Choosing a web designer for your business
Zeus Digital Agency is a boutique digital agency that serves Southeast Florida with professional web design, SEO auditing and speed optimization. So you’re considering a new website for your small business. In 2023 especially, that is an important decision. Your small business website is your digital business card, billboard and reputation.
Considering that 9/10 prospective buyers, clients and customers look your business before up you will ever shake their hand, offer them a seat at your restaurant or a room at your hotel. Today we are not looking for a basic list on how to hire a website website designer. Instead we are looking to apply a very local approach to our hometown of Port St Lucie, FL. Based on over 256k search queries we can see that most frequently the first question business owners ask is how much does a website cost? Do I need a website designer? Building a website from scratch. These are fundamental questions and very important. Here are 5 things to consider when hiring a website designer for your local business in Port St Lucie, FL.
#1 Experience... This comes in many forms although what you are looking for is a company or individual that has experience building something similar to what you are looking for. If you need a website, marketing or re-design for your clothing boutique, seafood restaurant or auto detailing company make sure when you are speaking to your developer that they have built something similar, meaning they are understanding and open minded to the needs of your local business, not just any business. Each business is unique and requires a specified strategy to help you show up to your customers is Port St Lucie. While specific experience is needed, broad reach can’t be overlooked. When you are working with a website designer that has performed at the national level, that is extremely valuable in addition. This second type of experience usually means they have managed large advertising accounts and built websites that need to handle lots of traffic. They can take these hard earned lessons and apply them to the construction of your new website.
“9/10 prospective buyers, clients and customers will look your business up before calling or stopping by.”
#2 Locality... Hiring a developer local to Port St Lucie accomplishes a few things. One being the level of support, this will be a member of your community that knows and does business in the same area you do. Another reason being quicker response time. Scammers love to hide behind email addresses so when you have questions like how much does a new website cost? Or need updates or have support inquiries you want them answered by a real person now. If they won’t get on the phone with you or don’t instill confidence that they are local talent, move on. Another reason we know the importance of local web designers is that when you look across many states and cities search results, we can see that not everything works everywhere. What drives traffic in St Lucie county may not, up in Jacksonville.
#3 Reviews... When you search for a web designer near me, search engines are more than happy to show you a litany of "results". Although you are not really any closer to a new partner in your business growth just by seeing a random list of names, so you, being a precocious business owner, dive a little deeper and read the company's reviews. Which are important, even though only 3% of customers leave reviews. Why? Because it shows you the company's most passionate customers, good or bad and that can paint a really vivid picture of who you are going into business with. When you search Zeus Digital Agency you can see not only our 5 star reviews but our written reviews. These are particularly impactful for a company because it shows a client took time out of their day to let the public know how satisfied they are with the result.
#4 Personality... This may sound odd but is a frequently overlooked aspect of new partnerships. Look at it this way, this is a person you are going into business with. They should be intimately invested in the success of your business and you should trust their creative and analytical guidance. How to know if your web designer is a personality match? With a good design agency you will have long-winded discussions about your goals, current efforts and vision for your business, during this time pay attention to the detail and attention they pay to your input. Furthermore you should be comfortable asking all your questions, only unqualified talent will overlook or show lack of respect for your curiosity.
#5 Cost... this one may seem pretty obvious but we will speak to both sides of this subject, for example your website is a big investment because it represents your business and your clientele. It is the only employee you will ever hire that never sleeps and is ready for work 24/7 365 and never takes a sick day or shows up late. In 2023 and beyond, it will only grow as the main source of revenue and leads for your company. That being said, it is still a product that can be assigned a general value. Although just like any item, the company that makes it 100% dictates what it is worth based on build quality, performance and reliability. What you will notice is across many quotes there will be an average cost for your project within a 15-20% margin, if someone is offering you their service 40-60% lower than others there is a reason. Many ethically flexible developers and designers will outsource their work to unqualified networks of international workers. On the flip side, if someone is quoting you 40% higher than everyone else, it could be because they are incredible at their craft or because they are trying to justify the bloated overhead of their business costs. Last but not least, clarity of costs. Someone who has been in the business should be pretty adept at what certain things are going to run you. Keep these things in mind, and if you have any questions call us. Your local web design and performance experts Zeus Digital Agency