30 Best Web Design Agencies To Partner With in 2024
Website design agencies have become crucial partners to any business looking to improve their online branding and reputation. With 94% of first impressions being based on web design and almost 60% of users browsing the internet for information, websites are facing new challenges in accessibility, engagement, and search engine optimization—challenges that website design agencies can help them overcome.
But brands shouldn’t blindly trust any agency’s word about their services: it’s also important to do their due diligence before choosing an agency to partner with. Since so much of website design work revolves around long-term strategies and approaches, it’s crucial to understand what you’re getting into when hiring a website design agency.
Here’s a comprehensive guide to some of the best web design agencies to partner with and the considerations you need to keep in mind when hiring one.
Best Web Design Agencies:
How to Choose a Web Design Agency
Website agencies will have their specializations and experience with website design, but all of them have the foundational knowledge, tools, and expertise to improve your website. The key to picking a web design agency that works for your specific needs is to understand what you want to achieve with your website and to communicate these expectations to the agency you’re negotiating with.
Here are some questions you can ask to help you decide on your choice:
- What will it cost to build?
- What platform do you use?
- Have you built websites for other companies in my industry?
- What’s your design process?
- Do you consider user experience in your design?
- How long will it take?
- Do you include digital marketing and SEO?
- Do you offer ongoing support?
- Is there an opportunity for testing before launch?
- Can I meet the team that will be working on my site?
If an agency provides satisfactory answers to these questions, you should have a better understanding of how they can help you with your website design. It’s important to ask these questions as soon as the initial consultation begins, as website design projects can be a long and involved process.
Website Design Agencies to Help You Build a Better Online Brand In 2024
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web design agencies
2024
Location: Paramus, New Jersey, United States
Services: Website Design & Development, PPC Management, Paid Search, Paid Social, Organic SEO, Email Marketing, Social Media Management
Notable clients: Porsche, Rakuten, New Jersey Institute Of Technology, Time Autoparts, Gemma Foundation, Madison International, Studio Esthetique
Minimum project price: SELF-SERVE—starts at $125/hour for web design and development; custom estimates provided after consultation
Best for: companies of all sizes looking for an integrated approach to their website design and development
With more than a decade of experience in helping clients build their websites, SmartSites has plenty of expertise in the foundations of what makes a good website. Their established reputation has made them one of the most trusted names in website design and development in the United States, regardless of a client’s industry or size.
The agency works closely with its clients to ensure a smooth process in designing and developing their websites, from performing competitor research to giving them their dedicated client managers. Their willingness to adjust their prices without compromising the quality of work and prioritizing their client’s confidence and trust in their output makes them an excellent pick for companies that may not have much experience in outsourcing their website design and development to third parties.
Location: United States, United Kingdom
Services: Web Design, Web Development, UX/UI Design, Logo Design, Mobile App Development, Motion Design, 2D/3D Graphics, Brand Identity
Notable clients: TopFund, chacha, Open Distribution Company, Otters, Eco Essentials, OLX Group
Minimum project price: START-UP—starts at $1,000/month; up to $2,000/month for additional work
Best for: companies looking to outsource their website design work on a budget
Duck.design provides a welcome middle ground for companies that want to hire experienced designers without needing to spend too much on bigger agencies and not risk investment into freelancers. They have design experience with companies from different industries and various sizes, helping them remove design bottlenecks that can stop them from successfully designing their websites.
One of the best reasons to work with this agency is that they’re extremely receptive to client feedback and will work closely with you to make sure that the final design fits your specifications. With quick turnaround times and an emphasis on quality, they’ve easily become a preferred partner for any company looking for a fast and reliable agency for website design work.
Location: London, United Kingdom / Vancouver, Canada
Services: Data and Analytics, User Experience Research, Product and Pricing Experimentation, Personalization, Enterprise Program Consulting
Notable clients: Microsoft, Facebook, Canon, Just Eat, TaylorMade, Samsung, Toyota, Trainline
Minimum project price: BESPOKE—usually around $10,000; custom estimates provided after consultation
Best for: Medium, Large, & Enterprise Businesses
Conversion is one of the leading web design agencies specializing in creating high-converting web experiences for businesses across various industries. Conversion’s focus on Conversion Centered Design (CCD), which prioritizes conversion from the outset, ensures that websites look good and effectively drive user engagement and generate leads and sales. This approach has led to the generation of over $2 billion in additional revenue for their clients.
The agency’s proficient team is composed of experienced strategists, UX/UI designers, and developers with a wealth of industry knowledge. Their diverse expertise encompasses areas such as SaaS, retail, financial services, automotive, real estate, healthcare, and more, providing clients with a competitive advantage in launching high-performing B2B, subscription, and eCommerce websites. Conversion Centered Design Agency’s designers, skilled in conversion techniques, meticulously adhere to clients’ brand guidelines to craft distinct and engaging user experiences.
