We care about everyone - not just the people who buy website design services from 5 Shades Media. This article will give you some advice on how to select a website design firm that will take care of your company, the way you deserve to be treated.

Portfolio

Naturally, this is very important. A website design firm needs to show off their goods, and that means they need to have past clients and other finished projects they can show off.

Some website design clients will insist that their contract be confidential, which means that not every client will allow their website to go into the design firm's portfolio. That's normal and a natural part of the business world.

However, for every 10 projects, it's been our experience that at least 2 or 3 will request that their project go into our portfolio! That's a free link to their website, after all. If a website design firm says they've serviced hundreds of clients and can't even show you 12 examples, that could be a warning sign.

Testimonials

Alongside the portfolio which proves they have the skill, should come testimonials which prove they satisfy their clients. Read the testimonials and consider verifying them with your own research. Is the company still in business? Does the testimonial bear the name of a real executive at that company?

Watch out for canned testimonials, too. Some unscrupulous web design firms will write them and ask for a "thumbs up" from the client, who only approves the canned testimonial in order to be polite. It's easy to tell the difference.

Responsiveness

A good website design firm is always going to take the time to answer your questions and provide good customer service responses.

Some might shy away from phone or fax communications, preferring email only. Honestly, that's not a big deal, since written communications are key for hammering down the details of important business deals. Handling communications via email can free up the designer's time to serve their customers.

Getting a professionally-designed business website is certainly every bit as important as a brick-and-mortar storefront. The bottom line - a web design firm must be responsive, and must address your questions and requests directly.

Any web designer who's dodging your questions and keeping you on hold for days at a time, is a risk. They're either outsourcing - which might mean they don't actually do any web design in house - or they're overbooking.

Their Own Website!

Any web design firm worth their salt, will have a beautiful website. You wouldn't believe how many web design firms we've seen on job boards, asking for a web designer to create a website for them! Yes, we're serious!

And, there are many web design firms with bland, or even horrible-looking websites. It's obvious, but since so many so-called "professional" web designers can't get it right, it certainly bears mentioning.

It's not as if we're talking about a brain surgeon who's never done brain surgery on themselves before.

In Conclusion

Choose a website design firm that gives you all the proper indications of a provider that wants to keep your business for the long term.

Avoid the warning signs of a fly-by-night design firm that triggers negative intuition. There are too many competing web design firms out there, for you to risk your company's project!