How to choose a web design company in Winnipeg

Search for web design in Winnipeg and you’ll find dozens of options, from one-person studios to agencies with offices across the country. Most of them can make a site that looks good. The differences that matter show up later: how fast the site loads, whether it brings in enquiries, what it costs to change, and whether you can take it elsewhere if you need to.

These are the things worth checking before you choose.

Look at their sites on your phone

Most visitors to a local business website are on a phone. Open a few sites the company has built on your own phone, on mobile data rather than office Wi-Fi. Do they load quickly? Is the text readable without zooming? Is it obvious how to call, book or ask for a quote? A site that only looks good on a large monitor isn’t doing its main job.

Check that their sites can be found

A website that search engines can’t read properly won’t bring in much work. Search for the business name of one of their clients plus the service it offers and the city, and see whether the site appears. Ask the company how they handle page titles, descriptions, site speed and structured data, and whether they submit the site to Google Search Console at launch.

Ask how the price is set, and what it includes

Quotes are easier to compare when you know what each one covers. Ask whether the price includes:

• Writing or editing the words on the pages, or only placing words you provide.
• Photos and graphics, or only arranging ones you already have.
• Setting up contact forms, booking or online payments.
• Hosting, the domain and SSL certificate, and who pays for them each year.
• Changes after launch, and how those are charged.

Make sure you’ll own the site

Some arrangements leave the designer holding the only login to the site, the hosting or even the domain name. That makes it hard to change providers later. Before you sign, confirm that you’ll own the design, the content and the code once it’s paid for, and that the domain is registered in your business’s name.

Template or custom?

Template-based sites can be a sensible, affordable choice for a simple brochure site. A custom site makes more sense when the website has to do something specific to your business, such as connecting to a booking system, showing live stock or letting customers sign in. Ask which approach the company recommends for you, and why.

Ask what happens after launch

Websites need updates, security fixes and the occasional change. Find out who looks after the site once it’s live, how quickly they respond, and whether there’s a maintenance plan or you pay per change. A local company in the same time zone can make this easier, but what matters most is that someone specific is responsible.

Our guide to questions to ask before hiring a software developer covers the contract side in more detail. If you’d like to talk your website through with us, the free assessment is the place to start.