Location: New York City, San Diego, Seattle, Los Angeles, and 21 other locations across the United States
Services: Search Engine Optimization, Content Writing, Website Design & Development, Amazon Marketing, Reputation Management, Social Media Marketing, Conversion Optimization
Notable clients: Shields Nursing Agency, Rakkasan Motorsports, Brazos Higher Education, Breeders Planet, Joolala
Minimum project price: BESPOKE—around $1,000/project; custom estimates can be provided
Best for: companies that want to leverage their website designs by studying their customer’s behavior
Thrive’s full-package marketing plans have helped plenty of businesses launch their websites in competitive industries by making effective changes in their website design. The agency’s focus on concrete approaches to improve user experiences helps brands reduce bounce rates, increase conversions, and improve customer messaging through user-centric design.
The agency pushes a personalized approach to website design, favoring building a website from the ground up instead of relying on pre-existing frameworks and templates. By integrating their research on user behaviors, they’re able to present tailor-made solutions for their clients with their website designs. They handle all aspects of website design, from content writing to eCommerce integration, including website maintenance and upkeep for long-term results.
Location: New York, United States
Services: Website and Application Development, Creative and Video Work, Influencer Marketing, Marketing Strategy, Organic Growth, Media Buying
Notable clients: Reddit, Samsung, Titanbet, gameit, Say, Uber, Discovery Network
Minimum project price: BESPOKE—starts at $50,000/month; custom estimates provided after consultation
Best for: companies looking for additional investment into a mobile-first approach to their website design
Moburst is a mobile-first marketing agency that emphasizes growth in its work, enabling its clients to hit their KPIs by optimizing their websites pre- and post-launch. Most of their work is centered around examining your user interactions, conducting A/B testing, and improving UX to design user-centric websites for better engagement.
Their expertise in mobile-first websites makes them a perfect choice for companies looking to invest in responsive design, ensuring that their websites operate consistently at optimal levels. This is particularly useful for companies in industries with mobile-heavy users, as it improves user trust and search engine ranking on their websites.
Location: San Francisco, United States
Services: Brand Architecture, Visual Identity, UI Design, User Research and Testing, Web Design, Front-end & Back-end Development, CMS Implementation, Art Direction, Iconography, Mobile App Development
Notable clients: Meta, Google, Coinbase, Snapchat, Discover, Stripe, Slack, Cisco, Amazon, Oppo
Minimum project price: BESPOKE—usually $100,000, depending on project requirements
Best for: comprehensive and personalized website design and development for large companies and businesses
With names like Amazon and Meta under its portfolio of work, Clay has the experience and confidence to overhaul any website design completely and put it at the forefront of its industry. Using the latest technology, software, and marketing strategies, the agency provides a comprehensive web design solution to its clients beyond mere aesthetics.
Clay can also handle the creative demands of any company full-time, bringing innovative digital experiences that better showcase the brand to its audience. It has extensive experience with cross-platform marketing and development, even recently integrating AI capabilities with its services for more efficient results.
Location: Pittsburgh, United States
Services: Digital Strategy, UI/UX, Full-Stack Web Development, Copywriting, Graphic And Asset Creation, Data Entry And Migration, SEO, Website Support
Notable clients: Chicago Schools, Boston Dynamics, UN Women, Caldera Lab, BetterCloud
Minimum project price: BESPOKE–at least $50,000/project; custom estimates provided after consultation
Best for: clients looking for a complete redesign and revamp of their website or migrating to a different website hosting platform
Founded with a mission to help businesses stand out and sell more, Huemor is a leading web design agency that goes beyond aesthetics. They believe in creating websites that look great and deliver tangible business results. Huemor’s approach centers on understanding your brand, audience, and goals. They then use this understanding to create a website that resonates with your customers and is easy for you to manage.
Huemor’s typical clients are mid-market businesses making $25-$250M per year across various industries such as construction, education, FinTech, healthcare, professional services, retail and consumer goods, and SaaS. On average, websites designed by Huemor are effective for 56% longer, convert 82% better, and create a 24% lift in organic search results.
