Nowadays every company needs a website. A website is just as important as a business card for a company. A company without a website is very difficult to survive in the 21st century because they will lose a large number of potential customers. Other than that, a company without a website is perceived as not professional because website becomes a very basic requirement.

Why is it so? Change of consumer behaviour. Each and every individual prefer to find information via internet, and buy thru online. It is so convenient and secure to purchase a product, online service booking or even subscribe to magazine compared to other method, for instance flipping through yellow pages.

Most of the companies outsource their web design to third party web design firms. How to evaluate which web design firm is good and reliable? How can you decide to choose which web design firm? Before you hire any web designer, make sure that it fulfills the following 5 core criteria. If one of the criteria is not met, you might as well get a student to do the job.

The first criterion is you need to make sure they are NOT using any off shelf template as a design for your website. It is important that they have a Graphic Designer to design the layout of your website. Professional and pleasant design will have a great impact on your customers. Professional and pleasant impact does not means that you need to have a lot of flashy animation, because search engine does not like it. Professional and pleasant design will retain your visitors for a longer time, which increase the tendency of them buying a product from your website or contact you for a service

The second criterion is you need to make sure they are from a registered company. We are not against freelancer or part timer. Yet, credibility, capability and business experience is important. Are you willing to entrust your online business to someone who is not up to Professional standard?

The third criterion is you need to make sure they provide quick response support to you even if they have completed the website for you. When we say this, we mean it. It is not only support, it must be quick response support. You can lose a lot of money, and worse lose your customers forever when your shop stops functioning for 1 single day.

The fourth criterion is you need to make sure they provide you some basic training on your website. You or your staff must know how to handle your website.

The last criterion is you need to make sure they know about Marketing (either Online or Offline Marketing). This is the part most ordinary web developers can't. Reason is simple; they are Web Developer but not Marketing Consultant. However, your website means nothing when NO Marketing is done. Marketing is the single most Crucial factor that decides profitability of business.

You need to make you your web design firm meet the 5 criteria above. Anyone of the criteria will make or break your business.