Navigating the sales process of finding a website design company and comparing pricing can be a daunting task in 2022. This guide will be the best resource for developing confidence in your decision to understand a beneficial design package that fits your needs, offers customization, flexibility, and supplies private website training.  

What is a Web Design Package?

According to Creative.Onl, a good web design package will include designing a logo, ingratiation with local SEO, linking a site to a social media presence, and more. These services could be included in the price, or they may come at additional expense. 

Seeking a web design package should also provide a style guide. A style guide is developed keeping in mind all the important elements of your brand to create visual recognition through design components and the backend aspects to monitor performance.

These elements include:

• color
• space
• third party integrations
• analytics
• format
• domain
• typography
• logo

Even if it's just for a few minutes, take a look at your current design and determine some goals of your next design. Having an idea of where you are and where you’d like to be can help you evaluate web design options more easily.

Fixed Costs & Flexibility

Depending on your financial flexibility, pricing and fixed cost can vary. Finding an option that is functional and flexible when it comes to adding in or taking away pages will result in a worthwhile partnership. 

How much will the package cost and will there be any additional fees for extra services or pages added? 

Fixed cost

Professional website design services come with a ton of advantages over DIY options. Including responsive website coding, designs tailored to your company and content, and the best techniques for your audience and industry. 

These companies have experience with current website trends and best practices when it comes to development, content planning/writing, SEO, and more. Having different team members allows brainstorming and implementing scalability, custom functionality, and professional UX. This will come at a cost but's it's worth it. 

Start with a fixed cost, because if the designer adds on costs as the project progresses then this can put a dent in your pocket. Unless this is a request from your team and it's pre-determined. 

 Many companies already have a website up and running. Some packages allow you to choose different levels to find one that provides auditing features. A thorough website audit will give you a great amount of information and help you zero in on the perfect package for you.

Mobile Responsive Design

There are ample surveys and data proving the importance of having a responsive mobile design. However, each website is different in terms of audience viewers and reachability. An agency can help you get to know your audience by creating surveys, conducting interviews, and analyzing the data to determine how many of your users are surfing the web on their phones. This service needs to be a priority as many of us are searching on our smartphones. 

What is a website without strong SEO results? Finding a package that not only focuses on visual presence but performance can really set packages apart. 

If your goal is to be on the first page of search engine results, you must have a fully optimized website with the right keywords and necessary standards. Find out if your package includes SEO optimization or if it can be included as an add-on to your package.

Adding Additional Pages

Imagine paying your web designer to put together a website, and then, later on, find that you have to pay more if you want to add pages. Having a plan prior to building is ideal but trends change constantly and having the ability to add in a page at little to no cost is standard.

We are not talking about massive page changes and makeovers, but simply adding in a few pages to showcase a new product or adding a Thank You page after conversion.

When it comes to pricing, awareness is power. Be aware of the goals you have in mind as well as industry-standard designs and pricing.

Navigation & Images

Navigation should be attainable and usable without the need for client-side technologies such as JavaScript or Flash. Many users may not have these enabled or installed for various reasons such as security or company policy. This is a goal to think about if it is a current problem for your brand.

Remember, when seeking a web design package you want to solve your current problems and add new options for your customers.

Social Media

Social Media integrated from platform to platform is key to brand identity. If your website needs a redesign, you need to find a package that has the ability to bring in social platforms as part of the design detail and brainstorming process.

Will the website integrate with your business’s social media presence? 

If not, this can create a lot of work down the line as social platforms become more and more interactive, especially with e-commerce. 

We need to establish consistent flow from one platform, to your website, and back to another social platform. Websites create and maintain your presence, therefore keeping all platforms connected exhibits consistency

Stock Images
Clearly, we are visual creatures! As your site is being built, stock images should be placed throughout to make the vision come to life. This extra step will ehance the value of detail put into the design and care for information transfer. 

Every single thing that you add to a web page influences the time it takes to load on the user’s device. Design plays a critical role in attracting users and people tend to stay longer on beautifully designed pages.  However, if the page takes longer than 3 seconds to load, your bounce rate will soar.

• Does the package support images and video without sacrificing loading speed or aesthetic quality?

Support & Training

In a saturated market full of website design, you'll need your design to stand out or convey professionalism. Each web design company has a system, but make sure yours will be built from the ground up the way you want it. 

The importance of finding a company that provides support and private training for your specialized design is a technical aspect that cannot be overlooked. You need the ability to add information and updates as necessary and it begins with your team knowing how to use the CMS.

Content Management Systems or CMS

A CMS is a software application that has the ability to allow users to create, edit, collaborate and store digital files. Using a CMS makes it easy to scale and allows multiple users to collaborate. Therefore providing that flexible functionality. 

Training

Since every CMS is different, make sure that your website design package includes a comprehensive training program. This is different than reading a manual online, we are talking about private face-to-face video chats or online expert chat portals for easy access to troubleshooting.

Owning the creativity and scalability of your website starts with private website management training. It's time to maximize your website’s capability, as well as save you time and money.

Importance of understanding the functionality and flexibility of the chosen CMS grants ownership and allows for imagination to add pages and ideas on a whim. Also, on your own time!

Ongoing web hosting, support & maintenance should also be provided for future run-ins to make sure your site is always up and running. Everyone has run into a problem with a website crashing at one point in life.  Having a package that includes hosting, backup, ongoing support, and maintenance to ensure that your website is always accessible to potential and existing customers will decrease the likelihood of lost data and 404 errors. 

Identifying leads

Search - For example, you can search based on your city, such as “Pittsburgh Web Design.” You should also search using industry terms, such as “manufacturing web design” or “law firm web design,” depending on your specific industry. Your industry search keywords can also be combined with your regional search keywords. Finding these leads will help you to evaluate the different offerings between packages.

Engagement - Once you have found a few prospects and analyzed their site, there are a few things to look for. Does the Portfolio show captivating designs that fit your style? Take a look at the quality of the website by identifying the staff and how the content is written. If a company lacks in any of these areas (portfolio, staffing, content, quality) then this could be a sign to keep looking. Keep in mind, if your team is seeking a web design team that specializes in manufacturing websites then you'll want to dig deeper to see their process over a normal design package.

• Do you like the examples of their work?
• Do they have the tech that fits your want or needs?
• Do they have great reviews?

Finding reviews for these companies also plays a major role. Search engines are full of honest and passionate opinions and can be a tremendous help when identifying which company you want to invest your money in. Did the vendor identify a clear next step, and provide you with an idea of what to expect? 

If you want to learn more about Phase 3: Interacting with your final choices. Check out How To Choose A Web Design Agency to understand exactly what you should look for during your meeting. 

This is a huge step to invest in your company and your future customers. Finding a company that holds these values and takes the time to train your team are just a few factors to pursue when looking for the best design package.

Our team at Blue Archer is dedicated to providing the best design package for your business. Contact us today to start a conversation!