Is your Website design holding you back?

Prior to solving a problem, look for one.

The cost-saving secret to a jaw-dropping 😲 web presence is the Power of Research!

Are you tired of sifting through website design agencies, only to be bombarded with a bunch of empty promises? It's like trying to find a needle in a haystack, except the needle keeps promising you a gorgeous website that will make all your dreams come true.

But seriously, it can be tough for businesses to find the right agency to design their website. It's like trying to navigate a maze blindfolded while juggling flaming torches. Okay, maybe not that extreme, but you get the idea.

One of the biggest barriers businesses face is not having the expertise to evaluate web design agencies. It's like trying to judge a pie-baking contest without knowing the first thing about baking pies. And let's face it, nobody wants a mediocre pie or a mediocre website.

And then there's the issue of budget. We all know that feeling when you go out to eat and realize you can't afford the fancy entrees on the menu. It's like that, but instead of food, it's website design. Businesses may not have a lot of cash to throw around, but they still want a website that looks and functions like a million bucks.

To top it all off, some agencies make big promises that they can't keep. It's like that person you went on a date with who said they were a world-renowned pastry chef, but then showed up with a store-bought cupcake. Disappointing, to say the least.

All joking aside, finding the right website design agency can be a challenge, especially for businesses that are already stretched thin. It's important to do your research, ask questions, and choose an agency that you can trust to deliver high-quality results. Because let's face it, nobody wants a website that looks like it was designed in the early 2000s.

Feeling stuck & unsure what to do next? Let’s explore some options together.

👉 Make sure an agency meets your needs before choosing them. 👈

• Check out their website and prior work. Do their designs appear to be customized or standard?
• Talk about their approach in depth, not simply the marketing hype, i.e., how they translate your goals into a final site.
• Find out who will actually do the work: the top executives courting your brand, their interns, or a third party? Ask for a written response.
• Make sure they get that site security takes more than a password and that SEO involves more than just keywords on a page.

Extra bonus tip: Before jumping into a conversation with a web design agency to create your new website, make sure you're not living in the digital equivalent of the Stone Age! It's important to stay up-to-date with the latest digital trends! Keep up with the latest trends and technologies to ensure your website looks as stylish and relevant as possible. Trust us, your users will appreciate it, and it'll make you look like a savvy and forward-thinking business owner.

It's your chance to start challenging yourself right now….

Before contacting multiple agencies, you might believe that you already know what your website requires and that all you need to do is select the best firm at the best price. However, that would be equivalent to telling a doctor,

"I am aware of my problem... Can you just write me a prescription? What are your fees?"

The client's attempt to prescribe the medication is dangerous. It's also dangerous for a company to accept a client's self-diagnosis at face value. When that happens, clients become hurt. They ask for a meaningful strategy, but instead get a tactical response.

Tactics are essential since they are the means, after all. However, a strategy is the overarching plan that directs the choice of instruments. And a strategy starts with a vital questions:

1. What are the main objectives of your company?
2. What prevents you from completing them right away (or tomorrow)?
3. What other obstacles do you have with your business?
4. How will your website respond to them?
5. Which stakeholders must your website please?

Most clients find it difficult to express these driving principles, which is where digital agencies like Ruler Digital Agency come in. We probe deeply, push back as a competent doctor would, and collaborate with you to identify the true issues before offering a remedy.

Before diagnosing the issues, the research phase, which lasts a few weeks, comprises probing difficult questions, studying the target market, and evaluating the results. Take a look at this recent client's 4-week discovery period as an illustration:

1. What Makes Research Important for Business? The customer, like many other small businesses, recognized there was a problem with their website and contacted many organizations to develop a new design using a basic template. That's a logical strategy, but was it the best one? If it wasn't, did that imply that the strategies might not have been effective? They were unable to express their broad demands and problems when we asked them about them. They were unable to move past the usability issues plaguing their current website. We don’t want to merely fix what was broken or design blindly.
2. Beginning the Investigation: From the CEO to the marketing manager, our design & development team and a number of the client's stakeholders talked about what they wanted to accomplish (both short- and long-term), what challenges and opportunities they were currently facing, and what resources (technical, financial, and human) they had available to them to do so. Together, we determined the project's goals, the website's value proposition (what it specifically offers customers in a crowded market), and the project's objectives, including tasks and deadlines. And that was only the beginning.
3. Executing The Discovery Components: Just like websites, different clients and situations require different research phases. The exploration phase for a client comprised the following: User testing, brand and product analysis, usability testing of all currently operating websites, quantitative and qualitative analysis of their social media channels, newsletter, and other marketing materials.
4. Applying the Results: By asking the correct questions and identifying the relevant challenges during the research stage, the project's results, including both the customer experience and business bottom line, were shaped.

For our clients, the discovery phase not only led to a website with a clearer purpose but also improved the effectiveness and efficiency of how they ran their business:

Smarter Investment

Although the cost of a research phase may seem daunting, the client may now operate their company more profitably. They may address all of their objectives and problems more successfully after having recognized and stated them, going beyond merely updating a website. They can use their available funds to implement the most significant short- and long-term reforms. We learned about a lot of issues through the research that we never would have learned in the normal kick-off meeting (used by 99% of agencies). These problems would have delayed the schedule and increased the cost if they had arisen during the later design and development, which is quite plausible.

Smarter Practices

Rather than simply giving the site a facelift, we were able to discover the optimal design tactics by using a clear business plan. Additionally, we found additional business potential and built the website to support them in the future.

Stronger Partnership

People can be the biggest roadblocks to getting things done when goals, issues, and expectations aren't clearly stated and agreed upon - with nothing but a poor method to blame. A successful discovery phase takes into account all areas of the business and incorporates feedback from all significant stakeholders. The resulting roadmap laid out how to utilize each team member's advantages while attending to this client's issues.

At Ruler Digital Agency, helping our clients accomplish goals, resolve issues, and seize new possibilities is what we live for.

If you need a brand new website and you are ready for more drop us a line.