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Choosing a web agency

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A web agency is a company whose job is to manage an entire Web project (logo design, website design, hosting, etc..). The Internet budget of an SME is not the only criterion for selecting a web agency.

Starters

  • Define the scope of your project
    • First of all, the enterprise should prepare a document based on its requirements and submit it to the web agencies. Objective: To define exactly what need to be developed and to obtain a complete response.
    • The internal resources
    • The company must consider its internal resources to facilitate the project. Allocate human resources to match with the project and interact properly with the web agency.
  • Master your budget
  • The specifications shall notify the authorized budgets but must also include the future cost of implementation and maintenance of the Internet project once completed. Having a vision and budget on the medium term may avoid unpleasant surprises. Objective: Identify the company's Internet ambitions without overstatement.


The agencies also make their choice:
Some agencies may decline an assignment that could harm their reputation. Especially in the case of Internet projects that are poorly defined.

Screening


- Contact several web agencies by putting them in competition.

-Avoid contacting too many of them: it take the time to consider each response. Too many responses prevent any comparison.

When the Internet project has an important strategic dimension, the reputation and strength of a particular service provider is to be assessed with care.
Before submitting the tender specifications, the company must make an initial selection:
  • Choose agencies with a similar profile
  • Meet with each agency (providing an appointment for an hour each)
  • Ask them about their type of clients, their various skills, their modes of organization on a project, etc..
  • Then achieve an analysis of responses according to a predefined set of rules.
  • Identify 3 or 4 agencies who shall meet up to your specifications.




Note that: Below two to three weeks, normally a web agency does not have sufficient time to identify issues for the project, so it better to avoid the quick going ones.

Evaluation


Before allocating a budget to a provider, the company must first compare the responses, depending on the nature of the Internet project.

Online sales/e-commerce/....

Understanding the price charged by the agency


Depending on the company's budget and resources to implement the project, the web agency includes the price for the service.
  • Do not automatically retain the lowest bidder:
    • The company must ask why the costs vary from one service provider to another. Why this one is more expensive than this one?
  • It is recommended that the company incorporates return on investment over the total assessment of its budget. By integrating the cost reduction generated by the Internet project as a reduction or removal of paper work/presentations.
  • To avoid over charged services:
  • Do not disclose you entire online business model. Otherwise it is exposed to claims for extension from the provider. As such the specifications must be clear and firm.
  • Convey an audit over specifications and the response from the agency by an expert.
  • Do not yield to the temptation to opt for the cheapest web agency. Some offer unbeatable prices, but make no mistake.:
    • Designing a good website takes time and work. Those who ask you a very low price must generally be avoided because their competitiveness suggests an incomplete service or one of insufficient quality.
    • Consider that a website is an important strategic investment that will generate good returns if the project is correctly managed.

Other points to consider


3 parameters to manage the time factor:
  • 1. Meet the deadlines for completion (between one and three months).
  • 2. Understand that the agency has unavoidable delays (for example design)
  • 3. Prefer a contract stipulating all of the intermediate steps to maintain control of the project.

Jean-François Pillou

CCM is a leading international tech website. Our content is written in collaboration with IT experts, under the direction of Jeff Pillou, founder of CCM.net. CCM reaches more than 50 million unique visitors per month and is available in 11 languages.

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