Location: New Orleans, United States / Washington D.C., United States
Services: Social Media Management, SEO Management, Digital Ads, Content Marketing, Web Design, WordPress, Branding
Notable clients: Bauhaus Salon + Spa, Advocates for Ansley Park, Eisenhower Consignment, Doctors For America, Northgate Land Development, World Trade Center New Orleans
Minimum project price: START-UP–usually ranges from $1,000 to $15,000 for website projects; custom estimates provided after consultation
Best for: companies that need a ground-up website design, building, and website monitoring and maintenance
Online Optimism pursues a responsive approach to web design, using its extensive experience in UX design and development to create the best online experiences for its clients and their customers. Their proven track record has made them one of the country’s leading providers of premier digital marketing and design, especially for clients who need their websites built from the ground up.
The agency has plenty of experience with different industries like healthcare, eCommerce, government institutions, and non-profit organizations. Their diverse expertise helps them adapt well to the needs of clients who aren’t from sectors or industries that are familiar with website design.
Location: New York, United States
Services: Web Design, UI/UX Design, Branding, Graphic Design, Packaging Design, Experiential Design, Logo Creation, Brand Assets, Decks
Notable clients: Munoz Group Real Estate, Chef Antoine Lours, Symphony Sleep, Roommate, CO2-Neutral Website Builder, Express Shoe Repair
Minimum project price: BESPOKE—typically $5,000 to $50,000; custom estimates provided after consultation
Best for: companies within the CPG (consumer packaged goods) industry that need website design alignment with their physical products
With 8 years of experience and a reputation as a top-rated UI/UX design agency, they’ve successfully designed and developed over 150 websites, earning a 99% client satisfaction rate. Their work is characterized by fast, creative, and reliable websites that are not only visually appealing but also tailored to achieve specific business goals.
Their award-winning web design service employs cutting-edge techniques and an AGILE process to produce high-caliber, mobile-responsive websites. The team at DD.NYC prioritizes adaptable design, ensuring your website is optimized for any device or interface while maintaining a unique, bespoke feel. The result is a website that attracts your target audience, enhances interaction, boosts sales, and elevates your brand’s value.
Location: London, United Kingdom / San Francisco, United States / Lisbon, Portugal
Services: Minimum Viable Product, Software Development, Web Development, Mobile Development, UX Audit
Notable clients: Ei (Environmental Intellect), Invisible Homes, Pulsar Helium, Travel Wifi, Learninghubz
Minimum project price: BESPOKE—around $5,000 to $90,000; custom estimates provided after consultation
Best for: companies looking to scale their website design with their company growth
Imaginary Cloud ensures your product offers a seamless user experience with thorough code and UX audits. They also unlock the full potential of your data through cutting-edge data science and AI solutions. Their unique processes guarantee high-quality, efficient, and financially responsible project deliveries, all underpinned by complete transparency.
By choosing Imaginary Cloud, you will collaborate with top-tier European developers, harness their technical excellence, and gain a steadfast business partner dedicated to propelling your growth journey. Their emphasis on tech-centric solutions ensures that your business is never sidetracked by the changing landscape of technology, especially when it comes to growth.
Location: Poltava, Ukraine / Toronto, Canada
Services: Web Design, UI/UX Design, Illustrations, Icons, Animations, Motion Design, Prototyping, Landing Pages, Mobile Apps, Web Development
Notable clients: Creative Gifyard, Book of Slots, Tester.Club, Lumaly, Uzilo
Minimum project price: START-UP–around $5,000 to $10,000; custom estimates provided after consultation
Best for: Companies looking for small-to-medium quality website redesign projects with an emphasis on visuals
Founded in 2017, Clever Code Lab has quickly earned its stripes as one of the leading web design agencies with a focus on user-friendly web design. Their web designers and developers have collaborated with brands across Europe and the USA, making design decisions with the mindset that when customers are on websites, they judge based on appearance—and brands better impress!
The agency strongly believes in user-centric design, the framework they use to create and launch website redesigns or projects. They’re particularly skilled at interactive-based design, giving users more freedom to interact with a website through engaging features that promote more touchpoints between your business and your audience.
Location: Several offices across the United States, India, and the Netherlands
Services: Web Design, UI/UX Design, Web Development, Web App Development, IT Staff Augmentation, Inbound Marketing, SEO, Content Marketing
Notable clients: HP, WHO, News Cosmos, EMAAR, Toshiba
Minimum project price: BESPOKE—typically $20,000 or higher; custom estimates provided after consultation
Best for: companies in the education, healthcare, fashion, restaurant, and legal industries looking for website design services
KrishaWeb specializes in providing end-to-end digital solutions, helping their clients create a memorable and engaging online presence regardless of their platform. Trusted by some of the biggest companies in the world, they’ve delighted millions of customers with personalized solutions that cater to their specific needs.
With a robust tech department, they can bring to life their clients’ goals, combining vision with world-class tech applications. Clients looking for talented developers to make their ideas a reality—especially to create a compelling website for their audience—can benefit from KrishaWeb’s technical expertise and experience across a variety of industries.
