First clearly define your project and needs

Writing a list of your short, medium and long-term needs will help you to make an initial selection among potential suppliers.

Short-term need: creation or redesign of a website

Whether it is a showcase site, a one pager or an e-commerce site, the success of your project requires in all cases that professionals with various technical skills work together to ensure its development.

If your project requires a combination of specialized skills: referencing, programming, content writing, webdesign or digital marketing… contact preferably general web agencies… They often have all this know-how, their panoramic vision guarantees the coherence of all the developments carried out for your project, and they generally take care of the hosting of your site, its maintenance and the management of your domain name.

If you do not wish to use the services of an agency, you can contact independent developers and web designers but you will have to liaise between these different stakeholders who are not necessarily used to working together.

Solutions like Wix.com or the use of WordPress tutorials on youtube are alternative solutions in case you want to build your own website. If you have sufficient skills, the result may even be relatively correct. Be careful however, this activity is particularly time-consuming and you will have to publish regularly content optimized for your SEO, maintain and host the site and update its components yourself once your site is online.

In the medium term: attract the target audience and develop the site’s profitability

Because the Internet is everywhere, marketing tends to become more and more digital marketing. There are agencies that only specialize in digital marketing and may have a real interest in specific needs, but a large number of general agencies are competent in web marketing. These generalist agencies also have the advantage of having a global and long-term vision of your project.

When visiting agency sites you should be careful that they master the following skills:

Inbound marketing: the challenge of inbound marketing is to attract visitors to a website to turn them into leads and then into customers. The reference tool for inbound is Hubspot, a complete online software that optimizes lead generation and of which Done Sàrl is an official partner.

Google AdWords or facebook ads are ads that allow you to instantly deliver a targeted message to Internet users based on specific keywords. Their management is done by quite specialized tools: Google Ads, Google Keyword Planner or Google analytics for which it is advisable to have adequate training…

Publications on social networks. The proper management of an instagram or facebook account for companies is one of the four points discussed here that is the most accessible for a non-specialist.

Natural referencing. The good referencing of your pages in the results of the engines is a grail which implies to respect many rules enacted by google and to adapt to their evolution. The publication of articles and the writing of texts optimized for SEO are two of the means used primarily to influence SEO.

A little tip: remember to check that the sites produced by the agencies you contact are well referenced in search engines.

In the long term: ensure the viability of the site and anticipate its future life cycles

Logically, your company will need a website throughout its existence, it will have to adapt to the changing needs of your customers, describe your offer and respect design and ergonomics trends… If your concern is to have a high-performance website that follows these evolutions, we advise you to select an agency that incorporates Website as a service and Growth Driven Design into its practices.

Website as a service is an approach that ensures that your partner agency takes charge of the design of your site and its future evolutions without exceeding the budget, all services are included in a simple monthly invoice. Hosting, maintenance and updates are generally included in the offers of these agencies.

Growth Driven Design is an empirical approach that ensures the continuous development of your site by taking into account the analysis of its traffic and the statistics collected.

Now that you have identified your needs and objectives, you will be able to start the process of contacting and choosing your web agency.

Start your search

Visit websites of web agencies

Luxembourg agencies have the advantage of being very often tri- or even quadrilingual and very professional, but in this first round, focus only on local agencies. You may have a crush on an agency located thousands of kilometers away and with video conferencing it will be very easy to work with it. Avoid falling for an agency whose time zone is too far from yours.

Discover their universe

The atmosphere of a web agency’s website is never chosen at random, it is the expression of its values, its vision of the business and its skills. It is up to you to see if this universe speaks to you, it is of course a totally subjective parameter.

Some service providers will focus more on their technical skills, others on their communication skills… it is up to you to choose the approach that best suits your needs.

Identify their skills

From the developer to the integrator, from the webdesigner to the project manager… an internet agency must present a wide range of skills and have an overview of your project. These skills are usually posted on their website.

Pay attention to their working methods

The Website as a Service and Growth Driven Design, which we have presented above, are in our view the modern and dynamic approaches that by their proactive nature, ensure the best long-term results.

Discover their sectors of activity

It is preferable that the agencies you visit know and master the characteristics of your field of activity. A good generalist agency is able to adapt to all sectors of activity, it is even this multidisciplinary approach that allows it to combine the talents that will allow it to grasp the specificity of your field of activity.

Visit their customers’ websites 

The projects carried out by an agency and the clients who have placed their trust in it are very good indicators of the quality and reliability of its services. Some agencies also sometimes publish case studies that provide detailed information on all the operations that have been carried out.

Don’t forget the comments published on social networks or Google My Business, they will provide you with other useful information about the seriousness and reputation of an agency.

Once you have identified your needs and objectives, you will be able to start the process of contacting and choosing your web agency.

Contact the agencies you like

Pay attention to their attitude

Human relations and in particular the first contact with your interlocutor are decisive. Once the first impression has been made, pay attention to its reactivity, the advice given and the attention given to your comments. Does he ask you questions to make sure that he has done a good job of reviewing your project, adapts his technical vocabulary to your level of understanding or does he persist in talking about a technological sabir that is inaccessible to you?

Do not neglect the human factor, you must feel comfortable and confident with the team that will manage your project and be sure that they have understood your objective and are motivated for this project.

Judge their responsiveness and flexibility

The recurrent unavailability of your telephone contacts or delays in replying to your emails clearly reflect a lack of involvement or poor organization. Whether the contact is made by email, telephone or during face-to-face meetings, it should not prove to be an obstacle course. Contacts who are difficult to reach may compromise the progress of your project and they will be difficult to react in the event of an emergency or unforeseen event.

There you are, you have different offers on hand, now you have to choose!

It is possible to distinguish three types of agencies according to their size: self-employed, medium-sized agencies (from 5 to 25 people) and large local agencies or offices of international agencies.

The cost of the mission will often vary depending on the size of the agency. Distrust, however, if the offer seems too attractive. Be aware that customer management differs from one web agency to another. Some work on a case-by-case basis, while others offer long-term support with a flat-rate system (Website as a service) that helps you control your budget.

All that remains is to wish you a good search and good luck in the success of your project.