Choosing a Web Designer

How To Compare Website Design Companies

It was our customers that taught us one of the most important factors differentiating Red Letter Design from other Maryland website design companies. We handle both design and development in-house while other firms do the design and hand off the development to a third party.

We had no idea this was such a competitive strength for us until we noticed a pattern. Customers were calling us with requests to take over website projects from other web design firms—finishing, launching or even maintaining their website was taking too much time and going over budget.

Ask a few questions before you sign a contract with any website design firm…

Does the contract detail both the one-time and ongoing expenses of owning of website?

Many contracts only specify the one-time costs of your website’s design and development. Hosting and maintenance are often separate and can add up over time. Some contracts we’ve seen have a low-ball price for the site development, but charge an exorbitant monthly rate to maintain the site.

Red Letter Design’s contracts include firm prices for the total cost of ownership and cover design, development, hosting and expected maintenance fees.

What can you expect after your website goes live? Are updates and technical support included in the cost?

You can’t afford a website designer who takes a “launch it and forget” approach. You’re sure to have questions and need occasional updates as your website and business evolve.

Red Letter Design has been designing websites for Maryland and Washington D.C small businesses since 2004, and we continue to support nearly every site we’ve built. We’ve been based in Montgomery County, Maryland since the beginning and we’re staying put. Updates and support are included in our proposal fees, which give you the freedom to contact us anytime without the fear of receiving a huge bill for additional work performed.

Who will actually perform the web design and development work?

Some firms only do the design and outsource the development, resulting in potential communication glitches, increased costs and missed deadlines.

We believe that a company can only control and wholly guarantee the quality of their own work. Red Letter Design performs all design and development, along with hosting and maintenance. This means you have direct access to the person who is actually building your site rather than having to relay your messages through several people or firms. It also means that the promises we make are promises we know we can keep.

Will the site adhere to technical quality standards today and in the future?

Internet browsers and compliance standards are constantly evolving and can affect the way your website looks and functions. You need to know if your developer follows best practices for producing quality code that will continue to function even when browsers and operating systems advance.

We stay current on web coding standards and will build your website to comply for as long as possible, though updates could be necessary later down the road as new technology arises or standards change. We put your website through a series of prelaunch tests to ensure cross browser and operating system compatibility. Basically, what this does is make sure your website looks and functions as it should no matter which operating system or browser your visitor uses to find you.