16 Questions to Ask before Hiring a Web Design Agency + Checklist

Do you know that 38% of visitors will stop interacting with a website if it has poor website design? How about the fact that 57% of web visitors won’t even recommend your services, no matter how great they were, just because of a bad digital experience on your website?

On the contrary, a website that uses consistent and appealing visual branding across different pages can increase the conversion rate by 33%!

All of this teaches us that one needs to hire a reliable web agency that knows how to make a good website design with consistent branding, mobile optimization, correct colors, and so on! (We’ll give you a cheat sheet soon, don’t worry about those things now!)

Anyway, how can one tell a good website design agency from an average one?

It starts with asking the right questions! And based on the answers you get, you can make an informed choice!

So without wasting time, let’s look at the top questions to ask before hiring a web design agency & make sure that you get a great website design!

There are the essential questions to ask before hiring a web design agency

A good website design agency will never shy away from a question… So, make sure to ask as many as you can to find the right web design agency for your next project.

We have listed some of the questions to ask before hiring a web design agency:

For how long have you been offering web design services?

You wouldn’t want to work on a large or challenging project with a web design agency that has only been in business for the last few weeks!

Fresh agencies can be strong in terms of being up-to-date with trends and stylistics. But they may lack the required experience!

If you decide to step forward with a newly established agency, you may want to ask for testimonials & portfolio!

Ideally, try to pick a web design agency that has worked with a lot of different clients and has been around for a while!

We, Canadian Digital Consulting, have been working together since 2015, and we have a strong portfolio for you to check! Don’t hesitate to give it a visit later on!

What type of services do you offer?

A lot goes into making and running an optimized website. Think about website design, content writing, logo design, SEO, conversion, and so on.

An agency that has expertise in all of these different fields will be able to make you a great website that actually converts!

Sure, it is important that your website looks beautiful, but it must also serve your business goals as well.

So, that’s another important question to ask a potential web design agency… This will ensure that you can get all the services you need under a single roof without going through different service providers.

 In addition, it could also help you save money and time since many web design agencies even offer incentives if you opt for additional services!

Can you design a website within my specified budget?

There are some agencies that list prices on their websites, and then there are some which give you a custom quote based on what you want…

So, if the offered packages do not meet your expectations, communicating your budget & expectations ahead is always a good idea.

This will save you valuable time & will help you shortlist the agencies that fall within your allocated budget!

A good web design agency will be actually upfront about the costs of different services and features such as e-commerce, membership, online scheduling, and so on!

And we do! Tell us more about your business and we’ll reach out to you asap!

Will you check my current web design before building a new website?

Out of all the questions to ask a web designer, make sure not to miss this one! If you already have an existing site, then ask the agency if they will review it or not.

If they say that it’s not needed or refuse to review it, then that’s a potential red flag…

A good web design agency will always review your existing website to get an idea of what they are working with… then redesign that website!

It will also help them reveal your website history and what elements of your website must be preserved or changed.

For small websites with less than 10 pages, the review process is usually very straightforward and doesn’t take long.

But if you have a medium or large website with more than 10 pages, then it is always a good idea to ask for the designer’s feedback about your site.

This will allow you to learn more about the ideas and thought processes of the web design agency.

For example, you may already have a great navigation menu that is improving the user experience, and the visitors love it..! In this case, it would be good if the web design agency took the time to review your website and look at the things that don’t need any changes!

Can you share your customers’ feedback and portfolio of projects you have completed?

This question gets you solid proof of whether the web design agency you are hiring has any relevant experience in this field or not!

Words without solid proof are just… words!

Any adequate agency will be more than willing to share its portfolio & testimonials!

By looking at their portfolio of websites, you can get an idea of their caliber, and the level of service they are providing!

Another method to check the reviews of the web design agency is to search on Google, such as “ABC Web Design Company Reviews”.

However, we should be fair about one thing here… A new agency with no testimonials, no reviews, and no case studies isn’t necessarily bad! Often agencies will be formed by expert-vetted individuals.

They have enough experience to deliver top-tier web design goods; you might be their first happy customer!

Do you create website designs for a particular industry?

There are some web design companies that prefer to work only in specific industries… Then there are some who work in various ones.

When a web designing agency works in a particular industry for several years, they end up knowing about it from the inside out.

In others, they know exactly what clients need and therefore can deliver great website designs.

But roughly speaking, a good question to ask any agency is whether they can create a website for your industry or not! You can even ask whether they have a certain level of knowledge about your industry or if will they need any documentation or do research before moving forward with you.

