How to choose "The Right" Web Design Company

Evaluating Skills & Experience
Ask each company to provide a brief overview of the company history, as well as how long they have been in business. You should also ask the Web Development companies to provide examples of diversified clients they have worked for. This will allow you to see the wide range of thier capabilities and strengths.

Ensure that the company has experience with the type of technology you are requesting. If you are requesting that a site be designed in Flash, be sure the company is technically capable of completing this project. If you require e-commerce, ensure the company has prior experience implementing e-commerce solutions.

Compare Portfolios
Look closely at each designer's portfolio to see if you like the overall appearance of most of the websites they have completed in the past. Look for use of space, cleanliness, and catchy designs. Chances are if you don't like any of the designs in their portfolio, you won't like the product that they present to you for your website.

Website Pricing
Websites can range from a couple hundred dollars to a couple million dollars based on the specifications, complexity, and time it takes to complete. It is important to realize that website design and development is a skilled craft that is done for the most part by well trained designers and developers touting college degrees and/or technical certifications. Designers often hear, "My 10 yr old nephew does web design", or "My 13 year old son does web pages". You definitley will not get the same result from an untrained teenager, that you will get from a professional web designer. Remember, you get what you pay for!

Having said that, there is also another side to that coin. There are many larger design firms which charge astronomical amounts of money for the same design a small well trained company may charge one 1/3 of thier price for. It's important to read the proposals thoroughly and compare them to the others you receive. You may see many "fluffed" areas from the larger design firms which they try to add into the proposal to fluff it up or increase the price. It's important to make them explain things that look like fluff, and then ask them if you can remove them if you aren't convinced your company needs it. How do you determine if they are fluff or not? Look at the smaller company's proposal, and see if their proposals contain this. If they don't chances are it's fluff!

Ask for fixed project pricing. The last thing you want to do is give a designer or developer open reign on a 75-100 dollar an hour project and hope for the best result. By request fixed pricing, you will know exactly how much the project will cost you before project begins. Also be advised, if you decide to make changes during or after the project is over that are out of scope, chances are you will be required to pay hourly, or develop another contract to complete those changes. The solution: Plan, Plan, Plan!

Go with your instincts! If you have a good feeling about a particular company, and thier work is up to snuff then you should go with them. If you have doubts, or are not comfortable with the people or the company, keep looking for another designer. You should fully trust that the design firm you choose is fully capable of meeting your website goals.