For 15 years, I was a recruiter in the staffing industry. I interviewed countless people, intending to place them in jobs where they would thrive. Over that time, I got pretty good at asking questions that would give me good insight into a candidate’s skills, experience, and potential. You can and should do the same thing with your web design partner.
Asking questions is the best and only way to get the information we need to enter business relationships. Hiring a web design and marketing company isn’t the same as hiring an employee, but there are some questions you should always ask before deciding if your website builder or marketing partner is right for you. Here are the top 10 questions you should be asking.
1. What Industries Do You Work With?
Knowing that your marketing company and website designer understands your industry is a huge relief. Some designers are generalists, which means they’ll create websites for anything and everything. There’s nothing wrong with that. But sometimes, you have a particular niche and need to know your designer understands your business.
At DPEG Marketing Company, we have a varied background, including real estate and employment, but we specialize in equine and farm-related businesses.
2. How Do You Approach Branding for a New Client?
Your website is often the first impression potential clients have of your business. You need to know that your brand is recognizable across the board. Asking your web designer how they approach branding will give you a sense of what to expect in the process and make sure they keep your vision and mission in mind.
3. What Services Do You Provide?
Every web design business is different. Some only do the physical website design, which leaves you to find copywriters to create the wording. Others will handle design and copy. Some designers only work with plug-and-play platforms, while others create fully custom websites.
DPEG Marketing Company is a full-service web designer providing custom design, website copy, and continued marketing that includes website maintenance and ongoing original content.
4 How Do you Research for Web Design?
You also want to know what kind of groundwork your designer will put into creating your website. Will they look at competitors? Will they ask you for your ideas and incorporate them into the design? Will they understand the subtleties of your industry?
At DPEG Marketing, once we kick off a partnership, we’ll ask you to provide some examples of websites you love in any industry. We will conduct an intake meeting to get to know your voice and tone to create the copy.
5. What Do You Think Makes a Great Website?
You want to know how your designer ticks. Asking them their opinion of what makes a great website will help you determine if their ideas align with your expectations. For example, you want to know about user experience, accessibility, how fast the pages will load, SEO, and more.
6. What Platforms Do You Use?
There are so many tools to choose from when creating websites. There are simple platforms that people can use to set up websites for themselves, like Squarespace or Wix. WordPress is one of the most commonly used platforms and offers a lot of flexibility on the technical side.
At DPEG Marketing, we work exclusively with WordPress and GoDaddy.
7. What Are Your Rates?
Preparing your budget will be an essential piece of the puzzle. It’s critical to invest in a website, but that doesn’t mean every designer will be able to match your pricing expectations. Keep in mind the adage, “you get what you pay for,” when deciding.
8. What Is Your Process?
You also want to know how to manage your expectations in the process. What does web design look like from start to finish? Every designer and marketing company is different, so this is an essential question.
You can read about DPEG Marketing Company’s process here.
9. How Much Time Does it Take?
The time it takes to create and launch a website may also be variable based on the design elements and tech requirements. But your designer should be able to give you an estimated project time.
Most DPEG Marketing Company Projects take six weeks from start to finish.
10. How Do I Maintain My New Website?
Some web designers will create your website, hand over the keys, and let you go on your way. For some people, this is fine, but the time it takes to maintain a website properly can eat into productivity.
DPEG Marketing Company is a full-service partner offering web design, copy and content writing, maintenance, and marketing.
Ask Us About Our Process
DPEG Marketing Company specializes in custom websites and ongoing original content.
DPEG Marketing Company has 7 spots open for website design in 2022. We partner with farms and related equine businesses to help you grow.
Contact us for a FREE consultation by emailing [email protected] or calling (828) 333-3816.