Any agency that doesn’t seem to understand this should be off of your future collaboration list.

For example, you may be active in the “Melodic Electric Guitars” business and need a website created particularly with that particular culture in mind.

But if the web design firm lacks the preliminaries to the culture of the guitar, say they don’t differentiate a guitar from a Bass, they may end up struggling to choose the right colors… Let alone a web design!

For best results, try to choose agencies that have more of a wider profession and can work(ed) in different industries.

Can you share any recent case studies?

Building an online presence is just one of the goals achieved through websites… Actually, websites are also made to achieve specific goals including products/services selling, educating, etc…

By asking for case studies, you can get detailed and documented statistics of all the business goals that were achieved in recent projects. For example, the web design increased online sales by 15% or boosted the conversion rate by 10%, and so on.

Using this data, you can get an understanding of whether the particular web designing company is capable of helping you achieve your website goals or not! And if the provided data in the case studies don’t satisfy you, you can start looking for an alternative service provider!

Do you want me to provide content for the website?

Most web designers are not so good at writing content… That’s why they usually outsource it to a copywriter who prepares the different pages of the website.

Just like a good web design is important, having great and engaging content on your website is also equally important! That’s why another question you need to ask is whether they have a copywriter on board and whether they will provide the content for the website or not.

If they will provide it, ask for writing samples to get an idea of their content quality; You can also ask colleagues or a pro editor to check the content for its quality.

And if they will not be providing content, then you also need to account for the costs associated with hiring a copywriter (and good copywriters charge good cash!).

One thing to note here is that you will need to hire a copywriter who specializes in writing high-converting and SEO-friendly content for website pages. So, a bonus question to ask is: Does your copywriter know about the best SEO practices for web-copy!?

Will you also provide images?

A website without images will just look bland and boring… A worth-asking question for a web designer is whether they will be providing the images or not.

When we talk about images, we talk about vectors and graphics, images, videos, and brand material such as logos and UI Libraries…

If the web design agency agrees to provide images, then inquire about whether they will be using stock photos or unique ones!

Ideally, opt for exclusive images on your website as it can lead to a unique see-and-feel web design… the latter being very important in this age and time!

And if the web design agency will not be providing images, then you will need to arrange for the images by yourself, and that means additional cost.

Will you outsource the project or do it in-house?

There are basically two types of web design agencies: One has full-time employees working for them and doing the website design & development in-house. The second type is those who outsource the work to third-party agencies or freelancers.

Outsourcing the project can decrease costs, but it can also lead to communication challenges and project delays. Another downside is that there are fewer quality control steps involved, which can make it even more challenging!

So that’s another potential question that you need to ask… This will help you to get an idea of who will be working on your website!

De facto, we have a complete in-house team of veteran designers, copywriting specialist, and web developers!

How long will it take to complete the design and development of my website?

A competent web design agency should provide a rough time frame of when they will be able to complete the design and development of your website. For instance, we do so in the process of receiving a message from our potential clients… We specify how long it will take us to deliver a project based on the type & size.

One thing’s for sure: different clients will have different timelines, and you will need to find an agency that can match your timeline. And as it goes with the design and development, you should also account for any unexpected changes or challenges.

Depending on the size and the pending work they have on hand, the timeline to finish your project may vary from agency to agency.

In general, your main aim should be to pick an agency that takes the shortest amount of time possible. This will allow you to launch your website as quickly as possible.

Another factor that can dictate the time is the complexity and the scope of your work. If you only need a simple WordPress site with a custom homepage and a few pages, it would only take a few weeks.

On the other hand, a more complex website, such as an e-commerce site with tens of pages, can easily take months!

Which content management system (CMS) will you use to build the website?

A content management system (CMS) helps one to manage the website or make updates. Here are some popular CMSs:

Back in the day, websites were static and didn’t come with dedicated CMS. As a result, it was very difficult to make any changes or add new content for a non-technical person.

But with modern CMSs, it has become easy for anyone (even people with non-technical backgrounds) to manage or add new content to a website!

A valid question to ask, accordingly, is what type of CMS will the web design agency use to give life to your website?

Maybe you will already have a preference for a particular CMS, such as WordPress or Drupal..!

In general, you need to get your website built on a suitable CMS to ensure making updates would be seamless & that the website will support adding new functions and features.

Do you make template websites or custom-coded websites?

Web design agencies can offer a mix of websites, such as template websites, custom-coded websites, and even a mix of both.

