Look at past work.
Every agency worth anything should have work that it is proud of. Ask them to see some of the examples of their work. Better yet, wait to see if they offer up the information first. If they are truly good at what they do, you should not have to ask for samples of what your site could look like with a little hard work and creativity in the design department. If nothing excites you, move on to another web design agency.
Talk to former or existing customers.
Any business has its share of supporters and detractors. You won’t have any problem at all setting up a meeting with existing customers. The agency itself will be more than happy to place you in contact with someone. But if you want a more unbiased viewpoint, then you may have to do a little more legwork and ask around. Once you find someone, who severed the relationship ties, it doesn’t hurt to ask why. It could simply be a matter of hard times for the business, or perhaps something more sinister.
Notice how well the agency listens to your ideas.
What are meetings like when you sit down with your consultant? Do they appreciate and value your input, or does nothing seem to be getting through? While you may not be a design expert, you are an expert on your customers, so make sure your voice is heard, and make sure you don’t have to try very hard to make your voice heard.
Accept nothing less than your satisfaction.
If there are problems near the end of the job, don’t accept anything less than what you truly want. Allowing a business to cut corners now will end up stiffing you with a design you don’t like at a price you can’t afford to pay.
Choose only the most accessible.
There may be a lot of worthy web design agencies out there, but accessibility is important. Whether the agency does good work or not, if you can’t ever get through to them, then what good are they doing you? Give your business only to the people, who make you a priority.
As you launch your site, a great design can work wonders, so it is important to put your faith in a web design agency that deserves it.
Vadim Kotin is the founder of Vancouver based Digital Marketing Agency VN Web Group
