Tips on Choosing the Right E-commerce Web Design Agency
Choosing the perfect e-commerce web design agency has its challenges.
Just like any other business, there are many different e-commerce web design agencies out there, and they all have their own strengths and weaknesses.
If you want to make sure that your website is going to be successful, then it’s important to find the right one for you.
1. Evaluate their site
You’ll find that one of the biggest benefits of hiring an agency is that you can hold them accountable for their work.
To some degree, it’s like hiring a contractor to renovate an apartment or an older building. There are many moving parts involved in the process, so you want to be sure that your agency has its act together.
Start by looking at their website.
In the same way that you wouldn’t want to hire a carpenter who lives in squalor and can barely put together a birdhouse, you don’t want to partner with an e-commerce web design agency that has a poor e-commerce website design themselves.
You should be equipped with these two questions:
- What do I like about their site?
- What do I not like about their site?
If there are just as many items on the “don’t like” list as there are on the “like” list, chances are this isn’t the right fit for you.
2. Check for any awards
Search for any awards the agency has won. If you see that an agency wins a lot of competitions or even receives recognition at events that don’t have a competition, this is a good sign.
However, it’s important to remember that awards are not the only way you should measure an agency’s success. Also, consider if the award is noteworthy.
Was it presented at an event with a lot of prestige in your industry? Did the award come from a well-known source?
Were there many competitors vying for it? Lastly, don’t forget to ensure the award was won by your prospective web design agency and not one of their clients.
If you’ve narrowed down your list using our other criteria and found agencies sharing multiple qualities that appeal to you, consider using awards as a tie-breaker when making your final decision on which company to work with.
The best e-commerce web design agencies will have some kind of award for their work. It shows they’re committed to improving their skills and staying on top of trends in the industry!
3. Assess their work or portfolio
Another thing you should do when evaluating an e-commerce web design agency is to look at its portfolio. This will give you a good feel for their ability and whether they can meet your needs.
Ask yourself whether the e-commerce web designs that they have developed are ones that you would like to use. Also, look at the quality of the web designs in the portfolio.
Do they show unique design elements? Are there good user experience design elements, such as a good flow between pages?
Is there good use of imagery and color? If you see sites that have these characteristics, then it’s likely that the company will be able to develop high-quality designs for your site.
4. Assess reviews
Reading online reviews is an important step in the process of selecting an e-commerce web design agency. The web is littered with fake reviews, so you’ll need to know how to spot a real one.
Here are some tips:
- Look for fake reviews like “highly recommend this company!” These may be paid advertisements that are adequately disguised to be reviews.
- Look for social proof like photos and links to the reviewer’s other profiles (like LinkedIn). This will help you tell if the person behind the review is a real person.
- Look for signs that this person has used many other design services in the past (they mention using different companies for logo design, mobile design, etc.). Real people don’t usually need that many websites!
5. Set a budget and negotiate
Before you start calling around, determine what kind of budget you’re working with. If you can afford to hire an agency that does everything in-house (optimization, design, building the website, marketing, etc.), do it.
There are a number of benefits to having one company handle your entire e-commerce process. You’ll have one point person who understands your goals and is responsible for seeing that they’re met.
You won’t waste time relaying the same information to different people over and over again.
Your website should be built by people who understand how design and functionality work together. They won’t just build a pretty site that doesn’t function properly or try to make it work without attention to design details.
If your budget is limited, however, consider hiring a freelancer. An experienced web designer may be able to handle the project for much less than an agency would charge since he or she has few overhead expenses.
Hiring a freelancer allows you to outsource one piece of the puzzle at a time if necessary. If all you can afford is web design right now, then hire someone for that part alone and come back later for programming help when funds are available.
Choosing the right e-commerce web design agency is essential for your business. After all, you need to ensure that your website has all the features, functionalities, and designs to make it stand out from other similar websites in the market.
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