How to Choose Web Design Companies, Platforms, Products, and Services

As stated in the title, this post covers all the different brands and products used today in web design. There is no argument to be made through it. It is rather a list that’s meant to be informative to those that are in the process of getting a website developed or want to know more […]

By Caitlin Mekita

As stated in the title, this post covers all the different brands and products used today in web design. There is no argument to be made through it. It is rather a list that’s meant to be informative to those that are in the process of getting a website developed or want to know more about available options and taking their website to the next step towards the first page on Google and better conversion rates. Below you will find information on what web design is, how to choose a web designer, what web development platforms there are, eCommerce, SEO, social media, inbound marketing and more… Although our area of specialization is mainly Magento and WordPress, we’ve done it all in the past, have used one brand/product/service or the other for our clients, and here’s our objective two cents of advice:

Choosing a Web Design Company or a Web Designer:

What web design companies offer: Websites designed and built for you using HTML or Content Management systems such as WordPress, Drupal, Joomla!, or any of hundreds of other options.

Things to consider: Does your designer have experience working with your chosen platform? Is the platform free? Are there extra costs? After the website has gone live, who will update it? How often should it be updated? Will the web designer teach you how to update your own website? If not, how much will it cost for you to update it? Will your designer be using a template or developing the website herself?

Its important to do your homework here. Your designer might be used to or comfortable working with Drupal, while you know from your research that WordPress might be better for you. You should take your web designer’s advice and understand that they are an expert, but you should also be confident in your choices and know that you have the best solution for your brand and that you have considered all of the other options and what they entail.

Get to know your designer before you commit to them. Remember that web design is as an art and a collection of skills that are hard to come by. Make sure your designer is comfortable with copywriting, typography, layout, functionality, ease of use, and troubleshooting. They will also need a lot from you. Be as thorough as possible when describing your brand, desired design aesthetic, and business plan. If you have some professional images or illustrations that showcase your brand, make sure you give your designer access to those. Provide them with all of the information you want on your website. Keep it all organized and keep your designer happy!

When is it worth it?: I believe that having a website is worth it for most businesses. If you don’t literally have more business than you can handle and want to be making any more money, you probably should get a website. Your monetary investment can vary greatly, but at the very least your website can provide basic information to people who are looking for you. Sometimes deciding on a place to go can come down to something as simple as which option has their hours and prices listed online.

E-commerce Websites:

What they offer: Your designer will use Magento, Shopify, Prestashop, Volusion, or any of the many others options in e-commerce platforms. There are also e-commerce plugins available for the content management systems listed above (plug ins for WordPress, Drupal). Your designer will create a website where your products can be sold.

Things to consider: How many products are you selling? Is the platform free? Are there extra residual costs? It is important that your designer or developer has experience working with the ecommerce platform you choose, and that they can explain to you exactly how it works.

When is it worth it?: If you are selling anything, selling it online can make your life easier. You can automate everything so that your website is doing most of the work for you, and you can use analytics to see who is buying what, and this will help you develop future sales plans.

SEO Packages / Consulting:

What they offer: Analytics and reviews, keyword analysis to help you to discover who is looking for you and how they are doing it. They will verify that you have proper Meta tags, Code Validation, Site Map Creation, Keyword Dense Content, Blog integration, Google Penalty checks (to make sure your web designer didn’t break the rules).

Things to consider: if you have a good web designer they should have taken care of most of these things. If your web designer isn’t writing clean code and isn’t considering your keywords when designing, you might want to look for another web designer.

This SEO consulting would be great for an older or established site that’s experiencing a drop in visitors or isn’t being indexed. Much of what an SEO company will do is content management and PR work (as in submitting your website to other blogs and trying to get the word out). They will also help you write a blog that is informative and thorough like this one for example. Content management is of course something you can do yourself if you have time to do a little research.

When is it worth it?: You have a site that you are happy with, but isn’t ranking well in Search Engines and you just don’t know why. You need someone to help get you indexed. You think you are being penalized by Google and you don’t know why and/or how to fix it. Your site doesn’t have basic SEO components like meta tags, site map, and a blog. You are in an extremely competitive industry and you want to get an edge on your competitors.

If you need help with your Magento store, call 845-656-3000 or Contact us here »

Website Consulting:

What they offer: Nowadays web consulting is very focused on SEO, analyzing analytics and improving user experience. Most people who are unsatisfied with their websites because they don’t feel like their websites are listed well. Thus website consulting can vary from simple consultation to SEO, website design improvements, e-mail blasts, and even text message marketing. They should have loads of knowledge and experience regarding the web and they should know exactly what you’re doing wrong in every aspect of your web presence and how to fix that.

When is it worth it?: You have a growing business and you need to develop an all-around plan or strategy for your web presence. You are willing to invest in the overall functionality of your website and are looking at the big picture in terms of having web success. You understand that it will take time and lots of work to get to where you’d like to be, and you need help developing the plan of action.

