It’s important to research any web development company before paying for services. You should understand where your money is going and what results you should expect in the end. There are plenty of web development companies that cater to different types of businesses and the products or services they provide. Here are some key elements of web development companies you should be aware of when looking to build your website.
Expansive Portfolio
When looking at a web development company, make sure you take some time to check out their portfolio of previous website builds. This will give you a better idea of what types of websites they have built in the past, the style they like to use, and what types of websites they enjoy building themselves. You may find the web development company builds more ecommerce websites than service websites. Browse the company’s portfolio to discover their design approach and functionality of their website builds and determine if they would be a good fit for your company and website.
Case Studies
Related to a company’s website portfolio will be their list of case studies. Case studies will provide more information about the website build than the portfolio will. The portfolio mostly serves to show you the style and aesthetics of the website, while case studies will go into the information and statistics of the website performance and how they improved after using the web development company. Case studies will include information such as SEO updates, web traffic analysis, and conversion rate. A case study will compare the data from before and after the company intervened with web development to highlight the improvements and beneficial changes made.
Web Hosting
If you’re not already aware, find out if the web development company you’re looking up provides web hosting as well. Web hosting services basically store the files of your website on a server provided by the hosting company. Most companies will provide their own or offer partner services for you to take advantage of. It’s important to know who your web hosting company is, so that you can contact them in case of any problems for support. If the company developing or redesigning your website doesn’t offer hosting services, you’ll need to find a web host on your own or find a company that does offer hosting.
Additional Services
Some companies offer more than just design and development for websites. Great marketing and development companies will offer additional services such as organic content creation, social media management, and online reputation management. These additional services can take more off your plate so that you can focus on your business while the branding and awareness of your site will continue to grow.
Communication
A good web design and development company will be clear and straightforward with their plans and what they will need from you. A quality company will provide you with an overall plan with milestones and expected deadlines for each phase of development. The best development companies will be upfront when something goes wrong or takes longer than expected so that you are aware of issues or changed deadlines.
Budget
Most importantly, ensure the company you’ve been looking at would fit into your budget. Even if they offer all the services you could ever possibly want, if it’s not at the right price it won’t ultimately work out. Some additional services like social media management and organic content creation might sound like great ideas, but make sure you have the core essentials of your website first.
Blue Ridge Media Company Web Design and Development
Blue Ridge Media Company is a digital marketing company that serves the Greater Cleveland area with marketing services to help any business or company grow! Visit our website to check out our portfolio and case studies, or call (216) 233-3009 today!