Location: Warsaw, Poland
Services: Branding, Web Design, GIF Animation, Icon Creation, Illustration, Javascript, Mobile Development, Motion Graphics, UI/UX Design
Notable clients: Sprightful, Sweet Analytics, Google Play
Minimum project price: TRAILBLAZER—around $10,000 to $50,000; custom estimates provided after consultation
Best for: companies looking for a strong mobile push with their website design or need additional mobile application design and development.
Fireart Studio strongly emphasizes UI/UX design frameworks with its projects, allowing the agency to make audience-centric experiences for its clients. They have experience with a variety of industries, with a particular bent toward app design and product development.
Their customer-centric approach pairs well with companies who need website design services that heavily cater to their audience interaction, promoting engagement and long-term partnerships with their customers. With a technical team experienced in JavaScript, they can seamlessly integrate their work with most of the content already available on websites and other platforms, with a flexible approach to address any concerns or feedback from a website’s audience.
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Services: Web Design and Development, Digital Marketing, Digital Strategy and Consulting, Photography and Videography, Branding, Messaging and Design, eCommerce
Notable clients: Tacit Therapies, Primera Analytical Solutions, AltaThera Pharmaceuticals, Paradigm4
Minimum project price: BESPOKE—starts at $17,000; custom estimates provided after consultation
Best for: B2B companies looking for responsive-centric website design
B2B companies face unique challenges with their website design and how they convey value, which is an aspect that Ladybugz shines at addressing. Their comprehensive website design and development services are backed by an agile development process, ensuring that every change and feature added to a website is fully aligned with the expectations of its visitors.
They’re particularly well-suited to websites using plenty of integrations, as they stay constantly on top of the latest technologies on website hosting platforms. This allows them to fine-tune their data gathering with audiences for information-driven website design.
Location: New York, United States
Services: Branding and Design, Marketing Campaigns, Web Development, Trade Show Management, Film, Video, and Photography
Notable clients: New York International Auto Show, NYC Ferry, BMW Automotive, Crayola
Minimum project price: BESPOKE—starts at $25,000; custom estimates provided after consultation
Best for: companies looking to leverage disruptive marketing strategies and web design
Ruckus is a full-service agency that powers businesses around the world. They provide core strategic engagements in branding, platform design, and campaigns to consistently drive greater consumer action and awareness. Ruckus has completed hundreds of projects and been featured on sites like ABC, CNN, CBS, Adweek, The Wall Street Journal, and more.
Their strong belief in the capabilities of disruptive marketing helps them craft memorable user experiences for their clients, helping increase short- and long-term awareness and engagement. Their expertise spans companies of different industries and sizes, enabling them to execute brand strategies backed by actionable audience research.
Location: Lviv, Ukraine
Services: Web Design, Brand Identity, Creative Development, Product UI/UX Design, 3D and Motion Design
Notable clients: Sweet Pain, Kordie, Kattana, Vigo, Tsukat, Respect.Studio, Manzzil
Minimum project price: TRAILBLAZER—around $10,000 to $40,000; custom pricing determined after consultation
Best for: companies looking for a narrative-focused approach to their website design and branding
Narratives are some of the biggest drivers of audience engagement, and Dops understands better than most agencies how to integrate this concept into web design. Their website designs blend stunning, unforgettable visuals with tailored user experiences, helping their clients stand out from their competitors.
The agency strongly believes in creating holistic solutions for its clients, ensuring consistency in brand messaging. By working with and innovating on their client’s online personas, they’re able to give them a platform where user experiences can translate into long-term partnerships.
Location: Moscow, Russia
Services: Branding, Website Design and Development, Product Design
Notable clients: Heartcore, Zerion, Vade, Simla, Kinescope, Kodland, Galactic Energy
Minimum project price: START-UP—usually starts at around $5,000; custom estimates provided after consultation
An agency focused on company branding, Embacy has cemented its place as a reliable and efficient partner for companies looking for quick turnarounds with their website design. They’ve served clients from around the world, focusing on memorable and visually stunning digital design to make outstanding websites.
Location: California, United States
Services: Professional B2B/B2C Web Design and Development, Mobile Applications, Digital Strategy, User Experience, Advertising, Social Media Marketing, Content Management Systems, Email Marketing Initiatives
Notable clients: California Endowment, BEGA, Keller Postman
Minimum project price: SELF-SERVE – projects are around $150 to $199 per hour
SPINX Digital balances aesthetics with functionality in its website designs, crafting tailored experiences that best showcase the capabilities of a brand. They emphasize work on user experiences, creating websites with the latest technologies designed to engage and entertain visitors. Aside from helping brands launch their websites, they also offer long-term support and website maintenance after you’ve launched your project.
