Are you interested in web design in Fort Collins? So are a lot of other people. With a glut of designers graduating each semester from CSU, there are a variety of options you have when choosing a web designer in Fort Collins. Would you believe there are more than 80 companies right here in Northern Colorado that do web design? That’s a lot of choices. So how do you choose the right one? After all, with that many choices, there has to be some way to determine which of the 80 is the best and which one is the worst. To assist with your decision, let’s take a look at a couple factors that you may want to consider before hiring a web designer in Fort Collins.
Experience:
Ask them if they have experience working with clients in your industry. While this isn’t always critical, it can be an indication of whether or not they understand your types of problems and more importantly, your clients issues.
How long have they been in business? Sure, you might find a dynamite kid right out of college. But from experience, and I’ve interviewed a lot of them over the years, they understand great design and have spent four years learning how to make beautiful works of art, but the missing piece of the puzzle is how to create an effective site and market it properly. That only comes with experience. Trial and error is what experience is made of. You don’t want your business to be some newbie’s first guinea pig.
Another reason why the number of years in business is important is because more than 98% of small businesses fail in the first 10 years. You don’t want to have a site that’s developed by a business that’s gone tomorrow. You may find yourself wondering how you can access your site if you web developer closes his doors unexpectedly. And worse yet, you could lose your whole investment if the files aren’t backed up.
SIDE NOTE:
Recently we received a call from a gentleman who was freaking out. His web development company had finally thrown in the towel and closed their doors. They gave their clients 24 hours notice. They let all of their clients know that they would no longer be supporting their sites and that all of the their sites would be shut down in 2 weeks. So we were approached by this frantic business owner asking us for help. He didn’t know what to do. His whole business depended on his site. If the site went down, he’d be forced to close his doors too. Unfortunately, the switch was a massive job which wound up costing more than $2000 in time. And that’s just one example of their many clients who were left high and dry. So be sure you know how stable your web development company is before you become entangled with someone who may not be there when you need them.
Another important aspect of experience is how much experience your potential web design company has with promoting sites on Google. If you’re just looking for an online brochure to promote your business in Fort Collins, then maybe you’re not as interested in Google. But if you’re like most companies in Fort Collins, you’ve recognized the power of the web and you know that effective web design is going to be critical to the success of your business. If you’re not found on the first page of Google for your most popular phrases, you might as well not waste your money on a new site. It’s that simple. Google can be the difference between success and failure. But it’s not just about getting business here in Fort Collins. With the web, there’s nothing stopping you from getting business from around the globe. If your site is ranked at the top of Google, it’s like having a full page ad in every phone book in the world. That’s crazy to even think about it. The possibilities are limitless. Some of you are struggling to pay for your local phone book ads and you’re thinking about pulling out as soon as your contract ends. But imagine if you could suddenly be listed in every book. What would that mean for your business?
If you choose the wrong web designer in Fort Collins, you may find yourself in the same position you’re in right now. You may find that the money you spend on your site is a waste if your site is lost in cyberspace. In fact, did you know that 96% of the Internet has never even been read yet? That means that 96% of all the money spent on web design might as well be burned. That’s about a billion pages that are lost in cyberspace, designed by inexperienced web designers who have little understanding of what it takes to design a website that’s found, a website that’s in the coveted 4% of pages that are read by the public. Luckily, you found this page, which isn’t lost in cyberspace and you’re now armed with some questions to ask before you hire a web designer in Fort Collins. Want to fire some tough questions at us? Give us a call today at 674-0079. We’ll even tell you who the other 80 companies are so you can do your homework.