can understand your specific needs to cut out solutions that are just ideal for you.

You must also give detailed thought to aspects such as:

• Trending design features—Try and include facets that augment user experience (UX), has an excellent user interface (UI), search engine optimized, and more.
• Your budget—When you have a range, it will facilitate in getting realistic quotes that are well within your expected budget.

Check out our blog to get the rough idea of how much does it costs to create a website.

• Tentative timeline—It’s essential to give a thought about when you want your website to be live, like six months or six weeks.

Once you have your goals in place, what’s next? You’ve got it! It would be hiring a web designer who is up to the task. So, where to start? How do you filter out the best?

2. Be Proactive About Reviewing

It’s just time to start searching for the right web design agency partners. You can start searching in your local area. It’s also a welcome idea to look out for a global partner who complies with your business needs.

Web developers in Raleigh, North Carolina are increasingly earning their trust from hiring partners. That’s a city you’d want to add to your search bracket.

What’s next? It’s best to create metrics with agency strengths, experiences, USPs, services offered, and more. The metrics help to filter out the best agencies for you.

3. Ask for Previous Proof of Work (Portfolios)

Now, you have your web design agency metrics in place. You can start by contacting the companies of your choice.

However, before hiring, it is essential to review the company’s work portfolio. Why? It’s quite simple. You’d get a quick picture of their style, technical expertise, and design facets. You can also lookout for a company that has contributed to work in your industry domain.

*For example**, you may want an experienced partner who has the know-how of a particular industry such as the legal or professional tax audit.*

When you are reviewing, remember to look out for aspects, such as:

• Compelling content
• Responsive websites
• Navigational ease and intuitiveness
• User interface and user experience

4. Drill Down on User Experience (UX)

User experience (UX) is one of the most significant facets—it determines the quality of your website. Your website is not ‘Harry Potter’s the Mirror of Erised’ that keeps customers mesmerized. It has to much more than pass the 50-millisecond test. You’re right! It has to increase conversions. How to ensure this? The answer is quite simple.

If the design and functionality are user-friendly, you’d find happier potential customers. The critical takeaway is to pay close attention to the website speed, visual appeal, and the quality of content.

5. Assess Agency Experience and Culture

Experience counts! In crafting brilliant digital stories, it counts a lot. You would want to check out your potential web design partner’s experience and culture. It will help you to understand if the agency is the best fit.

What are the aspects that you need to review?

Check out:

• How long have they been an agency?
• Have they created a website in your industry?
• Do they have experience in developing sites for varying industries?
• What are the live sites developed?
• How are they doing on social media?
• What is their expertise? And review who’s on their team.

You may think—this sounds like spending a lot of time. However, it’s worth making sure that the potential tech partner fits in with your company’s personality. Creating brilliant web designs becomes a seamless process when both partners have an excellent working style—that blends.

6. Review Tech-Savviness

You want your business to have top-notch digital solutions. That’s great! What can help to get that competitive edge? It’s important to find a tech-savvy partner to be at the top of the game. You’d want your web designer to put their best tech-foot when curating your site so you don’t have to worry about the results.

You may want to check out:

• What are their website development methodologies?
• What content management systems (CMS) are they using? WordPress or Magento or any other?
• Are they proficient with curating responsive web designs?

Having responsive designs is a prerequisite. Studies suggest that around 61% of users do not return to the site where they’ve had an unpleasant experience.

• Will you get on-going optimization and performance-measuring services?

7. Find Reviews

You may want to approach award-winning web design and development companies. However, remember to check agencies with high ratings. You may get your money’s worth and creative digital solutions.

Where to start? You can look out for review sites, like Facebook, Google, and Yelp. The insights on client history and testimonials can speak volumes. Assessing reviews can help you to narrow down your list of service providers.

8. Follow Trends

Do you want your business to grow? Yes, of course! Then you must be futuristic in wanting to build a robust and sustainable solution for your business. How? Follow trends. They keep changing, and you’d want to partner with a visionary web development company that can offer you services using niche technologies.

