How to Select a Digital Marketing Agency for Your Website Redesign

Hiring a digital agency that offers expert level website redesign services is similar to bringing on a new team member. Before you sign any paperwork, take some time to write down the criteria that you’re looking for:

• What experience and capabilities are you looking for?
  Different agencies and web design services specialize in different things. Make sure that your needs are boiled down to a simple list. Look for examples of their work and make sure they have experience with other clients similar to you or within your industry. This will allow you to match what you want, with a company that has the skills to do it.
• How much attention do you need?
  How involved is your redesign? Are you looking for a complete overhaul, or addressing some organizational issues? Depending on your project, time frames can vary widely; having an idea as far as workload is immensely helpful to your website redesign company.
• How well will you work together?
  This may seem obvious, but making sure that you and your web design team share the same professional beliefs is imperative. Trust us, this one is important, particularly in terms of communication style. If a web design company fires off an estimate via email without taking the time to meet with you (even multiple times) to discuss your needs and truly understand your business, you may not end up with the level of service your business deserves. Make sure you are available to communicate regularly with your potential agency so you get a feel for how they will work with you and your team. A website redesign is a big investment and is often the beginning of a long-term partnership that will grow your business, so it’s important that you like and can trust the primary contacts at your web agency.
• Watch testimonials or read case studies
  Always make sure to do your homework. Ask for references and take a few minutes to call them. Find out why they enjoyed working with the company and what impact the website had on their organization. Was the company able to keep up with their needs and offer additional design, content and online marketing services? Did the company offer analytics and reporting and clearly communicate recommendations? Would they hire the company again? Why or why not?
• Consider cost, but compare value
  If you’re comparing similar agencies, the cost should be in the same ballpark. If the costs vary widely, you may not be comparing apples to apples, or worse, you may have given them different information to base their quote on. If you are one of those multiple bid types that likes to compare apples and oranges (or have a company policy in place that requires multiple bids from creative design agencies), make sure you disclose this fact early and understand that not all agencies will choose to participate in this kind of selection process. In our experience, the clients that have the best results don’t buy based on price, but rather on value and long-term strategic thinking. A good digital agency will be able to help establish an appropriate budget and level of engagement that meets your needs and can achieve your goals over time.

At the end of the day, go with your gut, and choose the agency that can offer the best website redesign service and has the best chance of exceeding your goals for the redesign and beyond. By finding a company with the right fit and capabilities, you should be able to afford your project comfortably, while leaving some meat on the bone for future marketing efforts.