9 Traits Of The Best Website Design Companies

by | May 6, 2014 | Website Design, Website Maintenance

Awesome website designersIf you are looking for the best website design companies in the business, how will you know when you have found one?  What are the common traits?

We’ve been in the web design industry a long time and we’ve identified 9 traits that we want to see in our own business.  These are our own internal goals and these are things you should look for when shopping for web designers.

9 Traits Of The Best Website Design Companies

  1. Thick Glasses & Awesome Sweaters.  Now on to #2 . . .
  2. Set Deadlines – One question you should ask and most web designers will not want to give you a firm answer on is “When will my website be finished?”  We pointed out in How Long Does It Take To Make A Website that the answers, if they are even given, are all over the board and very few are specific enough to be meaningful.  What the average web designer will give you is a very rough estimate.  The project can turn into a nightmare-ishly long process in which everybody involved becomes frustrated.  That’s one of the reasons we developed One Week Website.  Both sides need real deadlines to get the job done efficiently and well.
  3. Meet Deadlines – It’s great to set deadlines, but what happens if they are not met?  Did you know that contractors in the construction business actually have monetary incentives to meet deadlines?  We approach web design in the same way.  If we don’t meet a deadline in our One Week Website process, you don’t pay as much.  Yes, we’re serious.  Make sure your web design company sets deadlines and ask them what happens if they don’t meet them.

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Looking for Straight-Forward Web Design Packages?

by | Feb 4, 2014 | Inbound Marketing, One Week Website, web design packages, Website Design

Small Business Web Design PackagesShopping for a web design company can be a difficult task. As a consumer, you have to educate yourself as to what you are looking for, and try to arm yourself with enough knowledge to carry on a conversation or negotiation with the web design firm.  Straight-forward Web Design Packages go a long way toward making this conversation, and decision much easier. What should you look for when shopping for web design packages?

Web Design Packages should clearly state features.

Be wary of packages that only focus on page counts.  In today’s world of content-management systems, page counts really aren’t an adequate measurement of the size of a website.  Overall complexity and the number of features have much more to do with the price of a web design project.  Check the company’s packages for clearly stated features and benefits, and look for benefits that result in bottom line increases. (more…)

A Website Redesign RFP Template

by | Jan 28, 2014 | Website Design

web designIf your company is actively pursuing a website redesign, you will find a website redesign RFP template to be helpful.  We’re offering a free download below!

The template covers things like . . .

  • Scope of Services
  • Content Conversion
  • Important Dates
  • Overview
  • Submission Procedures
  • Labeling
  • References
  • Documentation Requirements
  • & More

[sam id=”8″ codes=”true”]

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Website Development Costs – Small Business Shopping Guide

by | Dec 17, 2013 | One Week Website, web design packages, Website Design

Website Development CostsWebsite development costs can vary widely from vendor to vendor, and if you are a small business looking for a website developer, it’s hard to know what a fair range is for development costs. In this post we will cover 3 common questions that arise around website development costs:

  1. How much does the average website cost to develop?
  2. How do I know if I am getting a good deal?
  3. What questions should I ask my web developer?

How much does the average website cost to develop?

Anyone who has researched website development costs knows that the price can be all over the place.  There are firms that promise the world for $500 or less, and there are firms that won’t touch (more…)

Convert My Website To WordPress

by | Nov 20, 2013 | Website Design, WordPress

Wordpress-300x193In the new digital marketing universe, up-to-date content can be the difference between success and failure.  That means YOU need to be in control of your content.  And there is no better tool for that than WordPress.

We get the question a lot.  Can you convert my website to WordPress?  Yes, we can.

(The remainder of this post assumes that you already see the value in converting to WordPress.  If you are not convinced yet, see our post Why We Love WordPress For Business Websites and read these posts as well.)

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Website Development Pricing: Numbers You Won’t Expect

by | Nov 15, 2013 | General, Website Design

E-commerceIt’s time to get your small business website built (or rebuilt).  But what can you expect as far as website development pricing?

For a small business website of up to 30 or so pages, you can expect to see anywhere from a few hundred dollars (some teenager working from his bedroom) to tens of thousands (ad agencies in metro areas).  We’re glad to show you our pricing below, but first let’s consider some of the more intangible numbers.

When you get a firm number from a web designer, you’ll want to add these numbers to the bottom line.

The Headache Cost – $200 – $500

If you’ve been through the process before, you’ve probably had to take some ibuprofen ($5 right there) before the new site launched.   (more…)