How do you pick the right partner for your next website?
I’ve lost count of the number of conversations I’ve had with prospective clients over the years who have been less than delighted with their current website. I guess by default of the fact that the work we produce is creative, the people I speak to are disappointed with how their website looks – OK at best, embarrassing, out of date, boring at worst. But rather than slate the previous agency (really not our style) I usually explain to the client that no agency sets out to do a bad job, but that it’s easy to pick the wrong agency/ partner for the wrong job.
The truth is that it isn’t your fault that you didn’t brief the designer well enough (although your business may well have moved on since you had that site created); it isn’t your fault that you didn’t give them enough direction; it isn’t their fault that since briefing them you’ve learned the difference between good and bad design and you now see that none of the work in their portfolio is of an especially high design standard. That’s surely all part of being in business isn’t it? Taking responsibility for and learning from our mistakes?
Many of these mistakes can be avoided by just picking the right partner in the first place. Sounds obvious but very few business owners realise that different companies are good at different things. That handing over a cheque big enough to make your eyes water doesn’t guarantee you skipping out with a beautiful website. And that’s not because someone has set out to rip you off (far from it) but because you weren’t clear enough in the first place about what you needed.
Assuming you don’t have a healthy five figure budget to work with (and very few small businesses and startups do…) then you need to work with a specialist, or a number of specialists, to get your project done well. Working out which specialist you should be working with, however, is always easier with the benefit of hindsight, there’s something about going through the process of having your first (or second/ third!) website created that suddenly helps some of these things fall in to place. But that hindsight isn’t very helpful for those of you that are looking for a website right now – after all, why not get this one right? Why not make sure that this investment lasts you several years into the future rather than being embarrassed about it from the off?
How to make sure you choose the right partner: my top tips
- Know that not all website agencies are created equal. No matter what they say on their website, unless you’re spending megabucks you’re unlikely to find an agency that is equally all round exceptional at everything. Some will focus on the brand, commercial impact and customer experience (like us), some will focus on the technical aspects- the web development, some will be Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) nuts. You may find an agency that offers all three (or that works with partners to offer all three) but they will still quite likely have a bias in one area or another. Knowing who you’re dealing with is the first step – ask them what they specialise in and look at their portfolio/ list of services/ team roles for clues.
- What do you need? Be clear about what you really need. Is this a highly technical project where you need to work with a specialist web development agency? Are you a creative or lifestyle business, in which case, you need to work with a creative partner who will show the right face to the world
- How robust is your brand identity? Having a lovely logo, some pretty brand patterns and a strong colour palette doesn’t mean that you can take your brand manual to a web developer and expect to be blown away by the end result – most likely the outcome will be less than the sum of the parts. Don’t even think about moving from the people who created your brand if you are happy with their work and have a strong relationship with them – you need their understanding of your brand to get the best result from your website.
- Know what you want to get out of your next website. What opportunities are you missing with your current site and what type of expert do you need to draft in to make the next one even better?
- What is your budget? Don’t be shy about this. Your budget is what it is, no amount of hiding the facts is going to change that but if you are honest about your budget from the start your agency will be able to help you put it to best use. Oh and just in case you’re worried about not getting the best deal by being upfront about how much money you have to spend, in my experience I have never met anyone whose budget exceeded their expectations!
- Download our Website Planning Workbook to help you think about what you need before you commit to that new project – it’ll get you thinking about plenty of aspects of the customer journey and brand elements that may not have crossed your mind!
- Get focused with our Branding Masterclass you’ll discover the difference between good and bad design as well as getting thoroughly fired up and focused for the Autumn!
Have your say
What do you wish you’d known when you commissioned your website? What will you do differently next time? And what advice do you have for people about picking the right partner to work with?
