When it comes to building a website, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. The sheer number of options for platforms to host on, website design agencies to choose from, and all of the technical jargon involved is enough to make anyone’s head spin, let alone a business owner who’s already juggling multiple responsibilities. You know that you want a website that’s not only visually appealing, but also user-friendly, fast, and tailored to your business needs, but might be unsure of what to ask your website design agency in order to ensure your visions are aligned.
As a website design agency in Langley that specializes in creating custom website designs for businesses of all sizes, we understand the importance of getting the foundational details right from the start. To help you prepare for your next project, we’ve compiled five questions to ask your web designer before kicking off your project in order to create a successful collaboration:
1. How long does the process take?
Getting an estimated turnaround time for your website build is an important way of ensuring your website design agency is able to meet your timeline expectations. The length of time it takes to get your website up and running fluctuates greatly depending on the agency you’ve chosen to work with, the size and scope of the project, the number of revisions that are required along the way, and other factors. When working with a website design agency, always be transparent about your expectations, and be sure to give yourself a healthy amount of time to alot for the unexpected in order to avoid disappointment. For tighter turnaround times (or smaller budgets), choosing a pre-designed WordPress theme might be more realistic than starting from scratch with a custom WordPress website design.
Tip: Opting for a local website design agency who has a good understanding of your market and operates in the same time zone can be incredibly helpful in nudging your project along on-schedule, ensuring that you receive timely support. At our website design agency in Langley, we proudly collaborate with businesses in Vancouver and beyond, offering a range of website design services that are designed in house, with aesthetics, functionality, and optimal performance in mind.
2. What details will you capture about my business before we get started?
Understanding your website design agency’s research process is an important way of ensuring that key details about your business are captured from the beginning. Hiring an agency that is genuinely invested in your business objectives, and dedicated to building a website customized to meet them, can make all the difference in the success of the project. But what exactly should this research look like?
A thorough website design firm like White Canvas Design Agency will start with a kickoff meeting to get fully up to speed on your business. This will help us uncover your user goals, design vision, and website functionality requirements. This involves more than just a superficial understanding of what you do—it involves a dive deep into your brand identity, target audience, and industry landscape. This helps to inform the direction that is best to proceed in (in terms of platform, page count, etc.) before we prepare a detailed sitemap and style sheet for your approval.
3. Do I need to supply the copy and photography?
Getting clarity on the website design agency’s scope of work will be instrumental in planning for a successful website build (from a timeline, budget, and logistical standpoint). Since written content and photography make up two major components of a cohesive, optimized website experience, having professionally written copy and high-quality brand photography is highly recommended to ensure you maximize your investment. Most local website design agencies can help recommend professional brand photographers and copywriters if these items fall outside of their project scope.
Tip: It’s also worth inquiring with your website design agency if SEO best practices are included in the build of your website. This can cover everything from conducting keyword research and implementing thoughtful meta descriptions, to ensuring speedy page load times, and adding alt-image tags.
At White Canvas Design Agency, we offer in-house professional copywriting and brand photography services to help you craft messaging and acquire assets that align with your values and brand personality. As well, our SEO team will conduct keyword research in order to identify and capture SEO opportunities. With an in-house professional photographer, our website design and development agency can work with you to produce a number of high-quality images that will best represent your brand online, while being repurposed for social media and other key marketing mediums.
4. What does the revision process look like?
When starting a web design project, it’s important to ask your designer about the revision process. Having clear expectations around how changes will be handled ensures that you’re not left feeling unsure or overwhelmed. A good design agency will walk you through the steps, giving you ample opportunities to review and provide feedback on the design. This collaborative approach means your input is valued, and your vision is reflected in the final product.
At our Vancouver website design and development agency, we believe in working closely with clients to make revisions smooth and stress-free, so you end up with a website that truly feels like your own. This begins with a sitemap and style sheet that give a blueprint of what your website will look like aesthetically and structurally. Once that’s approved, our design team prepares a wireframe in Adobe XD for clients to visualize how the website will look. We offer two rounds of revisions at this stage to make sure clients feel confident about the look and feel of the site before we proceed with the coding, development, and copywriting stage.
Tip: During the feedback and revision stage, be sure to do a sweep of the mobile and tablet mockups of your website, and not just the desktop version, to ensure that your brand shines in its best light across devices.
5. Do you offer training for managing my website once it goes live?
It’s super important to ask your website designer if they offer training for managing your site once it’s live, especially if you plan on handling updates yourself. Whether it’s changing content, adding blog posts, or managing your online store, having the right know-how makes a big difference in ensuring your site stays up to date. Without proper training, even easy-to-use sites can feel tricky.
At White Canvas Design Agency, we will walk you through everything you need to know to make updating your website quick and painless post-launch. Once your website goes live, we’ll schedule a team training call to provide you with step-by-step instructions on making adjustments to your pages so that you can manage your website like a pro long after it’s live.