*Some mind-bending statistics:
  • Latest figures show that Google now processes around 3.5 billion searches per day, worldwide.
  • By the year 2020 access to the internet on mobile phones will increase by around 40%.
  • In 2014, it was estimated that the world spent $1.2 million dollars online every 30 seconds.
Stand out from the crowd
The internet has revolutionised the way we communicate and attract new customers. Newspapers moving online, ecommerce is still growing and statistics show that in 2015, over 80% of consumers conducted research online prior to buying. These days, whatever your business, you need an effective online presence.

Aquatic_Subsea_1With this in mind, it is more important than ever to find a web design company capable of meeting your current needs as well as your future web development and business growth requirements.

In a crowded online arena, your website needs to have immediate impact and be easy to navigate:
  • Having a structured menu.
  • Providing useful and interesting content.
  • Being visually appealing and informative.
  • Able to evolve as the internet develops.
  • Delivering new content as your business expands.
Web designers use a variety of platforms to build websites, from a fully bespoke offer to an off the shelf template.

Off the shelf templates may be cost effective, but can limit future development and growth. Bespoke platforms are more flexible and have the ability to provide for future growth and development. You may pay a little more to get exactly what you want but you won’t have to completely scrap the site and start again in a few years’ time when you want to update the site.

Different screen sizes
The growth in the number of devices being used to access the internet is expanding (over 76% of adults in the UK now own smartphones). Most businesses will need to consider optimising their websites for multiple devices in future if this is where your audience is active. You can use Google Analytics to find out the percentage of users who visit your website on mobile, tablet or desktop to help make a decision on this.

Promoting your website, online and offline
Marketing_ServicesA lot of website design companies are purely web designers and do not employ anyone with the necessary marketing skills needed to help promote your business. They probably won’t have the skills to write the content for your website or research the keywords you will need.

This can prove to be a stumbling block when you come to marketing your website online. You will either have to employ a marketing person within your business or outsource to an experienced marketing person or agency.

Choosing a web design company with in house marketing services means they will be able to advise you on the best marketing strategy to help grow your business. They will be in a better position to carry out any necessary changes on the site because they will have intimate knowledge of the platform, especially when it comes to SEO work (Search Engine Optimisation).

A good web design company will be able to offer copywriting for content, develop profitable Google Adwords advertising, provide effective SEO for Google rankings and create email marketing campaigns and more. Other support you may need includes logo development, branding and graphic design.

Website design company
When it comes to choosing a web design company, you need to think about future requirements and whether they can offer the services you will need to grow your business.

A few things to find out when looking for a good web design company include:
  • How long have they been in business?
  • How many people do they employ and what skills do they have?
  • Is their client portfolio available to view and contact?
  • What other services can they provide?
You don’t want to find out in a few years’ time that your web developer has decided to go back to paid employment leaving your website without support or any means of updating it.

Mark Langston

*Information taken from http://www.weforum.org