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Choosing_a_design_firm
| Choosing a design firm
Before choosing which design firm your company should choose,
you company should decide what exactly you will need and what
your ultimate goals are. There are thousands of design firms;
some specialize in web development, others in design. But which
one do you need? Maybe you don't need either, it is possible
that all you need is a graphic design company to revamp your
websites graphics so they look more modern.
First lets go over what exactly you need, do you need a new
website or do you need to make changes to an existing site? If
you are looking to make your already existing site more visually
appealing then you a more likely to need a web design company,
but if you are looking for more functionality and provide you
with more integration than it already has, you will need a web
development firm.
Web development firms typically specialize in web programming
and functionality, while web design firms will specialize in
making it visually appealing and usable for your visitors. There
is a fine line between graphic design firms and web design firms
because they both use similar techniques. Typically graphic
design firms graphics will not be optimized correctly for the
Internet, so if you choose a graphic design firm, make sure they
have experience with graphics online. Understanding the
difference will help you to choose the right firm that will help
you accomplish you online goals.
Here are some key points that should help you when choosing a
web design firm:
* Price: Price is often the largest key factor when choosing a
design firm; unfortunately it is also one of the biggest
misunderstood key factors. When selecting a design firm be weary
when you receive a quote that is cheaper than what it should be.
How do you know what is cheaper than it should be? Compare,
compare, compare. The only way to ensure what quotes are
reasonable and what ones aren't, is for you to have multiple
other quotes for you to compare it with.
The ones that you should be weary about are the quotes that come
back that are to good to be true or are much more expensive than
the others with similar features.
Typically quotes that are much cheaper than other companies come
from newer design firms that do not have the experience to and
need to lure in clients with low rates. For some this may be
fine, but for others this may cost them thousands of dollars in
lost revenue, leads and reputation. Usually design firms that
cost more will save you more in the long run. Just be careful
not to pick the most expensive without considering the others,
it is very possible that the most expensive may go out of
business tomorrow and take all your money too.
* Experience: Experience comes in many forms, it is possible for
the firm to be a specialist in one area or have a wide variety
of experience. Unless your budget doesn't allow for it,
typically you want to choose a design firm that specializes in
all of the specific areas you need. Whether it is one single
thing, or many, make sure that the company you choose can cover
everything you need.
* Ability to learn: When you are considering a firm for your
project, make sure that they ask questions. Do you want the firm
to just do the work based on what you tell them? Or do you want
the design firm to ask questions about your business and market
and try to design a website that will fit your companies
identity? In order for a design firm to create an effective
website that will accomplish your goals the design firm that is
creating it must understand your business and be able to turn
that vision in their head into a functional and appealing
website.
Finally, remember that if you just want a new PHP or Perl script
that will integrate into your existing systems, choose a web
development company; but if you are looking for a new identity
online that will increase sales and leads, choose a design firm
that can see your vision online.
About the author:
Joel Strellner is a freelance web designer
and php programmer
located in Sacramento, CA. You can visit his website at http://www.joelstrellner.com<
/a>. This article and many more are available there too.
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