Website redesign process. 9 steps to finding the right digital agency

Finding a digital agency for a website redesign can seem like an arduous process, with a vast array of agencies all declaring their capabilities and expertise. Ideally you want an agency that can understand your business, deliver a great site and be there for the long term to support and continually enhance it moving forward. This guide is designed to show you the best way to sort the wheat from the chaff to find the right agency for your website project.

Here are 9 essential tips to finding the right digital agency for your business.

1. Establish your business requirements

What are you trying to achieve from you website redesign? Having a clear idea of what you want to achieve makes for more productive conversations when you do start to talk to digital agencies. Creating a list of requirements is the obvious starting point, what are the priorities? Who is it intended for?

2. Brand Message

A website is only as good as the content it contains, are your brand vision and values in tune with your target market and their specific needs? Do you need an agency that can help you evolve your brand message? A prospective agency should be able to guide you through this process (including full-scale brand development if required). Setting aside budget for joined-up web specific copy and photography is always advisable and will definitely pay dividends in the final outcome.

3. Consider the budget

When approaching an agency, it is a good idea to have a complete project budget in mind. Determine what features you absolutely require and if your budget is non-negotiable.

A good agency will be upfront about the capabilities and or limitations of your budget and direct you on the best overall strategy to deliver the best value outcome within your budget.

4. Define your agency criteria

Start off by identifying what the most important characteristics are for the agency implementing your redesign. For example, if you are a B2B company, your agency should have solid B2B experience. What else is important? High-end design? Lead generation? E-commerce? Is there a technology integration that’s absolutely necessary to be used on this project? Are you looking for an agency with industry expertise?

5. Research and select your favourites

Collectively, you and your team should search for firms matching your criteria. Take a look at their sites, reviews, and the work they’ve done. Based on this search, select your top six. Reach out to them via phone, contact form on their site, or email.

6. Talk to them

If they respond to your inquiry, schedule a call. The response and the timing of the response will be very telling in itself. How long did it take to get back to you (if they got back to you at all)? If only a few agencies get back to you, you can either reach out to more or just proceed with those who responded.

Have a call with each of them – no longer than 20-25 minutes each. Explain the high-level details of the project. Ask them a few questions. This should give you a sense of the firm and whether or not they have the capabilities you require.

7. The company culture and its people

Consider the agency’s culture and team, are these people you can work with? From their conversation, you can get an idea of how they handle their clients and how well they care about the success of your business.

Ask about the agencies vision, is this something that compliments your business. For example, if you are looking for an experienced and trusted marketing partner you might not want a new start-up lacking breadth of industry experience.

8. Meet with the top 3

It’s best to schedule all agency meetings in the same day or as close to one another as possible. This allows for easier comparison between each firm at the end of the day.

Prove to each firm that you’ve done your homework. Check their websites, reviews, and past work. Formulate questions specific to each firm to see how they can bring value to your business.

The meeting itself should be conversational. Both you and the firm should ask questions, but it should be all about you – your website needs and aspirations. Make sure you have good chemistry and that their emotional intelligence, experience, and technical abilities fit well with your company.

8. Pull the trigger

At this point, you know what to do and who the right choice is for you. There’s nothing stopping you from getting the ball rolling on this redesign and it’s time to get started.

Simple, right? well, our guide is just a scratch on the surface, but it should get you started in the process of finding the best digital agency for your website redesign.

Conclusion

Either way you look at it, this will be a time consuming process. But one thing we know for sure: putting the time in early will result in a more successful redesign and it will be well worth it in the end.

Our experience has shown us that so much more is involved than just a competitive price. Having a clear vision of what you need is important plus the flexibility to determine what is essential within your budget. Look beyond price to find an agency that produce excellent work in the areas you need plus has a vision and culture that fit with your business.