Which is the right website designer for you?
It’s the eternal question if you are a new start-up and need the right person, or are reconsidering your internet offering.
There are lots of posts out there telling you what to expect, mostly written by marketing or salespeople hoping that you’ll let them pitch to you, with little or no insight as to what it’s like to work at each level.
I can’t offer you insight into what it’s like to work at a global design agency or even a small agency (other than cyber stalking them 👀). But what I can do is dispel some of the myths that small agencies put about to discourage potential clients from even considering a viable alternative.
Small website Agency opinion vs Freelance designer reality:
Myth #1: Boutique website agencies write only bespoke code.
Small Website Agency: “We don’t use templates or plugins, and our code is bespoke”
Reality: Rubbish. If you are using WordPress (which nearly one in every two websites does), then you’ll be using a theme. A WP theme sets the tone and foundation of your website, they often dictate levels of functionality.
The small agency that claims it doesn’t use a theme with WordPress 🙄 Use this one.
That said WP, offers designers & users the ability to add additional CSS, HTML, and Javascript to increase flexibility.
Another way to add functionality is the use of plugins. There are more than 58,000 free plugins in the WordPress repository and, there is such a mind-boggling scope as to what they can add to a website.
When a small agency says they don’t use plugins, but these are the top three from their website 🤔
A word of caution: Each plugin increases your website’s resource consumption, placing additional strain on servers and contributing to your site’s environmental impact. This cascade of effects can harm your search engine rankings and degrade the overall user experience.
Myth #2: Freelance designers are doing it as a side hustle.
Small Agency: “Freelancers work in their spare bedroom, and as such have little or no overheads”.
Reality: Yes, the QED web design office is at my home – is it a spare bedroom? Nope – not even close, there isn’t even a bed in it. There are two desks, a bookcase, external hard drives, NAS, laser printer & scanner, and so on. This is where the small agencies don’t like it, freelance designers can pass these savings on, and QED web design does.
Myth #3: Outsourcing is bad
Small Agency:
“Your freelancer may outsource some of the work to places like India or the Philippines”
Reality: And the problem with this is? Yes, QED has outsourced work to other freelancers. If it means a slightly smaller slice of the pie for us, but a better end product for our client, then what’s the issue? The right website designer for you is one that cares about the end product, but doesn’t want to go over budget.
I quite happily recommend SEO Copywriters (like Nikki Pilkington or Dr Hannah Gibson) or Graphic Designers – again, this reduces the costs to the end client because it is the PAYG model.
Myth #4: Freelance designers can’t multitask
Small Agency:
Reality: Nope we don’t, but then we don’t work just during office hours. On multiple occasions, projects have taken into the small hours to complete. Our clients know they can contact QED outside of the usual 9-5, something that the Small Agency can’t really claim, and why we offer extraordinary levels of WP support & maintenance on initial periods with new builds (Apps or Websites). Something else the Small Agency don’t do (you need to commit to at least £150+vat per month for that type of support from them)
The Nuts & bolts of it…
Picking the right website designer for you & your business is a crucial decision. It’s not a cost, but an investment in your future; it has to give you a ROI (Return on Investment).
We don’t claim to be an all-singing and dancing agency, but what we do we do it well and for the best interests of our clients, giving them the best business websites we can for their budget.