Location: Michigan, United States
Services: Web Design, Custom Software Development, UX/UI Design, Web Development
Notable clients: HealthcareSource, Steelcase, StockX, Digital Realty, Howard Miller, Haworth
Minimum project price: TRAILBLAZER—starts at around $10,000; custom pricing provided after consultation
Fusionary uses a comprehensive digital roadmap with their web design projects, helping clients understand the strong points of their brand and translating them into digital experiences. Their strengths in digital-first approaches help their clients stay competitive in the online space, helping them reach their goals and grow their businesses. This includes scaling their design and marketing efforts, automating processes, and integrating enterprise applications within their workflows.
Location: Illinois, United States
Services: Web Design, Branding, Graphic Design, Print Design, UX/UI Design, Content Marketing, Social Media Marketing
Notable clients: Harvard University, Northwestern University, The Seattle Times, Chicago Public Schools, Idea Center Notre Dame
Minimum project price: START-UP—starts at $1,000; custom estimates provided after consultation
Olive Street Design provides stunning websites that balance functionality with design, with quick turnaround times and extensive support post-launch. The agency prides itself on its close working relationship with its clients, involving their feedback with every step of the design process.
Location: Offices across the globe
Services: Brand Identity, Campaigns and Activations, Influencer Marketing, Production, Web and Mobile App Development, Cloud Engineering, Strategy and Innovation, UI/UX Design, Growth Marketing
Notable clients: Contentful, Amazon, Adobe, Salesforce, Google, Optimizely
Minimum project price: BESPOKE—usually around $100,000; custom estimates provided after consultation
Dept is a digital agency that combines creativity, technology, and data to help clients build and grow their digital business through digital products, services, and campaigns. They offer end-to-end solutions that provide tailored experiences that audiences can enjoy, using them to increase long-term engagement with their clients.
Location: Oregon, United States
Services: Web Design, Graphic Design, Logo Design, Print Design, Web Development
Notable clients: South Coast Lumber Co., Resolve, Performance Makeup
Minimum project price: SELF-SERVE—project prices start at $100 to $150/hour
JVM Design is one of the best web design agencies in the US that prides itself on building relationships, not just websites. The agency has been around for more than 20 years and has fine-tuned the core values by which they approach website design—experience, value, handcrafting, and personal support. They work with clients long-term for consistent brand growth and tailor their services to suit company sizes and industries.
Location: Illinois and Colorado, United States
Services: Web design, Web development, SEO, Conversion Rate Optimization, Content Marketing, Digital Publishing, PPC, Analytics
Notable clients: SATO Printer Store, Morrison Weighing, Dynomax, Metro City Roofing
Minimum project price: BESPOKE—around $25,000; custom estimates provided after initial consultation
Angle180 is a web design and digital strategy agency that supports clients from planning to maintenance. They’re a boutique firm that maintains a limited number of accounts and seeks to build long-term relationships with industrial manufacturing and commercial construction companies.
Location: London, England / New York, United States
Services: Creative Web Design, Branding, eCommerce, Web Development, Digital Marketing
Notable clients: Tangerine, Wogan Coffee, YMU Group, Mercury Filmworks, Martin Building, Jumo Health
Minimum project price: TRAILBLAZER—starts at $10,000; custom estimates offered after consultation
KOTA emphasizes the creative approach in their website designs, bringing their client’s brand identity to the forefront for effective brand messaging. They transform businesses’ core identities into concrete digital experiences, encouraging a community of creativity and engagement with their designs.
Location: New York, United States / Abu Dhabi and Dubai, UAE
Services: Content Strategy, Web Design and Development, Prototyping, eCommerce, Photography, Research and Strategy
Notable clients: McDonald’s, Brown University, Unilever, Clear, America’s Best House Plans, Under the Weather
Minimum project price: BESPOKE – projects start around $25,000; custom estimates provided after consultation
Dotlogics is a web design agency that focuses on learning about the unique customer value each client offers before building a custom website to ensure that whatever they create aligns with the brand’s personality. The team includes designers, brand strategists, and project managers who provide everything from educational insights to consultative web agency services.
Location: Illinois, United States
Services: Product Discovery, Web Design, Content Writing, Mobile App Design, Design-to-Dev Support, SEO, Reporting
Notable clients: The Lactation Network, SafeRate, Okamura, Symphony Care Network, Griffith Foods
Minimum project price: BESPOKE—at least $25,000; custom estimate prepared after consultation
Mabbly is a strategic design agency that pays close attention to data analytics, market research, and digital technology. By identifying the core issues behind their client’s concerns, they’re able to create actionable plans to drive user-centric website designs. This process creates a better online experience for audiences and strengthens brand impressions and authority long-term.
