Every business needs a website that looks good and reflects their brand, mission and values. It doesn't matter if you're a multinational corporation or a small, local business - a well-designed website will increase traffic and conversions, instill trust and improve your brand image and online presence.
What Should I Consider When Choosing an Agency?
When searching for a web design agency for your small business, there are three primary aspects to consider:
- Will this agency make a website with high impact design?
- Will they make a website with great user experience and high functionality?
- Will they tailor their services to the needs of my small business?
Meeting Small Business Needs
When it comes to getting a perfectly designed site that will help promote and grow your small business, you'll need different services to those required by a larger, well-established business.
A company that has only worked with larger businesses may try to incorporate elements that aren't relevant to smaller ones. It's therefore important to check out some of their past work to see how they could help your business.
Here are three common small business needs, and how good web design companies should be looking to meet these requirements:
1. Price
Web design companies offering services for small businesses should have special packages for low volume design needs. Try to find a company that offers budget rates for 5 or 10 page websites. This should give you everything you need initially, without breaking the bank.
2. Customisation
Web design agencies that work with large businesses often use pre-designed website templates. These are then personalised for each business, which saves the company time and gives the websites a certain uniformity. However, these templates aren't always relevant to small, niche businesses and don't do anything to help them stand out. Try to choose a web design company that offers customised web pages based on unique designs, and will work closely with you to understand exactly what you need. Customer reviews can be a great place to start for assessing this.
3. Search Engine Optimisation
A good web design company should aim to make your website suitable for you, your customers, and for search engines. It must contain enough information presented in the right manner in order to be picked up by major search engines, widening your audience.
Web Design Companies Offering Services for Small Businesses
There are many companies across the UK offering excellent web design services tailored for small business. We’ve rounded up 6 of our favourites:
1. Yell
Most people know Yell as the providers of the biggest online directory, but not everyone is aware that they offer a bespoke web design service as well. Clients love that Yell work with them closely to find out exactly what they want, and then set out to achieve it. They also offer a free website ‘health check’ to see where your existing website should be improved.
"Twice now Yell has built new websites for me and on both occasions, I wasn't told "this is what you can have". Yell worked with me to find out what I liked & what I didn't. So as well as getting a website that looked good, I also got what I liked." - Claire Woodard, Brookwood & Normandy Dog Training
2. Web.com
Web.com have been building websites for small businesses for 20 years. They truly understand how important it is to have a website that will perform well for both search engines and customers. More importantly, they have the expertise to back it up. Web.com work efficiently, and are always on hand to make any future changes to your website.
"We're a family company that's been in business for 55 years, before Web.com, we were receiving 40 calls a month now, with our online marketing presence, we're fielding 185 calls a month. Without Web.com, we wouldn't continue to grow as a family business." - Patricia Henefeld, Henefeld Garage Doors
3. Ace Digital
Ace Digital’s own website is a testament to their fun yet functional design style. As a small business themselves, they really understand the huge positive impact that a well-designed website can have. Their development team are always working on custom templates and plugins, allowing them to tackle more complex projects such as crowdfunding and marketplace websites.
"When I need a simple MVP, a business-card site, or a generic SaaS sales site, Ace Digital is my first call. They’re ideal for producing simple, functional sites with a minimum of fuss." - Andrew Lockley, Investments and Consultancy
4. Envious Digital
Employees of this boutique, London-based design agency all have their own specialist skills and niche areas. This has allowed them to cover a wide range of sectors in their projects. Their client list includes universities, luxury chess set retailers, and everything inbetween.
"I’ve hired Envious to design a website from scratch as the existing one was a bit dated. Not only did they meet the brief but they far exceeded it, and blew me away with a design that is not only stunning, but also amazingly intuitive and responsive, with a more than impressive SEO to go with it." - Pierre Maubouche, The French Voice
5. Popcorn Digital
Popcorn offer clients the magic combination of fantastic website design and creative graphic design. They have created bespoke websites for a range of high-profile clients, including Jelly Belly, as well as for smaller businesses. They also provide a professional hosting solution, offering clients their own space on a Popcorn's owned virtual dedicated server.
"Thank you so much for all your hard work to get Churchill’s website up and running in such a short amount of time & for doing such a fantastic job" - Amy & James Lipscombe, Churchill’s Ltd
6. Digiryte
If you are keen to develop an app to complement your website, Digiryte may be the answer. Digiryte have worked with some very high-profile clients, including the NHS, but also throw themselves wholeheartedly into projects with smaller companies, producing some great results.
"Had these guys build our internal systems and a superb job done. requirements well understood from the start, completed on time, and a very well built system to manage our clients and sales process. Overall, top job done. can't recommend enough." - Simon Burgess
Finding the Balance Between Quality and Price
Prices for web design vary depending on the company chosen and the exact needs of the business. Here are some rough guidelines so you know whether or not you're getting a good deal:
For a small website (3 - 5 pages), you should expect to pay a one off fee of £400 - £600, with a small annual fee for domain renewal if you've opted for hosting too.
Larger websites containing around 10 pages may cost around £600 - £1,200. Prices for larger or more complex websites will vary greatly depending on requirements.
Further Reading
How to choose?
With so many amazing companies on offer, it can be hard to know where to start. If you're interested in finding a UK based web design company that offers specific and dedicated services for small and medium businesses, fill out the short form at the top of this page and Expert Market UK will compare companies to find one that perfectly suits your needs. We'll also compare prices, so you can be sure you're getting a great deal.
