Websites are products that seem to have a strong variance in price and quality, and not necessarily as a function of each other. If you’re on a budget and are looking for a website that will give you what you need, finding the right web agency to design your site is important. You should begin by consulting any agencies you may be considering and making sure that they are willing to agree to these four basic requests:

To provide an initial overview of the expected work.
The construction of a website can be like a moving target if you don’t clearly communicate and define what you’re looking for in a potential agency. To ensure that they give you a quote that’s relevant to the work you’re looking to have done, ask the agency you’re thinking about going with if they would agree to give you a written document that details what is expected to be in the finished product. The document should have enough detail in it that you feel confident the developer understands what it is you’re looking for and can competently execute it.

To provide a statement document defining the workings of your site.
Any agencies that are actually interested in having your business should be willing to agree to give you a more in-depth assessment of the scope of work, which will serve to explain—in basic terms, not technical jargon—how each of the various sections of your site will function. For example, they will explain how customers will log into the website and how, when they create an account, what the process of approval is, whether by administrator approval or by automatic acceptance.

To provide a specific, monetized timeline for the development and completion of your site.
Any potential agencies should also be willing to give you a commitment to a specific timeline for when your website will be completed. Every stage of development should be accompanied by a specific completion date and cost, which will make sure that the assignment stays within the time constraints and the developer is compensated in accordance with their output. The agency you work with might have a predetermined response deadline for your input, which will show that on-time development is a priority, and some form of discount or compensation should be offered if the project goes past a deadline without any reason or notice. If the agency isn’t willing to set up a timeline similar to this or won’t agree to accept financial penalties for a lack of progress, you should just end the conversation and search elsewhere.

To provide an outline of how your site was built, and provide a list of what tools were used.
When you’re paying for a website, you’re paying for the keys to its function, not just a working site. Before committing to any deals with an agency, be sure that the developer who will be doing the work is willing to give you all of the usernames, passwords, scripts, tools and anything else that was pertinent to the development of your site once it’s completed. By having these tools, the site becomes entirely yours, allowing you the luxury of being able to manage and change it in any ways that you wish or need to, regardless of whether or not you use an internal webmaster or go with a different developer.

A lot of headaches and wasted money can be avoided by simply doing a bit of research, knowing what you want from your site and asking the right question. If you make these topics the first things you discuss with any potential partners, you can be confident that you’re going to pay an appropriate amount of money for a site that will do what it is you need it to.

I would love to work with you, contact me anytime if you have any questions!