Whether you’re a startup or an established veteran small business in your industry, one thing is certain:
Your website has got to fire on all cylinders.
Think about it. Your website is the first point of contact for most of your customers and that very first impression it makes on them could decide whether or not they choose to continue engaging with your brand.
Those are some high stakes, no?
So, to ensure that your website is at the top of its game, it’s essential that you get a professional web design service to design, create, and maintain it for you.
But with so many choices out there, how is a small business like yours supposed to find the right web design provider for your needs?
We hear your cry, small business owners, and we’re here to help.
Today’s blog is all about the essential features to look for in a web design service for your small business to find the perfect fit that meets your unique needs and helps your website stand out in a competitive market!
The Importance of Choosing the Right Web Design Service
So, why is your small business’s web design provider so important, anyway? Don’t they all offer the same services?
Not quite. While, yes, there are plenty of companies who can quickly build you a website that functions okay, that’s not going to be enough to help you stand out and make the first impressions you need to make.
A truly exceptional web design service can give you more than just an online presence, it can transform your website into a powerful tool that helps you attract more customers and reach your goals
Here are a few reasons why choosing the right web design service matters so much:
- First Impressions Matter — As we mentioned before, your website is usually the first interaction your potential customers have with your business. A professional and visually pleasing website can create a positive first impression and start building trust with your audience right away.
- Better User Experience — A good web design service is all about user experience. A pro will make sure that your website is easy to navigate, fast, and responsive. A user-friendly, fast, and responsive website will lead to higher customer satisfaction and increased engagement.
- SEO and Online Visibility — The right web design service will keep SEO best practices in mind when designing your website, helping you rank higher in search engine results and attract more organic traffic.
- Brand Consistency — Consistent branding across your website and any other digital channels you’re active on helps to establish your brand identity and makes your business more recognizable.
- Long-Term Growth — A well-designed website can adapt and scale as your business grows. The right web design service will build a scalable site that supports your long-term goals and can handle future growth.
11 Essential Features of Web Design Services for Small Businesses
So, because your web design is such a mission-critical aspect of your business, it’s imperative that you choose the right web design service to bring it to life!
Without further ado, here is a list of the 11 most essential features you need to look for in your next web design service provider.
1. A Diverse and Impressive Portfolio
While a brand-new web design service could definitely be capable of doing a fine job, you want to trust your business’s web design to an expert who has plenty of experience with your industry and the specific features you’re looking for in a website.
By checking out the portfolios of different web design service providers, you can get a good feel for their level of quality, experience, and versatility, as well as their ability to handle different styles, interactive elements, and industry requirements.
Choose the one that best aligns with your industry and what you’re looking for in a website!
2. Customization Options
Their portfolio might also give you a good idea of what your customization options might be if you became one of their clients.
Do all the websites look the same? As if they’re all made from the same generic template without much variation in style or layout?
Or are all of the entries unique, tailored to each client's brand and industry?
It helps to have a chat with a representative as well, to make sure that you’ll receive a website that truly stands out, caters to your specific business needs, and differentiates you from your competitors.
3. Expertise in Responsive Design
Just a few years ago, websites were something you looked at while sitting at a desktop computer.
These days, you can access the internet from just about any device from smartphones to tablets to smart TVs. Because of this, it’s absolutely crucial that the web design service for your small business be experts in responsive design.
Having a responsive website will make sure that your site looks great and functions perfectly across any device that your target audience might be using, for a consistent and user-friendly experience for everyone.
4. Strong Security Measures
We’ll just say it: nobody has the time and energy to put up with being hacked.
Especially for those who deal with a great deal of sensitive data like marketers, healthcare brands, financial businesses, eCommerce stores, and educational institutions. It’s dangerous, it’s embarrassing, and it’s bad news for your image.
That’s why you want a web design service that prioritizes strong security measures. This will protect your website from any potential threats like data breaches, malware, hackers, and more.
Look for web design services that will use SSL certificates, regular security audits, secure coding practices, and data encryption to keep your data secure and make sure your customers know their information is safe in your hands.
5. Knowledge of SEO
There’s no point in having a beautiful and responsive website if no one can see it!
For this reason, you’ll need the web design service you choose to be knowledgeable about the latest in SEO. A good web design provider will know how to integrate SEO best practices like alt text, backlinks, metadata, keywords, graphics, and more into your site to make sure that it ranks well on search engines and drives more organic traffic to your business.
6. A Focus on User Experience (UX)
When you’re looking for a web design service for your small business, it’s crucial to pick one that’s going to emphasize user experience (UX) above all.
