When it comes to web designers you get your fair share of the good, the bad and the ugly depending on the reputation of a company as well as the dexterity and skill of the designers. Many web design companies will use inexperienced trainees to do their web design work rather than professionals with years of experience, and for this reason many web design customers are extremely disappointed by paying thousands of pounds for a product that both doesn't do what they want it to do and isn't professional in general. Web design is something that requires a lot of knowledge and skill and of course previous experience, and so you should be very careful to look for a web design team or company that you can trust to carry out the work you require.
One of the first things that you should look for in a web design company is of course as previously mentioned whether or not the designers have enough experience to do what they do. There are many different coding platforms to use and programmes to build a site through, and so it is important for you as a client to be assured that a designer can produce the type of site that you need. There are really 3 main types of site that designers will produce regularly:
-A static site
-A Content Managed Site (CMS)
-An e-commerce store
Each of these products has a differing purpose and coding method as well as different programmes being used to create them. However, they all require a lot of attention and professionalism to be carried out correctly and so we implore you as designers to work out which product it is that you need for yourself. Some websites are suited for some people and others for the rest, and so you need to know what functionality your site needs and whether you want it to be a long-term project or just a quick start before perfecting it later on.
A static site is the most basic form of website that you can have created, as it will consist of a certain amount of pages that cannot be edited and will merely serve the purpose of informing the reader or customer rather than other sites which have engagement tools and suchlike. A static site is usually a start-up for a new business just to get them notoriety on the web or potentially that of a historical nature. For instance, information written about a historical event 500 years ago will never change as the information is already too established and is unlikely to change from this day forward. Therefore, a static site is all that is necessary because there is literally no need to edit the site at all. It does its purpose from the date of creation to whenever the site ceases to be hosted, and so it is safe to say that a static site is usually only a beginners tool or something that will never be changed, and so be sure to work out whether this is what you need from your site.
The second type of site that can be created is a content managed site. This site may have several interactive functionalities as well as the ability to edit the site on-the-go, as for some companies they must keep their data and images relevant and up-to-date. For instance, for a photographer there is no point in having images purely from 15 years ago as this does not showcase their recent work and isn't appealing to customers. However, a slideshow of images that is updated every couple of weeks will give clients the opportunity to relate to the pictures and actually desire some of their own, and so a CMS will give you more freedom to pull in new clients and give them precisely the service that they need. Obviously a CMS site isn't always necessary but it is definitely something to consider as it gives you more freedom to adapt more to bringing in potential customers and keeping them.
The final type of website that can be created for the purpose of engaging customers is an e-commerce store. This is affectively an online shop that allows customers to purchase their products that they would normally have to go into shops for online and make secure online payments for these items. An ecommerce store gives the client the upmost convenience in what they are looking to do, as it may be possible to lose a potential customer through the sheer fact that a product cannot be bought online vs. other providers who do have online stores. Therefore, if you are a growing or established business looking to produce a site with the purpose of selling or advertising your wares is sure to look for a quote for an ecommerce store as they are perfect for anybody who is looking to do so.
When you are purchasing any type of web design be sure to get examples of previous work from designers, from all aspects of the web design spectrum and a range of budget-expensive sites. This is because it is important to establish between you and your designer what you can afford and what your site would look like before committing to anything. It is impossible to know what you want without prospecting, and if your designers try and stick to your budget you may end up with an inferior product and a false promise vs. what you actually got for your money. For this reason I implore anybody looking for web design work to be 100% sure that their designer can give them what they want and do a professional job even if the site is a budget one.
There are two sides to the spectrum for web design: in order to design a website you need both a designer and a coder. These two people/areas are very different and entail very different activities that both work equally in putting a site together. Without a designer to creatively put together a website there can be no end product and no understanding between the customer and provider in what they want to be made. Without a good graphical designer to give the customer what they want it can be extremely difficult to give them a solid end product.
Equally, coding is a vital part of the web design process. This job involves being able to use several different web building platforms and coding techniques to turn the creative designs into tangible objects. The coders will use different coding techniques to change colour, size and position as well as many other functional codes such as having a buy now button for an e-commerce store. Learning multiple forms of web code can take years to perfect and is an art that requires a lot of knowledge rather than massive amounts of creativity, and so for this reason you will require a seasoned coder to design a website for you, whereas the graphic designer doesn't need as much experience and merely needs the creative skills necessary to do the work themselves, as it takes a skill that cannot be taught or developed and merely needs the right mind to be able to do it.
Once you are happy with the type of website you want, the notoriety of the company doing it and the experience of the people producing the website it is now time to get quoted and consider what price you are willing to pay. Although you may have a large budget you may only need a smaller site, and so be sure to establish whether or not the price you have been given is the correct one for you and the product that you are receiving. I would recommend looking at a couple of companies and asking for their example work/quotes and assess which will give the best quality for the lowest price. However, I don't think you're going to get much better than Discount Domains so check everybody out and I can assure you that you are likely to come back to us.
At Discount Domains, we have experienced web designers who have over 10 years of web design and coding experience as well as a very proficient creative graphic designer who can create the perfect product for you and your business. Without these experienced employees web design would not be the same for us, and so you can count on them to get your site up and running very quickly with any functionality or design that you could think of. We have done sites for several different companies and have done our fair share of both budget sites and highly professional high-end ones such as Inanch which is a professional celebrity hair salon in London. All of our customers have been very happy with the friendliness and localisation of us, as we like to accommodate those in the Shropshire area as well as any external client's aswell. Whilst there is much to be desired from other web design companies we can assure you that we have your best interests in mind and will come up with a solution for you in order to suit your budget and/or requirements. If you want to speak to one of our web designers you can call our main line on 01952 898701 to be put through to a member of the web design team who would be happy to assist you in drawing up a quote and schematic of what exactly it is that you need from us and how we can help you achieve a professional and appealing site to draw your customers in. we are proud to offer professional web design in Shropshire and hope to do so for many more years.
© 2022 Discount Domains UK (a brand of Astutium Ltd)
