Web design in Barrie for small business
Are you a business in Barrie that needs website design? What you need to know.
A Quick guide to hiring a skilled web designer in Barrie
How to find the right web designer in Barrie for your website
Design a website with a trusted Barrie web designer with 20 years of experience
We help small businesses create space online for their business, making it easy for you to find the right web designer. We build affordable websites, staying true to the lean startup model to keep costs down. As a business owner, we understand you might have limited technical knowledge to help you understand the value and costs of designing a website.
In this article, we explain the five common frustrations small business owners experience when looking for a web designer.
Finding the right web designer and developer
High costs associated with designing a website (and development)
Time-consuming process
Uncertainty about website maintenance
Limited technical knowledge
1). Finding the right web designer
To find the right web designer we suggest looking at their portfolio for their design skills, specifically, quality, functionality, and diversity in the roster of clients.
Another consideration is to review client testimonials online (i.e., LinkedIn). Finally, assess their communication process on a call and by email.
Look for these four essential things in the early discussions.
Do they ask you the right questions? Do they ask what features you want on the website? Examples of sites you like?
Do they promise deadlines and meet them? An example is the web designer offering to send an estimate by a specific date and meet the deadline they set. Specifically, you are looking to qualify their ability to follow through with something when they say they will.
How do they handle feedback? Ask the designer if they will apply your feedback creatively. Ask how they feel about making the changes you request and determine how they respond to the requests with examples of quality actions.
Do they offer technical support after the project ends? This is important for clients because building a website is a significant project and as a business owner you don’t want to be ghosted or feel ignored when you need website support.
We think the most effective way to find the right web designer begins with hiring a local web design company in Barrie. It helps to build rapport and establish trust with the simple task of reaching out to discuss the project and request an estimate.
We make it easy for you to request an accurate flat rate estimate for your website design project. Contact us today.
2). High costs associated with designing a website
Simply put, our mission is to help businesses create space for their business with affordable web designs.
We offer cost-effective options to work with us to design a website for your business with Squarespace as your website platform.
Here are some cost-effective benefits that make us competitive with other Barrie web design companies and freelancers.
An extended 6-months of development time with zero fees for software or hosting
Free domain registration for the first year
Professional email with Google including Google Workspaces access for one year
20% off your first year of website hosting with Squarespace
The website platform discounts help businesses produce a website without paying for time-consuming development stages. This extended trial time makes it easier to keep website design affordable and to stay on budget. Our vision statement is to be a trusted partner offering affordable web design services, and this is because we strongly believe in efficiency, to eliminate redundancy and time-consuming processes to design a website.
3). Time-consuming process
Websites do not have to be a time-consuming process. At Actually, we work to simplify the details with our web designers' ability to evaluate information and generate creative and affordable website solutions.
Our process is purposefully not time-consuming with inflated costs, simplified into two key questions to begin designing a website.
What is the list of features you need the website to do?
What are 3-5 website examples you like in regards to the look and feel
Some examples of common website features:
An easy-to-use platform for non-techy individuals to add and update content
Integration with social media
Add YouTube or Vimeo videos
Mobile-responsive design
Secure website login with two-factor authentication (2FA)
Integration with booking and calendar systems
Accessibility integration (WCAG 2.0)
Contact form and Google Map integration
Easy to add and edit SEO titles and descriptions
From the simplicity of these two questions, the web designer at Actually is capable of designing creative web design solutions with the evaluation of required functionality into a beautiful, easy-to-navigate website that is mobile responsive, SEO optimized and looks like your brand.
The process of working with us is as easy as this 1, 2, 3 list!
Discuss on a one-hour call the desired functionality for your website
Receive a web design estimate
With estimate approval, the web design process begins!
Since the website functionally was already discussed the design process can begin with ease. Usually, no additional meetings are required which can eliminate the concerns a website design is a time-consuming process. We strive to create web designs that minimize your involvement while ensuring a high-quality, personalized result. Our goal is to take the hassle out of designing a website and create a stunning, easy-to-navigate, fully functional site that reflects your brand without time-consuming back and forth.
We handle all the details, from conceptualizing and designing to development, launch, and going live. We work efficiently behind the scenes, always keeping you in the loop with clear, concise progress updates, ensuring your feedback is integrated at key stages. This process is proven so you can expect less time spent on revisions, few distractions, emails and phone calls. We understand your time is valuable and needs to be dedicated and focused on your day-to-day business operations.
4). Uncertainty about website maintenance
We build websites that eliminate uncertainty about website maintenance. Maintenance is not required with our chosen website platform. It is a primary reason why we selected Squarespace as a platform for small business owners. That’s because all maintenance and hosting for the website is included in the annual cost of the website hosting. This makes the website super easy for non-technical business owners to manage.
5). Limited technical knowledge
Having limited technical knowledge about web design is something we expect of clients. We know that websites can be a challenge for business owners because they might not know exactly what to ask for. That’s why we specialize in web design, making the process as straightforward and stress-free as possible no matter your technical background.
As mentioned, we ask what you need to eliminate the time-consuming process of multiple meetings and website discussions in two easy questions. The first question is easy for business owners to complete because it’s just making a list of all the features you want the website to have! With a list of the features wanted for the website, we apply creative web design to design the technical functionality requirements for the site with your brand.
We respect that business owners do not have the same technical knowledge about web design as we do, so we are always happy to explain the technical process, terms and details behind the design and development of your website. Our team is dedicated to guiding you through every step with clear, jargon-free explanations, so you always know exactly what’s going on with your project. When you work with us, you don’t need to be a tech expert—just share the look and feel vision and the list of features wanted. So you can feel confident working with us to design your online presence without getting bogged down by the techy stuff.
About Actually
The designer at Actually has been building websites since the 2000s in a diverse range of sectors for small, medium and large-sized businesses in Canada and the United States. Our web designer is experienced in designing Barrie client websites and interfaces ranging such as Pratt Homes, and Cubeit Portable Storage to national Canadian brands like Bell, Canada Learning Code and the Jane Goodall Institute of Canada.
Hire a trusted web designer in Barrie who can eliminate and resolve the common frustrations a client experiences, while they work on designing a professional and attractive web design that includes the needed website features.
Final thoughts
Maximizing local talent: why your next web designer should be from Barrie
The article, Three Reasons Why Choosing a Barrie Web Design Company Makes Sense, outlines three additional benefits to consider when building a website with a local Barrie web designer. Adding more benefits to hiring a local where they can combine local expertise with their web design skills.
If you’re a business owner who wants to know more about website maintenance to reduce the high costs associated with designing a website, take a close look at Squarespace. This website platform includes all maintenance while making any website easy to use. To learn more about the benefits of Squarespace maintenance, read this article on why Squarespace is perfect for small businesses.