This is because prioritizing UX means in your website design will make sure that your site will be user-friendly, easy to navigate for visitors to find the products and services they’re looking for, and functioning properly to keep your potential customers engaged, happy, and taking the desired actions you want them to take!
7. Clear and Transparent Pricing
As you’re researching web design services online, take a look at their pricing page.
Is there one?
Are they clear and transparent about their pricing? Have a chat to make sure before you sign anything. A good web design service will be upfront and honest about their pricing for services offered, whether it’s project-based or monthly, and won’t surprise you with last-minute fees or unexpected charges.
Knowing what to expect will give you peace of mind and make your monthly budget more predictable.
8. Ongoing Support and Maintenance
Do you have a web design expert on your team?
If not, you need a web design service that can not only create your website but help you maintain it and promptly address any issues that pop up.
Look for a service provider that offers ongoing support to make sure that your website is designed according to the latest design trends, stays up-to-date, and functions flawlessly.
9. Positive Client Reviews and Testimonials
You’ll need to do some digging here, but it’s worth it to know what you’re getting into!
Does the web design service provider you’re looking at have good client reviews and testimonials on their website? And not just on their website but on places like Google Business, social media, industry forums, and review sites like Yelp and Trustpilot?
Check multiple sources while you research so you can get a good understanding of a provider, especially their:
- Reputation — Overall standing in the industry, reflecting trustworthiness and reliability.
- Customer Satisfaction — The degree to which clients are happy with the services provided.
- Quality of Services — The standard of work delivered, including design, functionality, and performance.
- Communication — How effectively the provider communicates with clients during the project.
- Transparency — Clarity and honesty about processes, pricing, and timelines.
- Responsiveness — How quickly they get back to their clients about questions or issues.
10. Good Communication
If you’re going to partner with a web design company, then you’re going to have to make sure they can communicate.
Effective communication means keeping you informed throughout the design process, getting back to you with any questions you’ve asked, and being able to do so in fluent English (or your preferred language) to avoid any miscommunication.
A service provider with good communication skills will make the process smoother, implement any feedback more effectively, and bring your vision to life in the way you want.
11. Strong Project Management
Strong project management means a special someone who manages your account and makes sure your projects are completed on time, on budget, and up to your standards.
And while there are some companies with excellent graphic designers and web designers who you might have to work with one-on-one to achieve your results, if you really want the best out of your partnership, stick to one that provides project management.
This will make sure that you have someone in charge who can support you, handle the small details that you’re too busy to handle, and give you a better, more high-quality website for your small business’s online presence.
<div class="c-blog_comp-cta cc-component-1"><div class="c-blog_comp-cta-left"><div class="c-blog_comp-cta-left-wrap"><img src="https://global-uploads.webflow.com/61cdf3c5e0b8155f19e0105b/6369722e59155470b6840033_Potential-clients.png" loading="lazy" alt="" class="c-blog_comp-cta-left-img"></div></div><div class="c-blog_comp-cta-right"><div class="c-blog_comp-content"><div class="c-text-wrapper cc-mb-32"><div class="c-title-4 cc-bold"><strong>Want to save money without sacrificing the quality?</strong></div></div><div class="c-text-wrapper"><div class="c-text-2">Say goodbye to traditional, expensive agencies and unreliable marketplaces. Say hello to Designity.<br></div></div></div><div class="c-blog_comp-wrapper"><a href="/pricing" target="_blank" class="c-button cc-primary cc-inverted w-button"><strong>Get Your 2-Week Trial</strong></a></div></div></div>
Did We Just Become Best Friends?
If you’re looking for a web design service for small businesses that checks all of those boxes and so many more, you might be expecting to be sitting at your computer or phone for hours, doing endless amounts of research, and comparing your options.
But … perhaps we can end your search right now.
Because Designity is made up of the top 3% of all of the extremely talented creatives that apply each year, meaning the web designers, UX/UI designers, and developers in our creative community are the best of the best in their respective fields and more than ready to give you the website of your dreams.
Designity offers all 11 of the essential features listed above and all at a flat, subscription-based price that won’t blow your budget. Our Creative Directors are ready to meet with you, hear about your brand and your goals, assemble the perfect top-notch team, and take charge to bring your new website to life
Take a look at some examples from our web design project portfolio, as well as our website design and coding services pages to see how Designity has been able to create and elevate websites for brands just like yours.
And when you’re ready, click here to book your demo call so we can get you started with a two-week, no-obligation trial to test drive our web design services for yourself and see firsthand how Designity can meet and exceed all of your web design needs.
Is your small business ready to have the website of your dreams?
