Key Mistakes to Avoid When Hiring a Web Design Company in Canada

There are a lot of choices when you’re searching for a web design company in Canada. There are so many options and it’s really tough to pick between them, or to even know who is legitimate and who isn’t. The reality is that nearly anyone can set up a website and call themselves a web design agency. 

Unfortunately, that leads to a lot of scams and less-than-reputable companies that take advantage of people, do poor work, overcharge, or make promises they can’t keep. There’s also the risk that you’ll find a company that is legitimate, but you won’t like their work or their style won’t match yours. 

If you’re looking to hire a website design company, here are some things you’ll want to keep in mind and some key things to avoid. 

8 Things to Avoid When Hiring A Web Design Company in Canada

It can be hard to find a reputable web design agency in Canada. Unfortunately, there aren’t really any regulations in place, so you’ll need to do some work to find a company that can correctly complete your project.

The good news is there are several telltale signs that should stand out to you and tell you that a company should be avoided. Here are eight things you’ll want to stay away from.  

1) Going with a Web Design Company Without a Portfolio or Proven Experience

As mentioned, almost anyone can call themselves a web designer. To determine if someone is legitimate, you’ll want to look at their experience and their portfolio. After all, if someone has done great work in the past, there’s a good chance they’ll do great work in the future. 

Ask the company to provide you with examples of their work. Not only will this help you see that, yes, they’ve actually completed work in the past, but it will also allow you to get an idea of their style. Every person and every business is unique, and a designer may do great work, but it may not be what you want from your website. Checking out their portfolio can tell you if there’s going to be a match.

You’ll want to find out about their experience as well. Who have they worked with in the past? What kind of projects have they completed? This will help you learn if they have the type of working experience you’ll need. 

2) No Reviews or Fake-Looking Testimonials

A good website developer will have reviews and testimonials. However, the unfortunate reality today is that it’s easy to fake reviews. In fact, AI (artificial intelligence) has made this even easier. Therefore, you’ll need to not only check to make sure they have reviews or testimonials, but you’ll need to check that they’re legitimate as well.  

How To Spot Fake Reviews

Upwards of 90% of online reviews are false. They are often created by webmasters or companies to improve their company’s standing. This means you’ll need to do some detective work. Read the reviews. Do they all kind of sound suspiciously similar? Are they written in a way that regular people write? Do they use “industry terms” or terminology that a regular person wouldn’t? When were they posted? Several reviews posted in a short time frame could be a sign that they’ve been faked. 

If you’re able to read other reviews posted by the same accounts, this is recommended. Have they reviewed other services or companies? If they haven’t, that seems pretty suspicious.

You can place a bit more trust in reviews that are posted on a Google Business profile than those posted elsewhere. Google constantly deletes suspicious reviews and can even punish businesses who use them. 

3) Suspiciously Low Prices for Web Design That are Too Good to be True

You’ve probably heard the saying “If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.” This applies to many different things, including website design. A web design company in Canada should be able to give you an upfront quote for their services. You should likely shop around and ask a few companies to give you quotes, then compare them.

However, if a price quote seems too low, that’s often cause for concern. A company that provides an incredibly low price is either inexperienced or they are trying to bring you in with a low quote only to try and charge you more later.  Reputable companies will outline exactly what charges will be required and these will usually be in line with what other reputable companies charge.

4) They Ask for Full Payment Upfront! – Who Does That?

While a legitimate company will give you an upfront quote, they won’t ask for full payment upfront. Many designers and developers will ask for a portion of the quote to be paid upfront while the remainder will be due once certain milestones have been completed. This protects both the company and the client. 

If a company asks for full payment upfront before any work has been completed, this is a serious red flag. Very few legitimate businesses will do this and it’s something that you’ll want to watch out for.  

5) Poor Communication – They Don’t Answer on Emails for Days

Communication is critical in business and especially in web design. You need to properly convey what you’re looking for, outline your brand, explain your vision, and much more. This process is a two-way street. If communication with a company feels more like you’re shouting into a void and less like you’re working on a project, this can be an issue.

