So, you are at the point where you know you need a new partner to handle the direction of your website. You and your business are growing. So, it’s about time that your website and other marketing platforms start to get in line.
But the question is: Does your business need a web design company or a digital agency?
Understanding What It Is You Have Now.
What you have now isn’t sufficient or perhaps it is for the most part, but needs to be enhanced.
Maybe the issue is that your current provider is no longer attentive in terms of ideas, responsiveness and turnaround time.
Maybe they can only handle a certain aspect of the site like code or design but can’t handle SEO or marketing.
Maybe the issue is there are too many different providers you are dealing with when it comes to your website. One company hosts the site, another handles AdWords, another does code and design, another for social and so on and it has become too hard to manage all the different partners and have them work together.
Knowing The Need For Change; But Not The Direction.
Whatever your reason or situation is, you are ready to make a change.
You begin your search for the right partner to elevate your website so you can ultimately grow. Your inclination may be to Google or research directories in search of a “web design company” or “web development company”.
Is that what you really need? Or do you need a digital agency that offers full-service solutions?
If your site is not a high priority and/or your budget is extremely limited, it may be best to go with a web design or development company, strictly.
If you are looking to take the website to a higher level on a number of fronts, and it is critical to the business then you should definitely be looking to partner with a digital agency.
There is a big difference.
With the following breakdown you can naturally expect variances but, for the most part, these are the key differences you can expect between the two.
The Kinds of Questions You Can Expect:
Web Design Company –Â You want fries with that?
This is obviously an exaggeration, however you will find that these types of firms ask far fewer questions.
The questions they do ask tend to be focused on deliverables.
What do you want it to look like? How many pages? What forms do you need? Do you need SEO, AdWords, Social? In general there aren’t many questions asked about you or your brand essence or understanding your business on a deep level.
Digital Agency  – You can expect many more questions and they tend to be about who you are vs. what you want.
- What differentiates you from your competitors?
- Who are your competitors?
- What is your organizational structure both for the company and your site and digital marketing efforts?
- Describe your company culture.
- Who do you want coming to your site?
- What is important to these different audiences?
- Describe each of the audiences, we want to know them and understand them.
- How is the new site and digital marketing efforts going to properly reflect your company and set you apart from the competition?
That last question is largely for the digital agency to answer and provide strategy and direction to the client.
The Depth in Experience and Knowledge You Will See
Web Design Company –Â These companies tend to be heavy in a specific area.
For example they may be really great with design but lacking when it comes to coding beyond basics.
Conversely, they may be great at coding complex apps but missing high end design and branding capabilities. In most cases these types of firms tend to lack digital marketing expertise.
When they hit an area where the requirements fall outside their expertise they tend to rely on subcontractors and either manage them or leave the client to have another vendor to manage.
Digital Agency – Any agency worth its salt does a lot of different things extremely well because they have the capabilities and knowledge to do so.
They have super creative, artistic people that bring high end design, branding and strategy to the table. They have the developers that can handle front end and backend design, systems integration and more.
They have digital marketing experts that know the ins and outs of PPC, SEO, email marketing, social media, remarketing, marketing automation and more.
Best of all, it is a collaborative team under one roof. They talk to one another and regularly work on projects together. They have a strong level of control over their projects as the bulk of the work, if not all, is being performed by employees that are all in the same office.
Digital agencies not only provide depth in the various disciplines, they also provide breadth in terms of experience with different types of clients whether it be professional services, retail, B2B, eCommerce, or lead generation.
The Mindset of The Teams
Web Design Company –Â These firms tend to be order takers.
They want to deliver a good product but it will be based on client specifying what to do.
Digital Agency
“Hey, I wanted to reach out to you because we just implemented something that has really worked out great for one of our clients and I kept thinking how it could be applicable to your business!”
This is an interaction you can expect from a solid Digital Agency. Always thinking of ways they can help your business and how to leverage latest tools. This is good, as you are paying for proactive brains!
Conclusion
The purpose of this entry isn’t to knock traditional web design companies, after all, we used to be one.
That tends to be the case for most digital agencies I have encountered.
They were not created as one, but rather evolved into one by creating a team with a shared knowledge and passion for the digital landscape, and all of its moving parts.