20+ Questions to Ask B2B Website Design Agency
Selecting a B2B web design agency is more than just about pricing and portfolios; it’s about finding a partner that aligns with your strategic goals and understands the nuances of your industry. This guide will walk you through the essential questions to ask potential agencies to ensure they meet your expectations on every front.
Agency Experience
The agency’s experience in B2B web design plays a crucial role in understanding your needs. Explore their past projects and industry familiarity to gauge whether they can effectively address your specific challenges.
Do you specialize in B2B website design?
There’s a big difference between designing and building a B2C website vs a B2B website. Confirm their expertise with B2B companies to ensure they understand the specific challenges and objectives of business-to-business communications.
Have you worked in my industry or with similar companies?
Assess their familiarity with your industry to gauge whether they can effectively address your unique needs. For example, if you are a tech company with a SaaS platform and the agency specializes in healthcare companies with physical products…you might not be the best fit. That doesn’t mean they have to have experience with one of your direct competitors, but it’s nice to know they have experience in a tangential industry.
Tip #1: Relevant Experience
Before diving deep into capabilities, ensure the agency’s experience is relevant to your industry. Agencies familiar with your market can significantly shorten the learning curve and tailor strategies that are more likely to succeed.
Communications and Project Management
Effective project management and clear communication are the backbones of any successful web design project. Learn how your potential agency handles the intricacies of project timelines, client interactions, and scope adjustments.
Who will be my primary point of contact?
It’s really important to know who that will be as this will set the tone and often the speed of your project. Have you met this person and are they on the call? Is the contact person actually doing the work? If not, do they have any technical expertise for a project of this nature or are they solely a project manager. How junior or senior are they? Will you have a different point of contact for different phases of the project?
How do you manage projects?
Learning about their project management approach will give you insight into how they plan, track, and deliver projects. Are they using spreadsheets, tools like Asana or Basecamp, etc. Also, find out how rigid their system is. Are you expected to file change orders or tickets for each thing or can you simply email your thoughts and requests?
How will we communicate during the project?
If you want a regularly set meeting, be sure to say so. The important thing is to be sure what they expect and you expect are in alignment.
Who will be working on my project?
Knowing the team composition helps you understand the expertise and roles involved. Find out how big the team is that will be working on your project. Is it just one person, several, or dozens? Would the people you are talking with on your call be the ones doing the actual work?
Is the work done in-house or outsourced?
If the work is done in-house, is anyone on the call that will be actually doing the work. If the work is being outsourced, where is it being outsourced to? Does the team speak your language and are they in a compatible time zone? Ultimately, will you be able to communicate directly with the people doing the work?
Tip #2: Who’s Running the Show?
You want to avoid working with junior or non-technical project managers who will answer all of your questions with “I’ll find out and get back to you.”
Key Technical Factors
Technical capabilities in web design can significantly affect your project’s outcome. Discuss with your potential agency their approach to design and development, including tools and platforms, to ensure they can deliver a robust and scalable website.
Can you describe your design and development process?
Website design and development approaches can vary greatly between agencies. Some adopt a linear method, completing each phase—such as design—before progressing to the next, like development. This traditional approach ensures that all design elements are finalized before any coding begins. Conversely, other agencies, including LaunchSnap, employ a more agile methodology. For instance, we start development on the homepage as soon as the design is approved, and continue to roll out additional pages in tandem with their approval. Understanding an agency’s process will help you gauge how their workflow aligns with your project timelines and flexibility needs.
Which CMS do you recommend for building the site, and why?
Discussing their preferred content management systems reveals their rationale for platform choices, ensuring compatibility with your operational needs. If they use WordPress, find out if they use purchased templates, builder themes, Gutenberg, Advanced Custom Fields, do everything custom, etc
Is copywriting included in your services?
Copywriting is usually an add-on for website design and development. Find out if they include it in the price or if it’s extra. Find out if they have copywriters on staff, if they recommend anyone, have a partnership, or if they will work with your team to write the copy.
Is SEO included in your services?
While it seems silly to create a website today without at least integrating SEO best practices as a default, many companies charge extra for SEO. Find out if it’s included and if so, to what level? Is there an SEO deliverable before the site design to determine strategy or is it a minimum of including auto-generated page titles and descriptions. Will they do keyword research and then work with the copywriting team to integrate them properly? Make sure the level of SEO services they plan to provide align with your SEO goals.
How is mobile responsiveness handled?
If your site traffic is primarily mobile, you may want to consider a mobile first approach. Are they open to this? Will the site adapt all device sizes from huge screens down to tiny mobile phones? Are there breakpoints or is it fluid?
What level of browser compatibility do you target?
What browsers and OS’s will they optimize for? Will they make the site backwards compatible for older browsers, especially Internet Explorer? Make sure this aligns with your needs.
How are advanced functionalities handled?
Make sure to review your list of functional requirements. Find out their capability in integrating complex features and how they would approach them.
How easy will the site be to manage post-launch?
If you have an internal team that you would like to be able to manage the site on an ongoing basis, find out how easy it will be for them to do so? Are there limitations to what they can do? Will the design agency provide training for your team? What kinds of tasks will you need to re-engage the web agency to complete?
How secure will the site be?
Make sure that the level of security they offer by default is inline with your needs. If you need more, what would they recommend and can they implement those recommendations?
How do you handle accessibility compliance?
Confirms that the website will be accessible to users with disabilities, complying with legal standards. At minimum, what best practices will be adhered to?
