When you decide to that you want to have a website for your business, the first thing you need to decide is if you are going to create the site or hire someone to do it for you. It may sound simple to create a webpage, however a lot more goes into it than you may think. This is why most people decide to go to a web design company to have their website professionally created.
- A web design company is broken up into four separate departments:
- Design Department- handles the sites graphics and layouts
- Development Department- in charge of programming the site
- Marketing Department- takes care of the sites content, as well as, business goals and any analysis that may be needed
- IT Department- which handles the webpage’s hosting
Most people assume, incorrectly, that creating a website is as simple as registering a domain name, finding a web template, and then using a program, such as WordPress, to create the site. While this will allow you to create a simple website, you’ll definitely want a web design company to create your site if you want it to have a professional appearance, as well as, function properly. You inform the designer that you are working with about your customers, explain what your business is about, and what you hope to gain from having a website, and they will handle the rest for you.
The general blueprint of creating a website is as follows:
- Consultation (Initial) – meeting with the client to let them know what your company does
- Consultation (Design)- finding out what the website requires
- Proposal- Website outline and estimate of costs
- Clarification- finalizing the design, timeframe, and cost and signing the contract
- Developing- creating site and e-mail accounts, buying domain name, and purchasing web hosting
- Launching- getting the website up and running
Different web design companies specialize in building a specific type of website, some might focus solely on large companies, while others place theirs on smaller businesses. Another difference in these companies is that some also use languages such as ASP and JavaScript, while other stick to strictly using HTML. Another option some companies use is content management systems, such as Drupal and Joomla. You will want to keep this in mind when choosing a company, because it has a direct effect on the functioning of your site.
Here are some of the tasks that a web design company takes on:
- Determining the clients requirements and goals and providing an estimate of the cost to create the website
- Negotiating a contract between the company and the client
- Creating graphics, as well as, designing color schemes, layouts and fonts, while achieving the right markup and style
- Creating the sites data base and making sure that the site will properly function
- Hosting the site and debugging any problems
- Optimizing the websites ranking with search engines and registering the sites domain
- Also, re-designing sites for pre-existing clients, as well as, new clients
So, as you can see, there is a lot that goes into creating a webpage. A web design company does all the work of creating a professional website and keeping it running smoothly, while allowing you to put your focus on your business. The cost of these company services can vary greatly. Therefore having a consultation about what it’s going to cost you in the beginning and during the month to month upkeep is advised.