A web design agency specializes in designing and creating websites that represent your brand with quality design and compelling content, while implementing SEO best practices, for maximum results. We do this by guiding you through our proven web design process. A website is a digital representation of your business that serves as the hub for your marketing. Often, your website is the first place that potential customers are exposed to your services and expertise, so a professional first impression is invaluable.
There is so much confusion around best practices in the digital world, and trying to learn it all at once, while testing each tactic for effectiveness, costs precious time. KWSM has helped thousands of businesses build and maintain professional websites designed with their specific goals in mind.
Why Should I Work With a Web Design Agency?
The online world is always changing, and potential customers make judgments about businesses within milliseconds based on what they see online. You do not have to waste time and resources looking for the best way to establish an engaging online presence when a web design agency can build you a quality website designed by professionals in the web design industry who have done this many times.
A good web design agency will take a strategic approach to your website. A beautiful design must be paired with an effective digital marketing strategy so that your website not only looks modern and compelling but also gets results for your business.
With a web design agency, you benefit from the expertise and experience of an in-house team that values your business like it is their own and makes sure that your website’s first impression to potential customers is engaging and contributes to a positive user experience.
What Should I Look For in a Good Web Design Agency?
You should not have to wonder if your business is in good hands when you begin working with a web design agency, but how do you know which agencies are the best?
A web design agency should have a positive reputation that speaks for them with years of industry experience and a roster of happy clients. Here are a few key ways you can figure out which web design agency is right for you:
- Read case studies from previous clients, like this web design case study from KWSM, to get an idea of what it is like working with an agency.
- Look for a team with a culture compatible with yours, who shares your core values, and who can consistently deliver the services your business needs to get the best results while accommodating your budget.
Expertise, clear communication, and collaboration are all important factors when thinking about why to partner with a web design agency.
What Design Services Does a Professional Web Design Agency Provide?
A professional web design agency provides more than a beautiful design. Here are a few additional services an agency can provide that give your website a headstart online:
User Experience
A beautiful website that confuses a potential customer is counterproductive. Your website layout should be intentionally designed to be as clear and simple to website visitors as possible to increase the amount of time a visitor spends on your website and contribute to a positive user experience.
Front-End & Backend Development
Your website should be custom-built to be mobile responsive and function well regardless of which device a visitor uses to view it. Your agency should understand why mobile design matters.
Search Engine Optimization
After strategic keyword research, your website layout, design, and content should be optimized to attract more visitors through better search result rankings.
E-Commerce Development
If needed, your website can include e-commerce integrations with online stores that create a simple checkout experience for your potential customers.
Website Maintenance & Support
Making updates to your website, monitoring website security, and solving any technical issues are essential parts of keeping your website up-to-date and secure.
Website Hosting
Web design agencies monitor and adjust your website’s hosting provider as needed to make sure it can accommodate the space and traffic demands of your website.
Website Analytics & Reporting
Data like user behavior, acquisition, conversions, and more should be tracked and reported consistently with Google Analytics 4. This way you are always in the loop about your website’s performance. Tactics can be adjusted according to the data found to further meet your goals.
How Does the Website Design Process Work?
There are seven key steps in the website design process. A good website design agency will partner with you every step of the way:
1. Discovery
The team reviews your goals and does market research and competitor analysis. This ensures the foundation for your website is grounded in a data-driven strategy and your business objectives.
2. Planning
The web design team outlines the new website’s structure, the hierarchy of pages, the navigation, and the general layout of the pages. This is communicated verbally and visually in wireframe format.
3. Designing
The wireframe of the website’s initial layout gets some upgrades. Colors, fonts, graphics, images, and copy all come together to complement one another and clearly communicate with your target audience. Factors like mobile responsiveness, strong user experience, improved visitor accessibility, and conversion best practices all influence the design.
4. Development
Your website goes from being just a design to a fully functioning website. The team will use a content management system (CMS) so your website can easily adapt as your business grows. This also integrates any custom elements your business requires like customer relationship management (CRM) tools, e-commerce functionality, etc. complete with mobile responsiveness and SEO optimizations.