In general, a custom-coded website from scratch can take more time and a higher budget, while relying on a template website can be done rather quickly.

These days, most website developers prefer to create websites on CMS platforms. It’s more professional & gives more optimization room for the developers as well. The designers would deliver the PSD files to the developer, then the latter would turn the PSD into a dynamic and living website!

Do you offer responsive website design?

Google’s mobile index gives preference to mobile-friendly websites, which means that it is absolutely necessary to get a phone-friendly & responsive website design!

Well, what is a responsive website? A responsive website is one whose blocks adjust its size, style, and other elements based on the visitor’s screen (desktop, mobile, laptop, tablet, TV, etc.).

Basically, the layout of the website adapts depending on the viewer’s screen size.

A few years back, you could get away with a non-responsive design, but that’s no longer the case! That’s why asking whether the agency will provide a responsive website design or not is extremely crucial now.

From poor UX on mobile screens to poor rankings on Google’s mobile index, you can’t afford to get a non-responsive website design!

In addition, the website design agency shouldn’t charge a lot of money to offer responsive design. In fact, it would be better if they offer responsive design by default.

Rest assured, we do build responsive websites and we always work with phone UX in mind!

How many revisions do you offer?

Website design is a collaborative process that requires communication between the client and the designer. When the client doesn’t like the design or needs a change to be made, it is sent back to the designer to make the changes.

There’s no doubt that you will have some feedback on what you like and what you don’t like in the draft design. So, it is recommended to ask ahead about how many revisions will be included in the web design package.

On average, it is normal for website designers to offer 1-2 revisions free of cost.

If you need any more than that, the website design agency usually charges extra to make the changes. However, it would change from one web design agency to another.

As a general rule of thumb, try to pick an agency that offers a reasonable amount of cost-free revisions.

Agencies that offer a lot may not be good and be trying to compensate for that with revisions; so, stay cautious!

 Do you offer any support or training after the website is launched?

If you plan to make changes or add new content to the website by yourself, then you will need to go with a website designer that uses an easy-to-use web platform.

For example, a web platform such as WordPress is easy to use, even for someone with a non-technical background.

But you will still need to learn how to manage or update the website if you have never done this before. And to be quite fair, the agency isn’t required to take the initiative and offer such a service!

But still, it won’t hurt if you ask if the web agency will offer any training after the website is launched or not!

In addition, it is not uncommon for websites to experience a fault or need some updating. In that case, you might need to opt for ongoing maintenance or support as part of the package!

There are many website design agencies that also offer support/maintenance services to their clients on a monthly basis.

This will save you the time of updating or managing the websites by yourself!

Checklist: make sure the newly delivered design meets these criteria:

Now that we’re done with questions to ask before hiring a web design agency, let’s look at some of the must-have properties of your new website design are given below:

Website Loading Speed

Your website should load in or under 3 seconds! And if it is an e-commerce site, then it should be 2 seconds or less.

Get anything higher than that, and you risk losing 40% of your website visitors!

A website’s loading speed depends on your web hosting and the size of the webpage.

But even if you get the fastest hosting on the planet, your website will still load slowly if it is unoptimized!

That’s why you should make sure that your new website design is optimized for fast loading speed.

Mobile Friendly

Another thing to add to your website design checklist is, as we already mentioned, optimization for phones, tablets, and other small-screen devices!

This ensures that visitors from both mobile and non-mobile devices would get the best digital user experience.

If a user needs to zoom in to view the small font or images, then it doesn’t lead to a good user experience. In addition, mobile-friendly design is also an important factor for SEO and can help you to get more organic traffic.

 Consistency

Your website design should be consistent (use similar elements on all pages). Some parts of the web page that should be consistent are the heading sizes, spacing, colors, font, design elements, logo, and photo choices…

Consistency in the website design ensures that a visitor feels coherent and familiar with all the pages… On the contrary, inconsistency and drastic changes in design can make the visitor feel lost & doesn’t send a good signal.

 Attractive CTA Buttons

Make sure that your new website design uses attractive CTA (call to action) buttons… The color, shape, and text used for these CTA buttons can dictate whether a visitor clicks on them or not!

Different colors can evoke different emotions and thus should be used wisely. Similarly, the text used for these buttons should motivate the user to take action.

Conclusion

Finding the right web design company for your website can be a daunting task… But with all the questions mentioned on this page, you can ensure the process streamlined will lead you to work with the right partner!

At Canadian Digital Consulting, we know the importance of having the right design for your websites. That’s why we welcome all questions from potential clients to make sure that they get what they want from their websites!