Location: Warsaw, Poland
Services: Web Design, UX/UI, Mobile Apps, Illustrations, eCommerce Design and Development, Website Development, Branding, Content Creation
Notable clients: Carbon Revision, Prime Ambassador, Flic, Inleed, BioChemtronica, Caresoft, Staypoint
Minimum project price: START-UP—starts at around $5,000; custom estimates provided after consultation
Roud Studio is a web design agency that brings design, tech, and ideas together through web design and development, eCommerce solutions, visual content, optimization, and product support. The agency also looks to build long-term relationships so they can monitor performance and adjust as needed.
Location: New York, United States
Services: Branding, Web Development. Digital Marketing, Web Design, UX/UI Design, App Development, Website Support and Hosting
Notable clients: RRS Lawyers, ATM Advantage, Meadowbrook Financial Mortgage, Coral Tapas and Wine Bar, Grand Stage Diner
Minimum project price: START-UP—starts at $1,000; custom estimates provided after consultation
Top Notch Dezigns specializes in high ROI approaches in their designs. They carefully incorporate their client’s ideas and vision into their process, ensuring that the final product is both visually stunning and functional with its features/integrations. They also integrate post-launch support with their plans, helping clients stand on their own after their projects are done.
Location: California and New York, United States
Services: Web Design, Web Development, WordPress Web Design, Responsive Design, Content Marketing, Email Marketing, Branding
Notable clients: Britive, Selector, Outcome Security, Safehub, Flexxaire, FleetUp, AdDaptive, Anergia
Minimum project price: BESPOKE—starts at around $25,000; custom estimates provided after consultation
Bop Design has helped plenty of clients across different agencies, giving it a diverse skill set to tackle the unique challenges presented by web design. The agency focuses on B2B marketing by creating strong branding, effectively conveyed through website design and educational marketing materials.
Location: West Wales, United Kingdom
Services: Responsive Web Design, eCommerce, Standards and Compliance, Content Management Systems, Digital Advertising, Website Hosting
Notable clients: Carsmetics, Old Oak Kitchens, Afon Mel, West Wales Rally Spares, Davies and Davies, Countryside Cottages
Minimum project price: UNKNOWN—custom estimates offered after consultation
Solid Designs has been creating fresh, functional websites for over two decades. Using a strategic approach to web development, they will partner with you to evaluate your online objectives and determine how they can unlock the business opportunities that are available for your business online. After launching your website, they can also offer ongoing maintenance and various other services to help you build, manage, and market your website.
Identifying Your Web Design Needs: Understanding Different Types of Design
Web design is a broad discipline, and it’s important to understand why you need web design services to make sure that you hire the right agency. While an initial goal such as “making the website more readable or aesthetically pleasing” can be a good starting point, it may be too general to pursue effectively. It’s far better to be as specific as possible with the services you’ll need from your web design.
Here are three concrete goals that you can aim for with your web design agency:
1. Increase Sales and Conversions
One of the most essential ways to leverage your website design is using it to close customer sales and increase conversions. While this can seem simple in theory, practical data suggests otherwise: according to Forbes, the average bounce rate of website visitors can be anywhere from 41 to 55 percent.
That’s roughly half of your website visitors leaving after they’ve only seen one page. This may happen for plenty of reasons, but the most common is that your website simply isn’t optimized for sales and conversions. Website design agencies can provide you with the tools, manpower, and design to transform your website into a domain that provides value to your customers.
These sales-centric agencies can identify the aspects of your website that need improvement and implement changes that can help address these gaps. This can translate to significant gains for your business, ranging from visitors signing up for email listings to direct sales of promoted products and services.
2. Improve Website Readability and Accessibility In Search Engines
User experience plays a significant role in how well a website is received by an audience. If your website doesn’t read well, visitors and customers alike are less likely to engage with your business. HubSpot found that the majority of SEO strategies revolve around optimizing content for search engines.
Improving readability and accessibility goes beyond simple grammar checks and design tweaks—it should be a comprehensive approach that makes your website feel better, more intuitive, and easier to find by visitors and search engines alike. Website design agencies specializing in search engine optimization can help you achieve this goal, especially when implementing long-term strategies to ensure your brand remains relevant in search.
Because improving user experience is a long-term approach, working with a website design agency can ensure that you have a consistent partner to help your website stay optimized in the long run.
3. Unify Your Online Branding
Brands are rarely complete from launch; a business may take months or years to find its footing and identity in the industry. When this happens, it’s not unusual for a business’s branding to be all over the place.
