Type “web design agency Chelmsford” into Google and you’ll quickly discover you’re not exactly short of options.
There are freelancers.
Creative agencies.
Marketing companies.
Specialist developers.
Huge national agencies that happen to have a Chelmsford landing page.
And probably somebody’s nephew who built a website once and is apparently really good with computers.
So how do you choose?
A good portfolio is certainly important.
But choosing a web design agency purely because you like the screenshots on its website is a bit like choosing an architect because you like their Instagram feed.
There’s rather more to consider.
If you’re planning a new website, here are some of the things we’d look at before deciding who to work with.
1. Do they ask about your business before talking about the website?
This is a big one.
A web design project shouldn’t begin with:
“What colours do you like?”
It should begin with questions such as:
- What does your business do?
- Who are your customers?
- Why do customers choose you?
- Who are your competitors?
- What isn’t working with the existing website?
- How do people currently find you?
- What does the new website need to achieve?
Those questions influence almost every decision that follows.
The design. The content. The navigation. The SEO. The calls to action. The functionality.
If an agency starts proposing solutions before understanding the problem, we’d be cautious.
2. Look beyond whether the websites are pretty
Naturally, the work should look good.
We are a creative agency, after all. We’re hardly going to argue against good design.
But a successful website has more than one job.
Ask yourself:
- Does the site communicate clearly?
- Is it easy to navigate?
- Does it work beautifully on mobile?
- Can I immediately understand the business?
- Are the calls to action obvious?
- Does it feel appropriate for the intended audience?
The best website isn’t necessarily the one with the most animation, awards or clever visual tricks.
It’s the one that best achieves its purpose.
Sometimes that means bold and experimental.
Sometimes it means beautifully simple.
3. Find out who will actually work on the project
This one is easily overlooked.
You meet the senior creative team.
Everyone seems brilliant.
You sign the contract.
And then never speak to any of them again.
It’s perfectly normal for agencies to have different people handling different aspects of a project, but you should understand who will actually be involved.
Ask:
- Who will design the website?
- Who develops it?
- Who manages the project?
- Who handles SEO?
- Who writes the content?
- Will any work be outsourced?
There’s no automatically right or wrong structure.
You simply want to know what you’re buying and who you’re working with.
4. Do they understand SEO?
A website can look stunning and still be virtually invisible in Google.
SEO shouldn’t be treated as something that gets sprinkled onto a website the afternoon before launch.
It can influence:
- the sitemap
- page structure
- URLs
- headings
- content
- internal links
- mobile usability
- performance
- metadata
- structured data
For businesses that depend on organic search, decisions made during the website project can affect SEO for years afterwards.
Ask the agency how SEO fits into its design and development process.
If the answer is simply “We’ll install an SEO plugin”, you may want to ask a few more questions.
5. What happens to your existing SEO?
This becomes particularly important when redesigning an established website.
Your current site may already have pages ranking in Google and attracting valuable traffic.
Changing URLs or removing pages without considering those rankings can create problems.
A website migration should consider things such as:
- existing rankings
- high-performing pages
- backlinks
- URL changes
- redirects
- metadata
- internal links
- XML sitemaps
- analytics
- Search Console
A redesign should improve your website.
It shouldn’t accidentally throw away years of search visibility in the process.
6. Can they handle more than the website?
You don’t necessarily need one agency to do everything.
In fact, sometimes specialist teams working together produce the best result.
But there can be real advantages to using an agency that understands the wider picture.
Your website doesn’t exist in isolation.
It interacts with:
- your brand
- SEO
- PPC
- social media
- photography
- video
- email marketing
- printed material
- sales activity
If the website team understands those channels, it’s easier to build something that supports them.
For example, a landing page created with PPC in mind may be structured differently from a general service page.
A new brand identity might influence everything from website typography to photography style.
Thinking across channels can create a much more joined-up customer experience.
7. Look at relevant experience, not just identical experience
Businesses sometimes assume an agency needs to have worked with dozens of companies in exactly the same sector.
Sector knowledge can certainly help.
But we’d also look at the underlying challenge.
Has the agency successfully built:
- e-commerce websites?
- lead-generation websites?
