There are many companies out there offering exceptional web design services. Some approaches are consultative – so you’ll always obtain a website that meets your business needs. Others are more creative so you will benefit from a website that has a unique look and feel. Ideally you want a bit of both, but that’s not always an easy thing to balance, something that inferior web designers fail to achieve. Nevertheless, there are plenty of web hosting services around today that claim they will make this highly skilled task easy. Many business owners or marketing professionals go it alone with their web designs and later regret it. We know because numerous clients we work for come to us requesting not just a website update but a complete overhaul.
If you are still thinking you can design your own website and expect top-quality results from it, read on. Of course, if you choose to go it alone, then we wish you every success.
Bespoke Design
To kick off, a web design company should be able to offer a tailored service every time. This means that your website will run effectively but offer you something distinctive and memorable, as well. The visual style of your website will match your corporate colours – if you have them – and be consistent with your other visual marketing language. This is something it is very hard to obtain using standardised templates from hosting services regardless of how simple or straightforward it is supposed to be. Remember, too, that bespoke website designs are optimised for web browsing on desktops, tablets and mobile phones in any screen orientation.
Focus on Core Business Messaging
The visual aspects of a website are very important but it is no use having an all-singing, all-dancing visitor experience if the core aspects of what you are trying to achieve commercially are lost. Even entrepreneurs with a background in graphic design can get this wrong when they go it alone. Their focus on making something visually strident often means they compromise on what business websites should be about – generating income through increased sales and brand awareness. Try to find website designs that have a proven track record in this area.
Fast Loading Times
Using a standard template and adjusting it to your requirements often makes for a visitor experience that is slow. If you take a typical template and change the font on a headline, for example, so that your design is consistent, very often visitors will have to wait for it to appear in that format. They might even be able to view the standard template design and all of the adjustments slowly take shape as the page loads.
Sustainable, Reliable Server Equipment
Some companies can offer green server equipment to store websites on. This means that they are good from an environmental perspective, something your customers may well be interested in. Go it alone and you probably won’t be hosted by servers running on electricity from renewable sources. Furthermore, our servers aren’t just sustainable because they’re reliable, too. Expect your website to be up and running 24/7, 365 days a year.
Search Engine Optimisation
Fast-loading, accurately written websites are great for search engine optimisation. Even if you know a bit about SEO already, our expertise in this area will undoubtedly outperform anything you might achieve on your own. Whether it is the addition of snappy meta titles, the use of Google-friendly imagery or our expertly written on-site and off-site blogs, you will notice the difference in terms of SERPs almost immediately.
Experience Counts
Finally, it should be pointed out that it’s best to find a web design company with demonstrable experience and previous projects. There are companies that cover all aspects of web design and online marketing that will create your website to achieve great results month on month. So whilst you could go it alone and design the site yourself, you really could get more from your website than you currently do by using a professional company.