But inconsistent branding doesn’t just make your business look unprofessional. According to Oberlo, it only takes a visitor 0.05 seconds to form an impression about your website. If your branding isn’t consistent, you’ll find it difficult to present your brand in the way that you intend—and maybe even reach fewer customers as a result.
Website design agencies can help address this problem by unifying your online presence, creating style guides, or reworking your branding entirely for a more consistent impression. Not only does this make you more trustworthy in the eyes of your audience, but it also helps make your brand more distinct from your competitors.
Industry-Specific Expertise: Do You Need a Niche Agency?
Many businesses often ask before hiring a website design agency if they should hire one with experience with their specific industry. The answer to this is somewhat complex and will mostly depend on the goals that you want to achieve with your website design.
However, a good rule of thumb to follow is that you should always hire a niche agency that specializes in your industry—if you can find and afford one. If your website design agency is familiar with your industry and its demands, it’s easier for them to provide solutions that work well for your concerns.
But if this isn’t possible for your business, there’s nothing wrong with choosing a website design agency with experience in the specific service you’re looking for. While it may take slightly longer for an agency to familiarize itself with what your industry requires, the foundation of its experience with its services will be enough to give you the solutions that you need.
In essence, while choosing a niche agency for your website design is highly recommended, it’s not required in pulling off a successful website design project. What’s far more important is how well your agency understands your requirements and how easy they are to work with in fulfilling those needs.
Budgeting for Web Design: What Should You Expect to Pay?
One mistake that companies often make when budgeting for web design is not considering the other potential costs aside from the labor needed to work on a website domain. For example, Forbes found that the average cost of professional website design can run around $5,000 or higher, but other costs like domain hosting, website upkeep, and other additions can add hundreds to thousands to the overall costs.
One estimate that most marketers seem to agree on is anywhere from $50,000 to $75,000 for comprehensive work on a website. Website design agencies are an excellent option for this very reason, as their estimates will usually be a complete solution to your website design needs, which means less expense in getting additional services from other parties.
Aside from these initial costs, it’s also important to calculate any potential maintenance work that needs to be done on your website. These are typically already included in a comprehensive website design proposal, but you may want to renegotiate based on how your website performs after the initial work has already been completed.
Either way, asking your chosen web design agency for an estimate doesn’t hurt. It’s entirely possible to negotiate a lower asking price than the estimates we’ve discussed above, as many agencies are happy to work with their clients to find a price point that works for everyone.
The Importance of Responsive Design: Ensuring Mobile Compatibility
Mobile browsing has steadily risen in popularity and preference in starting any online experience. Because of this, responsive design is no longer an optional feature; it’s considered a standard in deciding what makes a good website.
According to Insider Intelligence, the number of US adults using mobile phones has increased to 253 million in 2023, in comparison to 248 million users in 2021. Globally, the number of smartphone users is increasing by the year, with an estimated 5.8 billion users by 2028.
Making sure that your website has a responsive design can be beneficial in plenty of ways, like:
- Helping your content become more accessible to different devices
- Ensuring that your branding, content, and overall messaging displays consistently
- Reducing the resources you would have spent on optimization across different platforms
- Improving user experience regardless of the chosen platform used to interact with your website
- Accommodating for the short attention spans that mobile users have when browsing online
- Improves your overall SEO scoring and reputation with search engines
- Loading your pages faster without increasing the risk of display errors
- Allowing for easier tracking and reporting of your website performance and analytics
Integrating responsive design is a must-have for any website, but it does require technical skills and tools that the average user may not have the time or resources to invest in. Website design agencies can do this for your website, and it’s usually already included in their estimates for the overall work.
Design vs. Development: What’s the Difference and What Do You Need?
An important distinction to make with website design is to separate it from website development. Design is how your audience views and experiences your website, while development is the technical work like coding that makes it possible.
In some cases, you may need to shift priorities and resources to either website design or website development, depending on the goals of your website design and business strategy. Here are some guidelines on which one to pick:
Website Design
This is best suited for when you need a comprehensive rebrand of your business or when you have data showing that the user experience of your website is poor.
Website design usually aims to answer one question: how can you make your audience’s experience with your website more favorable? Most of the work with website design will center around improving how visitors navigate and perceive your website, increasing their engagement and trust in your brand.
Some areas that website design work may cover include:
- Graphic design and visual assets
- Website layout and site mapping
- User experience/user interface work
- Information design and architecture
- Optimizing for accessibility and responsiveness
Website Development
This is best suited for adding new functionalities and features to your website or building a pre-approved design concept into your website’s code.