Social Media Consulting

What they offer: They will help you use your social media to further your business agenda. A company specializing in social media will help you get your website optimized for social sharing. You should know how to use and update your Facebook and Twitter to be of interest to people you’re trying to reach. They should be thinking outside the box and specifying which social media would work best for you. For example, crafts should be on Pinterest and Etsy, and Polyvore is an excellent fashion social media website.

One thing a Social Media consultant can help with is your business PR. One of the best ways to be seen and heard is to have experts or heavily followed and trusted people tweet, blog, or post about you. Consultants should know who these experts are and how to built a rapport with them.

Things to consider: Social media is constantly changing. Nobody is really an expert. What you should be looking for is someone with experience in getting noticed and who is extremely creative and willing to think outside the box. You should also pay close attention here because social media is personal and nobody knows your brand better than you. If your Social Media consultant is doing their job, you will soon need to take the reins and decide how your business is promoted in the social media world.

When is it worth it?: You need to get your name out there to people who are using social media. You want young people to be viewing and sharing your content because you think it will lead to more visitors or sales. You are willing to get creative with your PR and Marketing strategy and you are willing to learn with the constantly changing trends.

Content Strategy Consulting:

What they offer: They will help you understand the content you have and analyze whether or not its working for you. They should be experts on keyword usage and help you target strategic keywords and use them to promote yourself.

Content consultants can help fill the gaps in website maintenance where you just don’t have the time or resources. Remember that content is king when it comes to SEO, and your content needs a lot of time and attention. It needs to be researched, well written, and full of useful insights. Then it needs to be edited and analyzed.

Things to consider: Your consultant should be working their hardest to establish you as an expert in your chosen niche (and help you find your niche if you haven’t already). Remember that Google loves experts, and so do all of those wonderful experts that we want to be blogging / tweeting / posting about us.

When is it worth it?: You are adding content to your site but you aren’t sure if its working for you. You don’t really understand how search engines work and you aren’t sure what your chosen niche or expertise is exactly, or you think your chosen niche is too broad. You need help developing a specific plan regarding your content.

Bloggers for hire:

What they offer: Bloggers for hire are implemented to keep you content fresh. If you don’t have time to write for your website but don’t have the budget for a Content Strategy Consultant, you can hire a blogger to simply write articles for you. Bloggers for hire know that they are essentially working for the search engines, so they should have a good grasp about what Google is looking for. Bloggers can also help you develop strategy for your social media platforms.

Things to consider: If you’re going to hire a blogger, make sure they know your brand and strategy well. Remember that your goal is to be established as an authority in your niche, so you don’t want some generic writing that’s already been said thousands of times across the web. You want unique, current, and thoughtful information, so if you hire someone, make sure they are going to invest the time in getting to know your brand.

Make sure your blogger is the one actually writing your content, and isn’t shipping the work overseas to someone who will work for half of the cost, because this is common. Make sure they understand basic SEO.

When is it worth it?: You don’t have the time or resources to write content for your website, but you know its necessary. You can’t afford to hire someone full time, so you’re willing to pay-per-word or per-article for writing that fits in with your planned content strategy. You have a good grasp on your niche and which keywords you should be targeting, so you really just need someone to put in the time for you to write about them.

Internet and E-mail Marketing:

What they offer: Internet and E-mail Marketing experts will offer techniques to get noticed through paid strategies like targeted banner ads and e-mail blasts. You will need to compile a registered users list. A great way to do this is having button on your website where visitors can subscribe to your newsletters. Your Marketing consultant will probably set up a schedule with you, deciding on a certain time each month when a newsletter or update will go out. Most likely, they will design this ad for you and they will have it delivered automatically.

Things to consider: Marketing is different from PR because Marketing requires you to pay for strategic space in order to reach more potential visitors. Ask about cost and how and where your banner ads will be placed strategically. Ask about analytics regarding clicks and visits and how often you will be updated on progress. Make sure you also consider social media marketing like promoted tweets and pay-per-click Facebook ads.

When is it worth it?: You need to keep in contact with your subscribers on a monthly or weekly basis but don’t have the time or skills to do it yourself. You aren’t getting enough visitors and you want to invest in strategically placed banner ads to draw more traffic to your page.

Website Security Consulting:

What they offer: Internet security consultants are there to protect your information and the information of your visitors. You may have sensitive information being sent through your website, and you want to be sure that it isn’t vulnerable to hacking. Your security consultant will probably talk to you about “Ethical Hacking”, used to pinpoint your weaknesses and to see how easy it is to gain access to your sensitive information.

Things to consider: What kind of information is being shared or stored in your website? Are you worried that sensitive information such as passwords or credit card information could be accessed? You may want to discuss these possibilities with your web designer or web consultant. They should be able to give you advice and information about exactly how this information is being transferred so that you can consult with a Security expert about whether it’s vulnerable.

When is it worth it?: You have highly sensitive information that you believe is vulnerable and it would be detrimental to your business if any of this information was ever stolen. You have consulted with your web designer / strategist and you believe there are weaknesses that you should address.

That’s all, as it has been a very long post. If you think I’ve missed something or disagree, please leave a comment below.

Customer Success Manager