Whether you are planning to start an online business or have only been selling products through your brick-and-mortar store, you will want to have an e-commerce website in Singapore at some point. While you can easily set up one by following YouTube online tutorials, will it be better than the work of an e-commerce web design expert?
Building an e-commerce website is easier said than done. You need to be proficient in coding and possess a creative mind to create an aesthetically pleasing and functional e-commerce website for your business.
Instead of doing it by yourself, let a professional set up one for you so you can focus more on other parts of your business. Here are some tips that can help you choose the right e-commerce web design and development agency for your business in Singapore.
1. Evaluate Their Website
Even though you are not an expert in e-commerce web design, you will get an idea of how good an e-commerce agency is once you browse through the web pages of the e-commerce web design and development agency.
You can evaluate the e-commerce website of your chosen e-commerce website design and development agency by clicking on its features. Besides knowing whether they follow the SEO best practices, you can also determine the quality of content that their e-commerce website has.
Evaluating those will help you weigh if they can handle your project. Consider using various mobile devices like androids, iPhones, tablets, and laptops when evaluating their websites to get better insights.
By using various mobile devices, you can determine if their website is accessible and readable. Knowing that they can do such a thing gives you peace of mind that they will most likely do the same once you commission your chosen e-commerce web design and development agency to set up your e-commerce website.
You can rest assured that your customers will be able to check and browse through your platform regardless of the devices they use.
2. Look At Their Portfolio
To choose the right e-commerce web design development agency in Singapore, look at their portfolio and review their previous work. Doing so will give you an idea of how versatile they are and what their specialty is when it comes to e-commerce web design.
If you cannot find an agency’s portfolio on their website, request to see their past projects. They will either send it via email or show it to you through a conference call.
Guarantee that when you are looking at their portfolio, you are taking your time to evaluate the elements, content, and structure.
3. Check Any Awards
Another way to determine an agency’s experience and expertise are to check if they have won any awards. Their achievements will serve as proof of how skilled they are in the e-commerce website design industry in Singapore.
That means they have all the necessary skills to create an aesthetically pleasing and functional e-commerce website.
You can double-check their accomplishments by going to the third-party company that awarded them to ensure that they are genuine.
4. Read Reviews
The right e-commerce web design and development agency is not afraid to show the feedback they have received from their previous customers.
However, the ones on their e-commerce website are not enough to get unbiased customer reviews, so consider reading testimonials on other third-party platforms like Clutch, Facebook, and Google My Business.
If you have not found any customer reviews online, consider asking your chosen web design agency for client references.
Reaching out to their previous customers allows you to ask questions about their experience when they are working with the said e-commerce website design and development agency.
5. Determine Your Budget
While you are still reading customer reviews, you should determine your budget range since that will decide how everything will go through. If you have enough budget on hand, you can afford to work with the top e-commerce web design and development agency without question.
Here are the things you need to do to determine your budget.
- Note how much profit you earn
- Track your monthly expenses
- Compare e-commerce web design and development service rates
- Separate needs and wants
- Plan which features, layout design, and contents your e-commerce website should have
Going through these will help you decide how much you are willing to spend on your project and control the rest of your finances.
6. Mind Their Location
Even though you can discuss the details of your project via email or conference call, relaying your concern in person is way better. Not only can you explain things more clearly, but you can also help them finish the project more quickly.
The e-commerce website design and development agency you choose should be close to your location, so you will not have to travel far to reach out to them if they are not answering your call.
7. Give Them A Call
Another thing you need to do to choose the right e-commerce web design and development agency for your business is to call them. Reaching out to them is the best way to find out how good or bad their customer service is.
At this point, you should make a call with questions. Asking them about their approach, how long it takes to create an e-commerce website, and many more will help you determine if they are the right ones you have been looking for to create an e-commerce website for your business.
Here are some of the questions you might want to ask:
- Will you, if necessary, incorporate third-party apps, extensions, and other features into the website?
- What are the main stages you take when creating a website?
- Who will be working on my website, and what is their level of experience?
- Do you specialize in designing for a specific sector or business?
8. Know If They Offer Maintenance
Regardless of the e-commerce website you will have, it requires an update and maintenance of its programming.
That is why you should make sure to work with an e-commerce web design and development agency in Singapore that offers maintenance so your customers can browse through your web pages without a problem.