Read about the 8 top tips for choosing a UI/UX design agency
Choosing a UI/UX design agency can be a difficult process for any company. Your website is the first thing that potential customers will see, and the experience that they have will most likely be a deciding factor in whether or not they consider using your services.
Whether you’re looking for someone to create a website for you, looking for blockchain development services, or you’re specifically on the hunt for a mobile app design agency, your choice will greatly impact your online presence.
With so many options to choose from these days, it’s easy to become overwhelmed by having so much choice. However, just because there are lots of agencies that could do the job for you, doesn’t mean that they’re the right fit.
When deciding who to hire for your web design services, there are lots of different things to consider - including practical things like pricing, as well as assessing work they’ve done for previous clients.
Here are 8 top tips for choosing a UX/UI design service agency.
A company's website is a great starting point for getting a feel for how they conduct their business, what their values are, and various other tools and processes they might use. It is essentially your first “meeting” and a first impression is a lasting impression.
It is also the perfect opportunity for you to do some research for your own project as you can pay close attention to various things that might come in useful for your very own project. Remember, everything that you see on the website can be applied to your project and used for your own benefit.
This comes into play even more so if you are looking for web design services for your company and wish to seek out such services. What better way to assess the potential agency than looking at their very own website?
A Webflow agency, for instance, is one that specializes in the powerful online tool to create websites, blogs, e-commerce stores, portfolios, and more. Browsing their website and other linked websites will give you a great indication of the work they have done and whether it fits your requirements.
Social media is a fantastic way to see the other side of a company - the less formal side, if you will. It is one of the most powerful and easily accessible modern tools that you can use to get a feel for the potential company you wish to use. You will be able to see how the company is perceived by others and how they interact with them through their communication and engagement.
It will also give you an idea of how active they are on social media and ultimately, how they present themselves. This will give you a good idea of who you are dealing with and the first indication of whether or not you see yourself working with them.
Facebook and Instagram are great tools for seeing what projects the company is busy with or has completed. They’re essentially a less formal portfolio for you to browse at your peril. LinkedIn is also a great way to do a bit more research about the company, its employees, and any other news they might post there.
There are a number of different reputable ratings platforms that you can use to evaluate the UI/UX design agency you are considering. Resources such as Awwwards, GoodFirms, and Clutch are powerful resources that provide accurate and verified information about web design companies.
It is here that you will be able browse independent reviews as written by industry professionals and look at the top lists of almost every reputable UI UX agency. Whether you wish to read reviews, seek out a designer, or do research on the best software company out there, these three resources will be your company’s new best friend.
One of the most important factors that will influence your decision with regards to the design agency that you choose is price. It is important that the UI/UX agency that you intend on working with is clear and transparent when it comes to their pricing policy.
It is common practice to find two types of pricing structures in the design agency world - a fixed-price model and a time and materials model. Both these pricing structures have their projects that they are best suited for and choosing a price model will depend on the project at hand.
If you don’t foresee the scope of the project changing too much and there is a set amount of work at hand, then the fixed-price model will work best. It is also suited to projects that are in their infant or trial stage.
The time and materials approach is essentially just that - you pay for the time spent on your project and the materials used. The downside here is that there is no project end date, but the upside is that you will most likely receive a better end result. It is crucial that you also sign a contract which you fully understand as to prevent any misunderstandings.
It can be tempting to have a look at a company’s past experience, specifically the companies they’ve worked for and be impressed by names that you recognize. Of course, having done work for large corporations with a reputation for success isn’t something to be scoffed at, but it certainly shouldn’t be taken at face value.
It’s not uncommon for a web design agency to try and amp up their references and supposed experience by adding reputable companies to their resumes when they’ve only done a very small amount of work for them. The fact that the agency has done the work also provides no assurance of the quality of that which they’ve produced.
Therefore, the advice to take away here is to be wary of agencies that name drop and make sure that you focus on the quality of the work that has been produced rather than being distracted by flashy experience.
There’s no better way to assess the competency of web design companies than by finding out about other companies’ experiences with them. However, this is only useful if you have a look at enough reviews - it can’t just be one or two.
Spend some time reading through client reviews and testimonials. Take note of any issues that seem to come up repeatedly, both positive and negative. Some of these may be particularly relevant to you and the things that you value in running your business, others may be irrelevant.
When doing this, however, remember to take everything with a pinch of salt. A single bad review shouldn’t necessarily put a specific agency out of the running, just like one client’s really good experience shouldn’t be a deciding factor either. You need to decide how important the particular points that are being raised are to you and your business, and then make a judgment based on these reviews in and amongst all the rest.
Communication is always important, especially when it comes to the professional world. When dealing with corporate website design, the development process should be a collaboration between you, your business, and the UI/UX designer that you have hired.
For them to be able to build a website that suits your company and includes all the most important aspects that you require, they need to be able to listen to your needs and turn talk into action.
Therefore, when you’re deciding which design service agency will best serve your needs, it’s essential that you evaluate the aptness of their communication from the very start of your involvement with them. This will give you a pretty good indication of the way things will be going forward.
The importance of a company’s project management cannot be overstated. Coming up with big ideas and making elaborate promises is one thing, but following through is a whole different ball game. And this all comes down to how efficient the employees are, how well they’re managed, and overall, how well they are able to work together to get a project done.
Project management is a multi-faceted issue, but the three most essential things to consider while reviewing a potential design agency are:
Now, you can’t exactly review these things from your own perspective before the project has been completed, but you can start getting an idea of how important these four things are to the company more generally.
For instance, if they don’t seem to care much about sticking to a deadline for submitting a project proposal, for instance, this may indicate that they’re not going to stick to deadlines in the future.
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Fiha is a passionate product designer hailing from Indonesia. With a background as a Frontend developer, Fiha transitioned my career into the dynamic world of product design. Fiha is dedicated to translating conceptual visions into user-friendly interfaces that resonate with users. In meantime, Fiha serve as a mentor, guiding aspiring individuals who seek to delve deeper into the realms of UI/UX.
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