Tip #3: Looking Ahead
Discuss on-going support and maintenance. Knowing how they handle post-launch support can help you decide if they are the right partner for ongoing collaboration.
Budget and Timeline
Setting clear expectations for your project’s budget and timeline can help mitigate risks of overruns and ensure a smooth experience. Explore how the agency handles commitments and adjustments, which will provide insights into their ability to manage and adapt to the evolving needs of your project. Additionally, gaining an understanding of their starting timelines, their approach to phased rollouts, and potential challenges can further streamline your planning and decision-making processes.
When can you start, and what is the expected timeline?
Clarifying start dates and project timelines helps in planning and resource allocation from your end. Ask them if they launch once everything is perfect or do a phased launch? Ask what they anticipate might be the biggest potential factor for website delays.
Can you provide a rough budget estimate?
It’s much better to be transparent about budgets from the beginning. If you share your budget range, the agency can tailor their recommendations to maximize the value you receive, focusing on the most cost-effective solutions.
If you’re hesitant to disclose your budget first, feel free to ask the agency for a preliminary estimate. They may need time to consider the complexities of your project before providing a figure, but initiating this discussion early can be beneficial. If their starting price significantly exceeds your budget, knowing this early on can save time for both parties.
Tip #4: Define the Extras
Make sure you clearly understand what is included in the quoted price and what is considered an ‘extra’.
Handling Website Transitions
If you’re upgrading an existing site, it’s vital to understand how the transition will be handled. Discuss how the agency plans to preserve the SEO and integrity of your current digital presence while implementing new designs.
What does your due diligence process involve before beginning the redesign?
Find out how deep a dive they will take into your existing site and how they will approach the refresh. There’s no right answer to this. What’s important is that it aligns with your needs and expectations. If they do to retain elements of your current site, find out how they plan to organize and document these changes?
Will your existing content be migrated and who will do it?
Some content can be exported but it’s possible some will need to be copied over manually. Find out who is responsible for doing that?
Will you put in comprehensive redirects from old pages to new ones?
Redirects will make sure that when someone clicks a link to the old page (for example in a bookmark or email) that they go to the new page.
Will you analyze the current SEO and make a strategy to retain your rankings?
It’s important that the agency reviews the current site’s performance, including SEO metrics. This includes analyzing keyword rankings, backlink profiles, and existing traffic patterns to ensure these are preserved or enhanced in the new design.
Decoding What Wasn’t Said
The nuances of your initial interactions with the agency can reveal a lot about their operational style and cultural fit. Pay attention to how they engage during conversations, their flexibility, and their genuine interest in your project.
Engagement Level:
- Observation: Are they genuinely interested, or does it seem like they’re going through the motions?
- Significance: An engaged agency will be enthusiastic and take the time to understand your needs deeply, rather than rushing through the call.
Flexibility:
- Observation: How adaptable do you feel they are?
- Significance: Whether the adaptability is in relation to communication channels, timelines, or technology, flexibility indicates an agency’s willingness to adapt strategies and solutions to best fit your specific circumstances.
Attendance and Participation:
- Observation: Who attended the call from their team, and what roles do they play?
- Significance: Presence of key team members suggests a serious commitment to your project and helps you gauge who you will be working with directly. If no one on the call would actually be the people you end up working with, ask for an introduction to those team members.
Expertise:
- Observation: Are they asking insightful questions? Things like personas, buyer journeys, primary goals, or marketing automation?
- Significance: This implies a deep understanding of comprehensive digital strategies and a keen interest in aligning with your marketing objectives.
Cultural and Communication Fit:
- Observation: Do they seem to “get” you? Is the conversation flowing easily and enjoyably?
- Significance: An easy and fun dialogue often translates to a more productive working relationship. Feeling relaxed and understood during the call can be a good indicator of a positive cultural fit.
Transparency and Honesty:
- Observation: Are they clear about their capabilities and what they can deliver?
- Significance: Transparency about limitations and honesty in setting expectations are crucial for trust and reliability. It’s important that they are also assessing if they are the right company for you, not just trying to get a job no matter what.
Emotional Response:
- Observation: How do you feel during and after the call—relaxed, stressed, enthusiastic?
- Significance: Your emotional response can be a strong indicator of how comfortable and confident you feel about working with the agency.
Final Thoughts
Throughout this article, we’ve explored the essential questions to ask and the details to consider—from assessing an agency’s experience and technical prowess to understanding their communication styles and project management approaches. By taking the time to thoroughly vet potential partners, you ensure that your chosen agency can not only meet your specific needs but also drive meaningful results.
As you move forward with your selection process, remember that this is not just about hiring a service provider; it’s about forming a partnership that will enhance your digital presence and support your business’s growth. Don’t hesitate to dive deep during discussions, challenge assumptions, and seek clarity about every aspect of the project. The right agency will not only welcome your inquiries but will engage with them in a way that reassures you of their expertise and alignment with your vision.
Make your choice with confidence, knowing that a well-chosen web design partner is a cornerstone of your company’s online success. For more tips, read our article “How to Choose a B2B Website Design Agency.”
Launch Your Success with LaunchSnap
At LaunchSnap, we don’t just build websites; we create tailored solutions that align with your strategic goals, enhance your brand, and drive meaningful engagement. Contact us today to see how our expertise can elevate your project beyond just aesthetics to a comprehensive digital strategy that delivers real results.
