If you’re in need of a new website and are looking for someone to design one for you, you’ll quickly realise that there are many, many agencies out there.

To try and help you narrow down the search and find the agency that’s right for you, we’ve put together the following quick tips to hopefully help you cut through the noise.

Consider Your Needs

Before you begin your search, you need to know exactly what it is that you’re looking for in an agency and exactly what you need.

Look at your current website (if you have one) and consider that it is that you dislike about it and what could be improved.

Decide on some specific goals of what you need a new website to achieve, whether that be increased sales or just to provide information to prospective customers and clients so that they can potentially get in touch offline.

Make a list of all the functions that you want your new site to have, such as e-commerce, a photo gallery, online bookings and such, so that you know exactly what to ask for when you approach an agency.

Weigh all of this up alongside your own budgetary constraints. If you’re not willing to spend enough on your site, then you could well end up with one which doesn’t perform and actually ends being more of a drain on resources than an effective marketing tool.

And if you’re wondering whether your site needs to be mobile-friendly, it definitely does! Just check out this post from Huffington Post to find out why!

Researching Agencies

When it comes to looking for a prospective agency, never be afraid to ask lots and lots of questions.

One of the most important things to check up on is the track record of an agency. Try to find out how long they’ve been operating for, as well as what kind of clients they’ve worked with in the past.

Ideally, they’ll have worked with other businesses in a similar industry to your own, so they’ll be familiar with delivering the kind of site that you’re after. Be sure to ask for references to see what kind of work they’ve produced in the past too.

It also helps if you can actually get to meet the team that you’ll be working with in person, as this is really the only way to get a proper feel for what your working relationship is going to be like.

According to Liquid Bubble, who are a full service agency from London: “It’s also important to consider whether they offer more than just basic web design, as they should also have a decent knowledge of things such as SEO and copywriting, as otherwise, you’re going to have to work with another agency for these things.”

There’s a lot to consider before making your final choice, but hopefully, a prospective agency should answer most of these questions before you even ask them.

It’s the agency’s job to convince you why they’re the people for the job, so if you don’t feel like they’re doing their best to answer your questions, they’re probably not the right fit for you.