Sure, there’s lots to be thankful for this Thanksgiving week. But don’t get mashed like a sweet potato when putting up a website. Here are five guidelines to follow to avoid getting roasted in your next internet advertising venture.

What basics do you look for in finding a company to design a new website? Over the years, we at TreeFrogClick have made some crucial realizations. Here are five top qualities of a good website design firm.

A Good Website Firm

1. Good communication. Will the firm be responsive to you and return phone calls and emails? Or are they too big to be concerned with you? Will you be talking with offshore developers who have an accent and are difficult to get ahold of?
2. Appealing portfolio. Are the websites designed by the firm attractive? Do they have link navigation that is intuitive? Can you find all pages easily? Are the websites designed to be easily indexed by search engines? For searches, important words and links should be done in text rather than graphics.
3. Ease of use. Will you have the ability to make basic text and picture changes on your website from any computer with the use of a password? Or will you have to pay a high hourly fee to do so? What is their minimum hourly charge? $75 is a lot to pay to change a phone number.
4. Access to website. Will you have full administrative server rights to your website? Will you be given the passwords for FTP and the website itself? Will you have the ability to completely change your website, or is that right reserved by the design company?
5. Honesty and integrity. Will the domain be registered in your and your company’s name, and will you be able to verify this? Does the firm’s contract ensure this? Will you be paying unnecessary ongoing administrative fees after the website is built? Is a contract provided? Can you understand it?

Read testimonies of the firm’s happy clients and ask questions about the above points.

If you think you have it rough, remember that the pilgrims celebrated the first Thanksgiving feast in 1621, after nearly half their members died in their first New England winter. Count your blessings and have a great celebration.

Read our free PDF fact sheet, “Seven Proven Ways to Drive Visitors to Your Website.”