- property websites?
- booking systems?
- customer portals?
- highly visual brand websites?
- large content-driven sites?
An agency may not have created a website for a company identical to yours.
That isn’t necessarily a disadvantage.
Sometimes experience across different sectors introduces ideas your competitors aren’t using.
8. Ask how the website will be managed after launch
A new website is not a painting.
You don’t hang it on a wall and admire it for the next eight years.
Businesses change. Services change. People join. Products launch. Google changes. Technology changes.
You’ll probably want to update the website.
Find out:
- Can your team edit the content?
- Will training be provided?
- Are you tied into a maintenance contract?
- Who performs software updates?
- Who manages backups?
- Who handles security?
- What happens if something breaks?
- What does ongoing support cost?
You don’t necessarily need comprehensive maintenance.
But you do need to know what’s expected once the site is live.
9. Who owns the website?
This question deserves a section of its own.
Ask who owns:
- the domain
- the website files
- the database
- the design
- the content
- the photography
- any custom code
You should also understand whether you can move the site to another provider in future.
Hopefully you’ll have a long and happy relationship with your chosen agency.
But nobody should feel trapped in one.
10. Don’t choose entirely on price
Budget obviously matters.
Every business has one.
But the cheapest quotation isn’t necessarily the cheapest solution.
Imagine Agency A quotes £2,000.
Agency B quotes £5,000.
If Agency B’s website generates substantially more enquiries, delivers a better customer experience and lasts twice as long, which one was actually cheaper?
Likewise, spending £15,000 doesn’t magically guarantee success.
Price is only meaningful when you understand what’s included and what the website is expected to deliver.
Compare:
- strategy
- design
- functionality
- SEO
- content
- project management
- testing
- support
- experience
Then compare the price.
11. Do you actually like working with them?
This might sound less important than technical ability.
It isn’t.
Website projects involve lots of communication.
There will be ideas. Feedback. Changes. Questions. Occasional disagreements.
Probably a mysterious email thread containing 47 replies about one photograph.
You need an agency you feel comfortable talking to.
Look for people who listen, communicate clearly and can explain technical issues without turning every conversation into a computer science lecture.
A good client-agency relationship should feel collaborative.
12. Look for evidence
Case studies are much more useful than vague claims about being “results driven”.
Look for examples that explain:
- what the client needed
- what problem was being solved
- what the agency did
- what changed afterwards
Testimonials are useful too, particularly when they’re specific.
“We loved working with them” is nice.
But feedback explaining that a website made enquiries easier, improved customer experience or helped communicate a complicated service is considerably more meaningful.
Should you choose a local Chelmsford web design agency?
Not necessarily.
There are brilliant agencies all over the UK and modern projects can be managed remotely extremely well.
But working with a local agency can have advantages.
You can meet face-to-face. They may understand the local market. Photography and video shoots can be easier to organise.
And sometimes it’s simply useful knowing the people you’re working with are nearby.
The important word isn’t local.
It’s right.
Choose the agency that understands your business and has the skills to deliver what you need.
If they also happen to be down the road, even better.
Questions to ask before choosing a web design agency
If you’re comparing agencies, here’s a useful shortlist:
- Can you show me relevant examples of your work?
- How will you approach the project?
- Who will be working on it?
- Is the design bespoke?
- How is SEO considered?
- Who creates the content?
- What technology will you use?
- Will the site work across mobile, tablet and desktop?
- How will performance be tested?
- Can we edit the site ourselves?
- Who owns the finished website?
- What support is available after launch?
- Are there any ongoing fees?
- What isn’t included in the quotation?
You should come away with a pretty clear idea of what working with the agency will actually be like.
Looking for a web design agency in Chelmsford?
Conveniently enough, that’s where we come in.
Break17 is a creative and digital agency based in Chelmsford, Essex, specialising in website design and development alongside branding, SEO, PPC, digital marketing, copywriting, photography and video.
But we’d rather understand the problem before trying to sell you the solution.
If you’re thinking about redesigning an existing website or starting something completely new, come and have a chat.
We’ll happily talk through what you’re trying to achieve, what’s working, what isn’t and what your options might be.
No mysterious jargon required.