Spotting these amateur designers and agencies is relatively easy for someone in the industry, but when you're not in the industry it can be difficult and once you hand over your money it is almost impossible to get it back.
These part time amateur 'have a go' designers are the easiest to spot, they'll usually have a full time job in a factory, supermarket or office completely un-related to the web design industry which in itself should sound the alarm bells, they will only be contactable in the evenings and at weekends, they'll almost certainly use some outdated web design software to put together basic websites or simply install you an open source content management system such as Wordpress, Joomla or Concrete. If they have a website, this itself will be a template or software and 9 times out 10 this is the template you'll get too because this is what they have.
So what will you actually get? On the surface many people, especially small 'one man band' type businesses will be happy enough, they probably didn't pay a lot in the first place so didn't expect a great design, and they now have a web presence.
What did you really get? What you got is a very basic template website done by someone who simply doesn't know enough to do a good job, think about it? If they were a great or even a competent web designer it would either be their full time profession or they would be employed by a web design agency and not working in an unrelated industry.
Web sites are like icebergs... What you see in your browser is only the tip; the main part of any modern website is the code. Is the code valid and compliant? (probably not if it's been done by an amateur), is it written correctly? can it correctly detect different screen sizes and adjust itself? does it contain all the correct data for the search engines?
A professional web designer/developer will spend as much time, if not more, on the things you can't see rather that the things you can see, OK, an aesthetically pleasing beautifully designed website is a must for any business as you want to attract customers, but a professional will go a step further making sure that the site will do well in searches, renders correctly on any screen size, browser or device
Yes, these do exist, and there are a lot more than you think out there are posing as professional web designers and coders, these however are a little harder to spot as many will have splashed out on fancy offices and will look the part.
You'll get the telesales type companies who will cold call thousands of small businesses and use high pressure sales tactics or tricks to get them to had over credit/debit card details. What you'll get is an overpriced template website thrown together in 5 minutes that will do your business no good, it probably won't be Google compliant, Mobile friendly or be professionally coded and many of these type of companies will also force you into ongoing maintenance contracts sometimes for as much as £500 per month until they have milked every penny they can out of you.
They'll usually have their own basic out dated website (they'll claim their new modern one is under construction, it always is...) built either using a downloaded template or open source software, the site will usually make grandiose claims that they offer 'World Class Web Design', create 'Award Winning Websites' and claim to have have been in the industry for many years, etc, etc, when in reality they are a simple boiler room outfit and those that have actual premises usually have a permanent banner outside saying 'Telesales staff wanted' which says it all.
Avoid these companies like the plague and even though they are hard to spot on the surface a simple Google search for the company name will usually return dozens on negative reviews and dissatisfied customers.
Another type of amateur web design agency is the 'non skilled' package installer type of company, these companies are usually after local work and are similar to the Amateur 'Have a Go' designers in that they have little or no web design skills and simply install templates or an open source website package and install a theme they have purchased. The big difference is that they will usually have premises unlike the Amateur work from home 'Have a Go' designers so on the surface will appear to be a proper professional web design agency.
These are the type of companies that scam and upset the most people as they usually have a pretty decent looking website (albeit designed and coded by someone else) and on the surface appear professional, their prices are a lot higher than the 'Have a Go' designers so you assume you are getting a professional service, this couldn't be further from the truth.
These are by far the worst companies to deal with and should be avoided at all costs, they are also know as conveyor belt web design companies as their task is to churn out your template website as quickly as possible and move onto the next victim, you'll have little or no say as to the features on your website simply because they are not developers or coders and are just clicking an install button.
But you'll get a website right? Of course you will and it might look OK, It may even be compliant and responsive if they have used up to date software and theme but think about it, you paid £1000's for someone to click an install button, something you could have easily done yourself... plus what if you wanted unique features? What if you want to changes things? What you get is whatever they decide you are getting.
This main issue I have with these types of companies is they tout themselves as web designers yet couldn't even design their own website!!! Really... Would you take your car to a mechanic who when his own car needs repairing takes it to another garage?
There is another issue with open source software, anyone can download it even hackers who look for vulnerability in the code, last year alone 100,000 Wordpress site's were hacked through a vulnerability in an add-on, do you really want to have this happen to you?
Don't use a friend of a friend, a relatives son-in-law or a part time 'Have a Go' designer who's web design skills are so bad that he/she needs to work full time in a supermarket or factory.
Things to check : Check their own website, is it any good, do they have a portfolio? Is it their full time job? Can you reach them 9 to 5 during the week?
Don't use a cold calling telesales company whose only aim is to milk you for every penny then tie you up in contract and deliver a poor amateurish website
Things to check : Check their own website, is it any good, do they have a portfolio? What are their other websites like? Check them in a mobile? Are they trying to get you to sign contracts? Did you speak to a designer or just a salesman? Did you visit their premises? Did they have 'Telesales wanted' posters in the window?
Don't use a 'non skilled' package installer whose goal is to churn you out a template website as quickly as possible and has no interest in you succeeding online.
Things to check : Check their own website, is it any good, do they have a portfolio? What are their other websites like? Do they all look very similar? Have they designed their own website? try Ctrl +U to view the source code, look for tell tale signs in the code such as 'wp-content' in links, which identifies Wordpress, a popular tools for these types of companies.
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