Website development takes priority if there’s a specific action or activity that you want your visitors to take on your website. As the technical backbone of your online domain, website development is necessary with anything from customer info collection to data regulatory compliance.
Some areas that website development work may cover include:
- Applying client-facing (front-end) or server-side (back-end) functionalities
- Testing websites for errors and other technical issues
- Creating and managing software workflows
- Strategizing best practices for SEO integration
- Integration and management of website databases
Can Your Website Do Both Design and Development?
In most cases, yes! Your website should be able to balance its needs between website design and development unless your needs heavily skew towards one or the other. Most website design agencies will also offer web development work because it simplifies the process of working on your website overall.
It’s also possible to choose different agencies for each type of work, but most experts would recommend that you stick to one agency for convenience’s sake. Sticking with one agency decreases the risk of misalignment and ensures that your website’s final look and feel will be consistent for your visitors.
Agency Size vs. Project Scope: Big Agencies for Big Projects?
While website design is a consistent concern, no matter the industry, smaller companies or businesses may feel pressured to spend more to keep up with their larger competitors in terms of website quality. But while the size of an agency will mean that they have more resources to spend on your website design, it doesn’t mean that bigger agencies should always be tapped for big website design projects.
The reason behind this is simple: agencies will often choose to specialize with the size of the company and projects that they work with, and a “big project” is often relative. There’s nothing wrong with choosing a smaller agency if they can still fulfill your project requirements, especially if they’ve proven that they’re easy and consistent to work with.
The important thing to keep in mind is to always pick an agency that will work closely with your business when designing your website. Communication is the best way to ensure both quality and results, and these are not dependent on the size of the agency you’ll be working with—or even how big the scope of your project will be.
SEO-Optimized Design: Will Your Website Rank Well?
SEO is a crucial component of website design, as it helps your domain become visible and rank higher in search engines. Website design agencies will often include it within their scope of work, but something that you may need to keep in mind is that SEO will often include plenty of content creation, which isn’t within the duties of website designers or website developers.
SEO work will often require the services of a content team, which will work closely with website designers and developers to create relevant content that can help your overall SEO score. Most website design agencies will also have content teams of their own that can work on your website design.
But will this be enough to make sure that your website will rank well? It depends. There are best practices that can help you rank higher—including website design—but the key thing to understand about SEO ranking is that they don’t happen overnight.
Some of the many things that will affect your SEO ranking include:
- URL optimization
- Page load speed
- Keywords used
- Quality of your content
- Site structure and design
- Backlinks
- Overall user experience
- Website security
You’ll notice that many of these factors fall within a website developer or designer’s work. This makes website design agencies an ideal choice if you’re looking to improve your SEO ranking since they have the experience and resources to implement the needed SEO changes to your website.
Hiring a website design agency can be a step in the right direction if you want to make your website rank higher, but it’s important to set expectations about how fast and how high your rank will rise in search. But if your immediate concern is limited to making immediate improvements to your website’s SEO score, then a website design agency is well-equipped to address these concerns.
Choose the Best Web Design Agency for Your Business
As you can see, there’s no shortage of highly qualified and skilled web design agencies in the world. The agencies included on our list are just the tip of the iceberg. We encourage you to explore options local to you to see if you can find the web design agency of your dreams right in your own backyard! And by using the questions we’ve provided here, you know exactly what you need to ask to identify the web design agencies on your shortlist that are up to the task.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find the best web design agency?
The best web design agency will be the one that provides the services that your website design needs at a price that you can afford, with a process that you can easily follow and work with. You can narrow your choices depending on what you think your website needs in terms of design and make your final selection based on the recommendations an agency will make after consulting with them.
How much should I expect to pay for a website?
Most estimates for website design will range from $500 to $10,000 for smaller projects and $20,000 to $50,000 for larger projects. Keep in mind that this is only for website design and development—other costs like website maintenance and/or marketing may have other costs.
How do you hire a web design agency?
You can reach out to website design agencies via their websites. If you want to do more research between agencies, some websites aggregate reviews and ratings for easy comparison and contrast.
How many hours does it take to design a website?
Professional website design usually takes anywhere from three to five months if it’s being built from the ground up. You should also account for website testing and debugging (which can take several weeks) and follow up after project completion (typically a month after website launch) to ensure that both the front and back end are working as intended.
About the Author
Writer
Koba Molenaar brings nearly a decade of rich experience in content writing, specializing in digital marketing, branding, SaaS, and eCommerce. Her passion for helping brands, from solopreneurs to established companies, connect with their audiences shines through her work. As a member of the Golden Key International Honor Society, Koba’s commitment to excellence is evident in her work, showcasing her as a relatable and knowledgeable voice in the industry.
