Looking for web design Southport? Don’t get me wrong… when it comes to choosing a web designer for your business in Southport, the choices are pretty much limitless. Search for web design on Google and you get over 10 billion results.
Search for web design Southport and you’re faced with over 5.5 million.
There is a vast range of providers out there, from the free providers for those who feel that they are happy to design their own site, to massive corporate companies providing websites for tens if not hundreds of thousands of pounds.
So how do you choose the one that’s right for you?
It’s a question I am often asked…
The first thing I also say to people is, set a budget that you want to spend and stick to it. Website developers can easily run up the cost of your web build by adding bells and whistles to your site that you don’t need or are irrelevant to your industry or product.
Be realistic with your budget. If you’re starting a new business, especially a local business and not selling online, the chances are you won’t need anything massively complicated. It could well be that your site can be as simple as 3 – 5 pages in total. But if you’re selling online, and have a huge range of products with lots of variations, then your budget needs to be larger and you’re going to need to spend more time with your designer.
The second recommendation I have is speak to your designer. Your website is going to be the “face” of your business when people find you online – therefore it often helps if your designer understands more about you and your business. If your business is just you, or a family business than that could be an essential part of your “story” and how you want to be portrayed online. Without that knowledge, your designer will just go off and design a site that they think is perfect for you – but in reality, it may be completely wrong for you.
My third recommendation is to remember that this website is going to be YOUR website, not your designers. Not happy with the design? Then tell the designer, and give them some guidance on what it is you’re after. Want to know more about how to find out what you want, then check out my fourth recommendation below.
Remember, you’re spending your hard earned money to build this site and therefore you should have it how you want it. There may be elements which your designer has control over, especially in ecommerce sites as well as technical aspects of the design. But the look and feel of the site has to be something you’re happy with.
The fourth recommendation is that you do your own research. Look at your competition and see what they are doing. Is there something specifically on one of their websites that you like? Then make a note and tell your designer.
My next recommendation is that you have to realistic with your goals and expectations. Unless you are in a niche market, chances are it may take many months before you start getting traffic to your site and start winning business. Getting websites ranking takes time, so don’t expect the phone to be ringing off the hook the day it goes live!
When choosing a developer, ask them to give you examples of sites they have created. A good developer will have a portfolio of sites as well as contacts in those businesses who would be willing to talk to you about their experiences in working with them.
My final recommendation is that you understand the importance of local and online marketing, especially SEO in Southport. No longer is it possible to just create a website and expect it to rank #1 on Google in the first week. When you’re competing with tens, hundreds or thousands of competitors online, chances are they are marketing and advertising their website through onsite and offsite SEO. Create some budget and talk to your designer about offering SEO service to help improve your rankings and monitoring the performance of your website.
At Dream Web Design, I provide website development from as little as £199 – and that includes website hosting for the first year as well as SSL certificate. I offer competitively priced SEO to help get your website and business found online, can help with your social media presence and also with your local search through Google My Business.
Based in Churchtown, I know Southport and the local area well… and can make a real difference to your business, increasing your digital visibility and help you find new customers.
To find out more, give me a call today on 07968 129060 or drop me an email from my contact page.
