Traditional Web Design Agencies are a Dying Breed – Here’s Why
Knowing that web design isn’t your thing, you hired a traditional web design agency to build your new website.
You’ve been promised quick launch dates, great website performance, and so much more — all for one hefty, upfront cost.
It’s now well past the launch date. Your website went up late. It isn’t performing as well as it should. To top it off, the design agency hasn’t even made any of the changes you requested. And your attention is now being pulled away from your real job.
In a word, the web design agency you hired failed.
So, why aren’t traditional web design agencies able to keep up?
It’s simple. The future of marketing is here. And it’s no longer about who can create the best visual design. Web design and digital marketing are now about marrying strategic services with intuitive design.
Get to Know Your Brand
Each client is unique. Consequently, so are their goals.
It’s the design agencies job to help the client establish these goals. Not asking the right questions can result in an endless cycle of website changes, frustration, and ultimately a website that doesn’t do what you want it to.
Successful web design agencies ask the right questions.
They establish the story of your brand and your target audience. In doing so, they collect all of the information they need to know exactly how to design, develop, and deploy your website.
This attention to detail is what sets the modern agency apart from the traditional one.
Modern web design agencies understand the importance of combining your brand with the technical aspects and user experience (UX) of your website.
They design with your business’s goal in mind. Whether that be to rank first on Google, grow your email list, or sell your services. And they don’t cut corners.
Full-Service Agencies
The days of having to pay multiple companies to get multiple services are over. Or, rather they should be.
Successful website design agencies should be able to handle everything from website design, development, and web hosting to SEO, Schema markup, and Google My Business.
Essentially, an agency should be able to provide you with solutions from start to finish. And traditional agencies don’t always have this kind of full-stack service that you need.
Charley Grey is a great example of a full-service agency. They are a modern web design company whose 6-step process includes everything from discovery to management. Take a look for yourself:
- Coffee: Will we be a good fit?
- Discover: We use research to craft a digital strategy specific to your goals and brand.
- Design: We create a simple user interface complete with rich content that showcases your business to potential customers.
- Develop: The design is built into WordPress. It is configured for optimal search visibility through the use of schema markup and SEO.
- Deploy: Your website will be hosted on Charley Grey’s secure network.
- Manage: Our team performs daily backups, manages security, and performs unlimited web edits so you don’t have to.
Both a Technical and Creative Understanding
If the understanding falls short, so will the performance.
Top design agencies are able to blend time-tested design traditions with modern day innovation.
Modern design agencies take advantage of all available technology to bring you a completely custom website design. This includes understanding HTML, JavaScript, and CSS.
They then utilize this technologic knowledge to enhance your site’s usability and optimization – taking full advantage of the framework’s capabilities.
The end result? A faster loading website that is easy on the eyes and free of server errors.
We can’t forget about mobile web design!
In a society that spends most of their time on their phones (over 3 hours a day to be exact), your website needs to be mobile friendly. And the web design agency should be able to make your website seamless for both mobile AND desktop.
Website Management
Maintaining a presence on the web isn’t a sprint. It’s a marathon. It takes lots of time and effort that shouldn’t fall onto your lap.
That’s what you’re paying the design agency for, right?
Therefore, the relationship with your agency shouldn’t end after launch. Web design agencies should support a continued relationship – including web hosting, support maintenance, and website redesign.
They should be able to address any immediate needs, while also articulating long-term digital strategies for your website.
If you feel out of touch, or left in the dark at any point during your partnership, then you’re with the wrong agency.
Is Your Website in Good Hands?
Traditional web design agencies may be dying out due to their lack of adaptation.
If you’re worried your website isn’t in good hands, keep your eyes open for these signs:
- Your website is not structured correctly. Thus, it is not being crawled or indexed by search engines.
- The code is poor. There are broken links and plugins, huge image files, unnecessary files, or errors. And nothing is being done about it.
- Use SEO Auditor or W3C Validator to check the SEO on your website. There is no excuse for your website to not have successful SEO.
- They don’t track your website’s analytics. And therefore, don’t know what parts of the website are successful and what needs revisiting.
With your online presence at risk, you need a web design company that gets it.
Fortunately, there are web design agencies out there, like Charley Grey, who have the experience, follow-through, and technical know-how to exceed your website expectations. And for a much lower price. Give us a call at (317) 659-7587!
Photo by Lovefreund