Did you know that 36% of businesses still don’t have a website?
In a world where almost everyone shops online (and the pandemic has only increased that), not having a website means missing out on a colossal market. Why would anyone want to do that? Well, a lot of it comes down to not knowing where to start or how to design a website. That’s where a web design agency comes in – web designers can help you get your business online with ease.
Find out more about what a web design agency does and how they might help you.
What Is a Web Designer?
A web designer helps you with the visuals of your website. They’re usually creative, artistic people who have a good eye for what looks good and what doesn’t, as well as knowledge of what audiences want. One of the best ways to understand what a web designer is is to consider the difference between a web designer vs. a web developer.
Web development refers to the functions of the site, such as the features, applications, and elements that are essential to your website being fit for purpose.
A web designer works with things like the colour palette of your site, the images, and the layout. The designer is primarily responsible for how the site looks when it’s launched.
Nowadays, the terms “web designer” and “web developer” are used interchangeably. So if you’re looking to have a site built from scratch, you would usually hire an agency that incorporates both web design AND development.
What Does a Web Design Agency Do?
When you hire a web design agency, you can expect them to take your website from the first spark of an idea all the way through to completion. There are a couple of steps it takes to get there. Let’s take a look to get a better idea of what goes into effective web design.
Discussing Plans With The Client
The first step of every website design and development process should be a meeting with the client. The team will arrange a phone call, video chat, or face-to-face meeting to discuss what the client wants from their website. Together, you’ll look at:
- What your goals are for the site
- Who is your target audience
- Any specific elements you want to be included
- The best approach to designing your site
Creating a Wireframe
A wireframe will then be created by the team. This is basically a blueprint of your website that looks at the layout of the elements and features but doesn’t look at the design. It’s similar to the blueprints of a home, where you can see where the rooms are but not what colour they’ll be.
Coding Your Website
There are different roles at a web design agency, but every person involved in building your site has a good grasp of code. Code is the language used to build your website from the backend and will appear as a functioning website on the frontend (what appears on the user’s screen).
Website Testing
Not every agency will do testing, but some will. Testing is checking that the website gets a good response from your audience and tweaking factors that aren’t reaching your goals.
For example, A/B testing puts two different versions of your website in front of different people. Your web designers will then monitor the results from each to find the elements that work best. It’s a great way to really optimize a site and make sure it’s fit for purpose.
Should I Hire a Web Development Agency?
There are tons of benefits of outsourcing web design that make it a no-brainer! Here are just some of them.
Save a Lot of Time
Creating a website is a long and complex process. Coding is the best way to build a unique, high-quality site, which means fluency in and learning a whole coding language! That could take months, and you wouldn’t have even started developing the site itself.
Get a Professional Finish
You can always tell which sites have been built by a professional and which are DIY because the DIY sites lack a professional finish. Unless you know how to code and have a brilliant eye for design, your site won’t reach the same standards as one built by a web designer. If your site looks a little dodgy or doesn’t function properly, you’ll instantly lose the trust of your audience, which definitely isn’t good!
Industry Expertise
Web designers have likely worked on countless websites before working on yours. Therefore, they’re going to have a lot of experience in what works and what doesn’t, which gives your site a head start.
How to Choose a Web Design Agency
There are tons of web design agencies out there, so how do you know who to choose? Here are some tips to help:
- Ask for referrals from other businesses
- Check out web designers in your local area
- Look out for well designed, professional websites
- Take a look at the past work of the team
- Check online reviews before hiring
It’s important that you make sure the team you’re looking at is the right one for the job. Once you’ve found one that looks like a good match, get in touch with them for a quote! You can see if they’re a good fit and gauge their professionalism before you agree to working together.
Hire a Web Design Team Today
Now you know what a web design agency does, it should be pretty clear you need one on your side! If you’re trying to get your business online and build a website, check out our work at Neural Experience. With an extensive portfolio of past work, a team of qualified experts, and a passion for design, we can build you the site you’ve been dreaming of.
To find out more and start working together, get in touch with us today!