When you first contact a company, how long does it take them to respond? If you have questions about their quote or their process, are they prompt with answers? Are they explicit with details or does it sound like they’re hiding something? If a company isn’t quick and forthcoming with information, you should be suspicious. 

6) Do They Have an Actual Office, or Do They Work From Home?

There isn’t anything wrong with a freelancer working from home. In fact, most of them do. However, when you decide to choose a web design agency in Canada rather than a freelancer, this usually comes with the expectation that you’ll be working with a larger team. In most cases, a larger team means having an actual office. 

An even bigger potential concern is whether the company is being open and honest with their office situation. When they say they have an office, is it an actual office or a PO box where they get their mail? Are you able to go in and sit down with them? If a company isn’t forthcoming about their location and their work situation, you should be suspicious. 

7) No Real-Time Support After the Website Launch

Website development doesn’t end when a site launches. No matter what type of site you have, who developed it, or what it’s designed to do, there can always be hiccups or glitches when moving a site from a development server to a live server. 

There’s also the fact that you may not know exactly how your site works right away. How do you update it? How do you keep it backed up and secured? If you don’t know these things, your life becomes difficult and your site is at risk.

Before you agree to work with any web design agency, ask them about what support they provide once the site launches. Some offer free support for a period, some offer long-term paid support. It’s up to you to decide what you prefer, but some level of support should be offered. 

8) They Ignore SEO and User Experience

Building a website isn’t just about making it look great. It’s also about building a site that functions well and that helps your business succeed. This means creating a site that provides visitors with a positive user experience (UX). This means a site that is easy to use, is accessible to all audiences, that loads quickly, and that drives users towards a goal (such as contacting you, buying a product, etc.). 

Search engine optimization (SEO) is also important. You want potential customers to find your website when they search for relevant terms, right? A good web design agency will incorporate SEO strategies into the design of your site and structure it so that it can easily be scanned by search engine crawlers. A good web designer will know how to do this. 

What Makes You Trust a Web Design Company

One of the most important parts of choosing a web design agency in Canada is working with someone you can trust. As mentioned, web design is often a back-and-forth process. Building a site isn’t just like walking into a store, picking up a product, paying, and leaving. You need to work with someone who can communicate effectively, who can effectively translate your ideas and your vision into your site, and who can give you great work at a fair price.

Here are some factors to think about when it comes to trust: 

• Company Reputation
  • What do previous clients think? Others in the industry? Spend some time searching online and asking others for their opinions. A company that has provided great work for a long time will have established a positive reputation for themselves. 
• Awards over the years
  • There are several groups that present awards to businesses for their great work, positive customer service, dedication, and skill. For instance, the Clutch Awards recognize the highest-performing B2B companies in various industries. Has the company you’re considered won any of these awards? 
• Google Reviews
  • As mentioned, reviews matter, but many of them are faked. Google has an extensive program in place that searches for suspicious reviews and removes them, so you can put more faith into reviews posted on Google than those posted elsewhere. 
• They offer website support services
  • A company shouldn’t completely disappear once they’ve developed your website. You’ll want to choose a company that provides website support services such as troubleshooting, site backups, and security services. This will keep your site running as it should and prevent your business from missing out on opportunities. 
• They don’t hide that they outsource
  • If a company outsources some or all of their services to other companies or freelancers, they should be open and honest about that. If you ask about outsources, and they’re guarded or provide you with unclear answers, you should be suspicious. 

Bottom line: If it looks too good, then it probably is

As with nearly every business, if something looks too good to be true, it probably is. If you find a web design company in Canada or anywhere else that gives you an incredibly low quote, claims to deliver something that doesn’t seem realistic, or makes promises that seem impossible, you should be suspicious, ask more questions, and probably shop around a bit more.  

Choose a Web Design Company in Canada that Offers  24/7 Website Support and Maintenance

When you choose a web design agency in Canada, always remember that you are choosing a partner. This is someone that you will work in conjunction with to build a great site for your company. 

Support and maintenance is a part of the web development process. Eggs Media understands this and provides ongoing website support, backup services, and security updates with 24/7, real time support. Learn more about our support offerings.