Some Things You Should Know

Choosing a company to design your website can be daunting. They all SAY they are inexpensive, reputable, honest, reliable, professional, etc... How can you pick just one? Some things you should consider before choosing....

SPAM - Make no mistake, unsolicited email is SPAM and should be reported. There are many web design companies that visit successful Web Design sites and harvest email addresses from the portfolio page. If you are contacted by a web design company via email and you don't know who they are, check with your current web designer, chances are you have been SPAMMED, REPORT THEM. That is definitely NOT a company you want to associate your business with. Chances are they are spamming many other companies and if they are reported to the proper authorities, their website and server will be banned from many ISP's - your website would not be found by search engines or many thousands of people because of that ban not to mention their unethical business practices should be enough to deter you from doing business with a company as desparate as that. This practice has forced more reputable web design firms to remove their portfolio page and will only publish it upon request. We have considered publishing a list of spamming web designers, look for it in the near future.

Contact their clients (via phone, not spam) and explain you're in the market for a web design company and would like to know about their experience. How were they contacted? Did they go over budget? How professional was their behavior? Did they do a good job? Did they set and make their deadlines? Any surprises?

Look at their website. Is it up to date? Is everything working? Check out their portfolio page and take a look at the different websites. Do they all look the same? Same basic layout, same basic style, same color choices? If they are all similar, chances are yours will just be another variation on the theme. Templates can and are used to create websites in many cases but when used should still look fresh and unique. Designers may say they don't use templates and all their designs are original, but templates do have their place. They can take a lot less time to produce and less time is less money charged to you, the client. As long as the client is happy with the design and it's not just a carbon copy of everyone's website, there isn't anything wrong with saving the client a little money, right? Any designer who says they won't use templates, cannot truly have all of their client's best interests in mind.

Keep in mind when viewing client's websites from the portfolio that most are produced according to the client's specs. Some are very simplistic in design, some are more complex. We always want to deliver what you, the customer, wants. A wide variety of styles, complexity and designs shows the company pays attention to the customer's vision. A reputable firm will GIVE you choices and make you aware of all of your options, but should never FORCE their clients to choose what they may recommend.