A website agency is a business you outsource your website design and development needs to. Typically website agencies can assist with more than just the build of your website, they can also advise on digital marketing.
When approaching a website design agency, or a website development agency, you may have a lot of worry and fear that you could get confused about all of the potential that could arise. Who knows how much work is involved? Or whether or not you know you can trust they are doing the best by you?
There is a lot of technical mumbo jumbo that gets thrown around, and it’s vitally important that you, as someone who is looking to build a website, can keep up with what needs to be done when you engage with a web agency.
Let’s look into what you might need, and how you can operate effectively with a professional website design agency, to get you the website your business needs.
What your website needs.
There are a number of elements required to get your website not only looking good on the surface, but working well on the backend.
To start, let’s break down some essential parts of websites that you should definitely know about.
Website Hosting
Web hosting is a service that allows people or businesses to post a website on the internet.
All websites need web hosting.
It provides a secure place to put all of your online content, code, images, videos and text. Without a web hosting provider, you could not consistently access content online.
allows you to store most of your content offsite. This reduces the need for local storage.
Doing so makes it easier to build a good online presence, and hosting has advantages like back up information, additional security for your site, and support services.
Sometimes web hosting can be local, on PCs or local servers, but cloud-based third party providers are the most frequently used.
Domain Registration
A domain name is basically your website address. An example of a domain name would be ‘castlejackson.com.au’. – This is commonly known as a URL or website address.
Many domains typically end in ‘.com’ OR ‘.com.au’, but there are many different variations like, ‘.biz’, ‘.org’, or ‘.agency’.
When you register your domain with a third party host like GoDaddy, they will be your domain host.
What this means is that your website will be hosted on the internet through your web host, and your domain will connect people easily to the content, images, and text under a name that is easily identifiable like
Website Design
Design is a pretty difficult subject to unpack. There are literally layers upon layers of design thinking that informs a website’s look and feel. These are at the base level about the User’s interface, all the way up to a design the is focused purely on a human perspective, also known as ‘human centred design’.
Having said all of that, there are really important things from a business owner’s standpoint that can inform design and layouts really easily.
Say you are a cafe owner, and you have a catering side to your business.
The most important elements to make it easy and accessible to your users would be a communication of both your catering services, and your cafe information, like location, menu, and bookings.
Having these intended uses ready to provide to your website agency will help them, and you understand what expectations are for your website,
2. Having Any Branding Guidelines.
Having guidelines available to pass on is immensely helpful to inform the design of your website.
Getting your business logo, any hex codes for primary and secondary colours, and any specific typography together assists greatly in the look and feel your website presents to the world.
As an added bonus, making sure that your branding guidelines match across your website and within your physical business helps to build a stronger branding identity. This means that anyone who engages with your physical business, and your online presence will better identify and connect with your business.
3. Define Success.
From a design aspect, it is important to be able to set out your definition of success for your website so that you and your account manager are on the same page.
Defining success allows for you and the web agency to align on the objectives and goals you want to achieve in the time you work together. For instance, by understanding what a successful website looks like, it allows you and the agency to set some milestones.
This can involve creating a website that has ease of access to vital information. After this vital information is accessible, making sure it is easy to take action by having nearby buttons that link to your phone number or your email is key.
Perhaps your definition of success is an increase in the clicks you get on those buttons, meaning you get an increased amount of conversions. Having this idea around growth can inform your agency to set up your website with SEO (Search engine Optimisation) or Google Ads in mind.
4. Know your Audience.
Knowing your audience is about having a general idea of who your ideal customer/client is.
The easiest way to do this is by creating audience personas. Personas are general information about the demographic, and habits your audiences might fall within.
There can be a handful of personas that you cater for. Anywhere between 2-4 is a good start.
Things that will help you cater to these audiences include, a solid understanding of your competitors, a strong understanding of your points of difference, and an emphasis on your key selling points, which are the main parts you should focus on when it comes to information about your business online.
Why Work With a Web Agency
Websites are a business’s best friend. More often than not, local advertising, and word of mouth is helpful, and sometimes, depending on the business, all you might need.
However, in 2022, a website is a must for most. So the question becomes, who will build it?
Web agencies offer reasonable pricing, ongoing support, and a service experience that can encourage a relaxing mentality to any tech related issues that come up for you.
The stress of learning how to develop, design, and market a website can be handled well by these agencies, and you can rest easy knowing that your support systems are there to help you when an inevitable tech problem comes up.
The time and money you save when working with a web agency can make itself back quite effectively in the number of conversions this new avenue of exposure provides to your business.
If you want to learn more about affordable and helpful , hit the contact button below to talk to us today.
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