5. Testing
The team implements user feedback and tests all functionality so that the final product is bug-free.
6. Launch
After final review, your new website becomes accessible to the public (cue the celebration)
7. Maintenance
Your website is closely monitored to keep software up to date, analyze security scans, and track website performance. Content updates are implemented as needed so your website stays up-to-date and relevant.
What Makes a Well-Designed Website?
Professionally designed websites do not just look nice, although that is important. They also get results. Here are a few factors that contribute to a well-designed website:
Smooth User Experience
A website designed without the website visitor in mind is off to a rough start. A visitor will leave the website in a matter of seconds if the website is confusing. Well-designed websites do not frustrate their visitors or overwhelm them with too much information in the wrong order.
Instead, professionally designed websites consider user behavior to determine how elements on a website are displayed. This way visitors are quickly guided to the information they want most.
Mobile-First Design
These days, more people are viewing websites from their mobile devices rather than on traditional desktop computers. If a website that looks great on a desktop does not translate well to a mobile device, it creates a negative user experience.
Well-designed websites have mobile visitors in mind first. The design comes together so that both the desktop and mobile versions contribute to a positive user experience.
Consistent Brand Messaging
Brand recognition contributes to the overall domain authority of your website, which in turn improves search engine rankings. Your website is the perfect place to clearly explain to your target audience how you can solve their problem. The more consistently your brand is associated with that solution, the stronger your web presence will be.
Search Engine Optimization
How your website ranks (or doesn’t) in search engine results drastically affects your website’s ability to get results. Well-designed websites involve strategic optimization tactics from the beginning of the web design process. These strategies continue even after the website launches for maximum reach and performance.
How to Ensure SEO is a Priority in your Web Design:
- Keyword-rich titles and descriptions: Each page on your website should be optimized for the keywords chosen through SEO research.
- Clean code: Your website will perform better when the code used to develop it is simple and concise. This leads to faster page loading times for a positive user experience.
- Optimized images: Page load time is dependent on the size of the page and the elements that have to load. Images that are optimized for the web, rather than the default size of image files, improve page performance.
- Relevant anchor text: Even when your website includes links to other websites, you can still optimize link text in a way that helps a search engine associate your website with certain keywords and subject matter authority.
“Every website needs to consider how it will gain traffic from search engines. Also, how users will be guided to act once they land on the site. Without SEO at the forefront, people won’t ever find your website. Design and copy guided by SEO research will place your website in front of the right people.”
– Matt Enser, Website & SEO Specialist, KWSM
Case Study: Website Redesign for Lead Generation
The KWSM team recently helped a business in the solar industry redesign its website to increase conversions.
After redesigning the website we began to see improvements in their conversion rate in only 30 days.
Get the details about the website redesign results we were able to achieve.
Final Factors: What Else To Consider When Working With a Web Design Agency
A good web design agency will not create a one-size-fits-all static website. Your website should be built for your current business goals while leaving space for your future goals as well.
Your website should grow with you
In an online world that is constantly evolving, partnering with a web design agency that monitors changes in the marketing industry and keeps your website relevant and aligned with your business goals is essential.
Your website should come with a marketing plan
Once you have a beautiful new website, the growth does not have to stop there. A web design agency can design marketing campaigns as another way to help get your website in front of the right audience, improve lead generation, and increase sales.
Why Choose a Full-Service Web Design and Digital Marketing Agency?
Businesses needing a comprehensive digital marketing strategy can gain an invaluable resource with a full-service digital marketing agency.
- An entire marketing team is on your side and invested in helping your business thrive
- A team of diverse specialists in the digital marketing industry brings years of experience and recommendations to the table.
- Your website can seamlessly integrate with digital marketing campaigns for cohesive messaging and maximum performance
- You can bundle multiple marketing services together for a more cost-effective marketing option
Your website can be modern, compelling, accessible, cost-effective, and get results. A web design agency encompasses all those elements in your website and puts an experienced team of professionals on your side through every stage of the website design process and beyond.
