3 simple steps to avoid rogue web designers. Common mistakes to watch out for when looking for local web design companies nearby…
Don’t get ripped off by inflated web design prices!
Web design companies are very busy at the moment
Looking web designers near me? Well its not easy. Web design companies can pick and choose their clients. A web design company can set their own prices, sometimes as high as they like. Doesn’t matter if they don’t get the business, there are enough clients out there willing to pay a premium for a decent web designer.
Web design companies offer regular web design voucher codes, discounts, deals, refer a friend, loyalty points and more
However, there is good news on the web design front…
Web design companies in Ireland are 2 a penny
More web design companies means more competition for your business. So there is plenty of scope for you to choose from. Finding the best local Web Design Companies does not need to be expensive.
Get at least 3 quotes from web design companies
The best web design companies should provide the best web design service at the best price!
Domain name ownership
Have some ideas of the domain name you require. If you are planning on expanding abroad – worldwide, we recommend a .com domain name. However, a .com domain is not as easy to come by as a local domain name, such as .ie.
Buy your own domain
Or at the very least, have a web design company purchase the domain on your behalf, so that your email address is the admin email on the domain name.
Web Hosting
Most web design companies will require the website hosted with their own hosting companies – It is easier than having multiple hosting companies for multiple websites. Each web host is different and may pose problems. E.g. 1 web hosting company might use PHP version 5.1 whilst another uses PHP version 5.2 and that may have an affect on code.
Lets say you have not had any leads or contact form submissions on your website. It takes you a few days to notice. Turns out the contact form on your lead page does not work with PHP version 5.1.
Most important, is that you get a copy of the files and database before you make a final payment to the web design company. Ask for this as regularly as you like. If you get 100 new sales in 1 month but you don’t have access to the database, if something goes wrong, you won’t have access to the orders.
You could ask for direct access to the hosting for the files and database via ftp or a control panel. However, if you don’t know what you’re doing, even a small mistake will take the website offline and you will pay a handsome fee to the web design company to restore your website. Even then, they may not be able to restore it to the exact same state when it went offline. It may be restored to one month ago or longer, so you may miss some data.