Here are the top web design trends that can help you stay ahead of the curve.

It’s essential to maintain a constant lookout on trends to create a dominant online presence. For example, you may want to incorporate ultra-minimalist navigation or adopt *immersive 3D elements**. You may also think of having a chatbot to curate information or capture contacts instantly.*

When you follow trends, it also helps to build-up your website goals. You can seamlessly add the design elements and development points of interest to your list.

After that in-depth research phase, it’s time to start interviewing. Remember to be realistic. If you are still confused, you can always consult an expert web design company, such as Imaginovation. We can help to create a meaningful digital transformation journey.

i-Tip: Keep a list of must-ask questions handy. It will help to get all the critical inputs.

How to reach out to your potential web development company? With the COVID-19 scenario, it’s best to opt for apps like Slack and Skype. You can communicate effectively with people across the globe, including the local agencies.

Questions to Ask Before Choosing The Technology Partner

Did we mention interviewing? You may call it the expectation-setting phase or the information-collating phase.

However, communicating with your website design agency and helping them understand your website goals is critical. What are some of the must-ask questions that you, as an entrepreneur, should ask the agency before hiring them?

1. Who is the team who will be working on the project? Can I meet them?

You may consider asking for details of the team who will be working on your project. The inputs will help to determine their relevant experience.

It will also help to understand whether the agency has intentions of outsourcing your work. Getting to meet them over a video call can help. You can get an immediate feeler of the team who will be the thinking-hats to your project.

2. How frequently will I be consulted during the development process?

Communication with your partner is critical. The question will give you insights on the frequency and the involvement levels that would be required.

Frequent communication will help to stay on track. You may want your partner agency to give you weekly updates via email.

3. Can you provide a service level agreement that I can review?

It is essential to understand the after-sales service that you will get. You also need to know how long it will last. The level of engagement and support will have a significant impact on the operational front of your website.

It is equally essential to understand how the agency plans to roll the platform. How much on-site training will they provide? A quick review of the service level agreement will help.

4. Will I have access to the source files in the future?

At times, web development companies charge extra if you choose to switch to another agency or build your website in-house. It is essential to understand the potential partner’s take on source files policy to prevent any misunderstandings.

5. What is your migration strategy?

For businesses with existing websites, you’d want to understand the migration strategy. When you’re redesigning your website, it’s essential to know how the agency plans a migration strategy.

After all, you’d want your business to generate more sales post the website-revamp. It will help to understand how well-prepared the agency is with managing the migration before you hire them.

6. How long will the website development process take?

You may have plotted down a tentative timeline for your website launch. Now, this input will help to set expectations. It will help to understand the process and the schedule. Understanding the process will facilitate in keeping your project on track and getting it delivered on time.

7. Will I have ownership of my domain?

You must have ownership of your domain name. It can also help to maintain your online presence for search engines. At times, agencies managing your website are not reachable. You may find that such scenarios could lead to hosting lapsing. It’s critical to take precautions when it comes to domain ownership.

8. What about SEO services? Do you offer SEO?

Your potential agency partner needs to be an SEO-expert. It would help with optimizing websites, leading to the best possible search engine ranking and UX.

You’re quite right; choosing the best web design company takes time. However, you know it, it’s worth the wait. It’s great to base your selection on well-grounded research. It always works! Using these tips for searching a web design partner can facilitate the website creation process. You’d be happy to see your business grow and revenue soar.

As the founder of Moz, Rand Fishkin, says, “Don’t build links. Build relationships.” It’s time to build strong relationships with your website users. The first steps—create a robust website.

Build High-Performing Websites with Imaginovation

Do you want top-notch digital solutions? Are you looking for a reliable and experienced web design company in Raleigh? If you don’t know where to start, get in touch with us.

We are an award-winning team of web developers with vast experience of creating websites for businesses of all sizes and industries.

Let’s talk.