So you’ve decided that you need a website for your business. That’s great! A website can be a powerful tool to promote your business, sell products or services, and much more. You can think of a website as an employee that never sleeps; 24/7 they are up and helping people see the value of your company’s services or products. But where do you start? If you’re based in Alberta, Canada, then you’ll want to find an Alberta web design company that can help you create the perfect site for your needs.
Here are a few tips on how to find the right one.
1. Know Your Web Design Needs
First and foremost, it’s important to know or have an idea of what you need from your website. Here are some questions to help you narrow that down:
- Why do you need a website? (Big question)
- Do you need a simple site with just a few pages or something more complex with e-commerce capabilities or perhaps a member login area?
- Do you want to get traffic from Google for your service or product-related searches?
- Who’s your competition?
- How is your competitor’s online presence? How does their website look? What functionality do they have on their website?
- Is there any functionality you can add to your website to give you a competitive advantage?
Once you know what features and functionalities your site will need, finding a web design company that can accommodate those requirements will be much easier. Don’t stress over the tiny details. As professional web design firms, it’s our job to ask questions that are very specific to your business niche. If you don’t understand your competitors well, you can also request a competitor analysis. Professional Web Design firms have the toolsets and knowledge to dive deep into your competitor’s online profiles in the area and can suggest the best course of action for your business.
2. Do Some Research on Alberta Web Design Firms
The next step is to do some research on potential web design companies. You can use Google’s database for research. Many big web design firms dominate Google Local Search Engine Result Pages. So if you are close to Edmonton and Calgary and would like to work with a firm in the area, head over to Google.com and search with the following queries:
- Edmonton Web Design
- Web Design Calgary
If you are outside of these two big cities and you want to find professional firms in your local area, you can do a Google search with a location attached to “Web Design”. For instance, let’s say your area name is “Sherwood Park”. You can do a search like “Sherwood Park Web Design” or “Web Design Sherwood Park”. This will pull up all local area companies that are ranking high on Google.
3. Reliability Check For Alberta Web Design Firms
Read online reviews to see what other people’s experiences are like working with them. Check out their portfolios to see if they have experience with building sites like the one you need and if you like their design styles. Often, it may be the case that the firm is not niche or industry-specific. Some firms like ours are not niche or industry-specific, as we like the advantages that come without being industry-focused.
We can help most businesses! And one of the biggest advantages of not being industry-specific is that we learn from working with different industries and can apply new lessons, ideas and techniques to other industries to innovate and think outside of the box. The ultimate goal is to increase your conversions and provide your visitors with a better experience for your business.
Why is learning from other industries important? The technology industry is evolving along with your customers’ behaviours. What was great a few years ago may not be great this year. So it’s important to have an open mind to stay ahead of your competition.
4. Up-to-date Web Design Technologies
You should also ensure firms are staying up-to-date on the latest web design trends and technologies. Otherwise, your site could look dated before it even goes live! This is a hard thing to figure out as a non-techy person. Not all firms or designers follow industry best practices which can put you in a bad spot even if it looks beautiful. You can run our Site Doc app to see how Google sees your site or the site of the service provider you are thinking of getting a website from. You want to ensure your service provider follows Google’s best practices! This app uses Google’s servers and runs automated website testing for industry best practices. You can run any website:
As professionals, we noticed two major issues with small business websites:
- The website looks up-to-date and beautiful, but behind the scenes, the code is slow, has security issues, and doesn’t work very well on different screen sizes.
- The site doesn’t look good, along with behind the scenes issues.
3. Get a Quote From Alberta Web Design Firms
Once you’ve narrowed your options, reach out to a few companies and ask for quotes. Be sure to give them all the same information to compare apples to apples. Often, you will be speaking to a salesperson for your first consultation, not a technical expert. Questions can come in phases before and after the estimation. Overall, this is a great opportunity to connect and get a feel for the team as you will be working with them. As you speak, keep the following things in mind or ask:
- Are they asking the right questions?
- Was I asked a question previously that this firm is not asking?
- Are they patient with my level of understanding?
- Do I feel they understood what I am looking for?
- Do I have a good understanding of what makes them different?
Every firm has different working styles or unique things they do. Ask questions if you are not clear on something. We love when people ask questions. As tech experts, we’re nerds! We love talking about all the technical details with someone. Plus, this will help you decide on which web design firm to go with later. And don’t just go with the cheapest option—sometimes you get what you pay for! Take the time to review each quote carefully and choose the company that you feel offers the best value for your money.
4. Website Support & Education
Lastly, you want to go with a company that can provide support and education as you progress with your digital transformation online. Most of these come into play once you go online with your initial launch. You will need training and education to understand the following:
- How are your customers finding you?
- What areas of your business make you the most money?
- How is your most-selling service or products connected to your online presence?
- What area of your business should you focus on?
- How are your competitors getting customers online?
- Where can you invest in attracting more customers?
- Will this firm be able to help with other areas of your digital presence as you grow?
- Will this firm be able to maintain your website properly?
More and more questions arise as you progress. Answers to your questions will be evidence-based and data-backed. You don’t have to take anyone’s word for it. It will all be in data-driven reports. You will need help to understand them. If you opt out of gathering website usage data, you won’t be able to understand how effective your digital presence is. Make sure to opt-in for advanced features.
Conclusion
Building a new website can be an exciting—but sometimes overwhelming—process. By taking the time to find the right Alberta web design company for your needs, you can rest assured knowing that your site is in good hands. Follow the tips I mentioned, and you’ll be well on your way to finding the perfect partner for your next website development project.
As an Alberta web design firm, we work with various small and mid-size businesses in the area. We want to provide peace of mind to clients when it comes to their websites, whether it’s web design, web maintenance, web hosting or local search engine optimization. Check out our Edmonton web design portfolio, Edmonton web design services and see if we are the right fit for your project. Not sure? Give us a shout using the contact form. We would love to hear from you. All the best with firm hunting!
