Rich Newsome
The world is certainly not short of web design agencies. I actually Googled how many web design agencies there were in Birmingham, and without any official statistics, I began counting manually.
I got bored after 100.
The point is, as a building product business owner, you have a lot of choice; too much choice, some may argue.
So, how do you “sift through the noise” and whittle the list down to find an agency that works for you? In this post, we highlight some of the top questions to ask your web design or design and marketing agency - once you’ve shortlisted your potential candidates.
Read on…
Communication Has Changed
Before we get into the specific questions to ask your agency, it’s important to point out that communication has changed dramatically in recent years.
Traditionally, you’d have selected a web designer/agency based on locality.
“Oh, that guy down the road builds websites; he seems pretty good…”
Since we’ve all adopted digital, we’re no longer constrained by locality. In fact, it’s just as easy to schedule a Zoom call with someone, even if they’re on the opposite side of the country.
This flexibility is both a blessing and a curse. It’s like walking into the world’s best doughnut shop and only having two minutes to choose one…
So, since these options have become more available, you must get better at research – and that’s where this blog will come in handy.
Q1: What Kind of Research Will You Do?
Senior leaders within the building product industry have a habit of wanting things done yesterday. As such, there’s a tendency to want to rush key processes – and often, this will be at the expense of research.
However, a good web design team will advocate heavy research before beginning the design and build process.
Why?
Because your website is not for you; It’s for the people who buy from you: the architects, specifiers, clients and customers.
Obtaining research will give the design team a clear understanding of what your audience wants from a website that offers the solutions you provide – what type of content they’ll need to help them do their job better, what content they’ll find interesting/useful, how they typically navigate through a website, and what device they usually view websites on (mobile, desktop or tablet…).
By conducting this research beforehand, your web design team will be well-equipped to design and build a website that benefits your audience.
Q2: Do You Offer Other Services?
A lone web designer is unlikely to possess all the skills needed to build a website that will generate leads. Every facet of a website (SEO, marketing, copy, illustration, video, etc) requires a multitude of skills at every level.
By selecting an agency that does provide the above and more, you’ll get access to a highly skilled team of professionals.
Q3: Will I Have A Project Manager/One Point Of Contact
When multiple people are working on different areas of your website, it can be difficult to track progress and report back to the client.
Having a central point of contact dedicated to the project each step of the way: research, strategy, design, development, launch and review, will ensure that you’re kept up to speed and your expectations are met.
Q4: What Should I Do About Copy?
Copy is so often neglected when it comes to web design. There are so many websites out there that look great but are very poorly written.
Not only does this impact the perception of your building product brand, but it will impact SEO too.
The old cliché, “words are the currency of the web” is so true.
An agency that has in-house copywriters who will carry out keyword research and ensure your copy is well-optimised, coherent and set up to convert is invaluable to the success of your website.
Q5: Will My Website Evolve With My Building Product Company?
In this day and age, a website that sits on the shelf to gather dust for ten years or more won’t do yo you any favours.
Securing your digital footprint means that you need a website that evolves with you. This involves paying close attention to how users are engaging with your content, making tweaks as you go along.
A design agency that makes it easy for you to make necessary changes to your website is highly advisable; the alternative being a website that’s coded heavily – meaning you’ll have to reach out to your agency whenever you need to update pages, incurring additional (and unnecessary) costs.
Q6 What Training/Support Will You Provide Once The Site Is Live?
It’s very rare that a website will launch without a few hiccups along the way. A logo might not have pulled through correctly or your footer text may be skewwhiff…
Minor issues are sometimes unavoidable, so you need to know that there’ll be someone on hand to sort out any problems that may arise.
If your design agency also offers marketing support, a monthly retainer will ensure that regular content is being published on your site, social media channels are regularly updated, and SEO is kept on top of.
A results-driven agency will also pay close attention to your monthly metrics and make necessary changes to your site to ensure maximum opportunity for lead generation.
Conclusion
Deciding on an agency to design and build your website will require you to carry out heavy research. If you’d like to discuss your website with one of the experts here at Insynth, don’t hesitate to reach out today.
About Insynth
At Insynth we deliver a predictable flow of leads, customers, and specifications for building product brands through our inbound marketing approach, proven to reach a technically demanding audience.
We use the latest marketing techniques such as construction inbound marketing, to equip building product companies to grow sustainability in this era of digital transformation.
As the only HubSpot certified agency to major in construction marketing. We have a proven formula of bringing a variety of functionalities together including CRM Implementation, Web Design, Sales Automation, SEO, and Email Marketing to achieve your ultimate aim: Growing your business and gaining new specifiers and customers.