Selecting the right website agency for you
A clear guide to selecting the right agency for your purpose-driven organisation.
Are the agency’s goals aligned with yours?
When a purpose-driven organisation, whether it is a charity, social enterprise, tech for good, sustainable or climate-positive company, prepares to rebuild its website, it’s important they work with an agency that understands their values and goals. However, it’s even more important that the agency also solves the same problems for other clients. Whether it’s storytelling to enhance reputation, conversions to deliver more revenue, or performance for search visibility and reach.
As a purpose-driven organisation, intention matters. Finding an agency to rebuild your website will need to reflect the purpose and goals of the organisation. Working with a web agency that promotes sustainability and specialises in purpose-driven organisations will align with the values promoted within the organisation.
Still, a more important aspect of choosing a web agency is whether they solve problems for you and your customers. There are similarities that every business is looking for, from optimal website performance to engagement on the website through conversions. An agency that builds a website to fit these goals to reach larger audiences within a high-performing website can make the difference. Agencies can often get preoccupied with scope and disregard conversions. While the performance of the build remains important for reach, conversions are ultimately what every organisation is looking for. Being able to balance both conversion and performance is an indicator of a skilled agency.
An agency that focuses on solving these problems rather than simply focusing on aesthetics brings a fresh perspective. This brings a unique framework to each website and adapts to each organisation’s purpose and goals.
Design and technology: Why you need both
One of the most common reasons why a website does not perform well is because they struggle to balance design and technology. Focusing primarily on one can have serious implications, causing a fundamental imbalance on the website and the customer experience. Most agencies fall into one of the two categories: design-led or technically led. Both of these categories can cause serious problems, creating experiences that are too complex or don’t perform well.
A technology-led website builds strong foundations with fast response times and scalable backends. However, they lack human empathy and soul, putting design as a secondary concern. This can often lead to poor storytelling, which can be the difference between converting or disconnecting the audience.
The same follows for a design-led website. Agencies that overly focus on strong visual impact and interactions often ignore the technical development, causing performance issues, not to mention environmental and accessibility concerns and carbon impact that conflicts with the purpose-led nature of their clients. Including auto-running videos and custom interactions can be visually stimulating but can cause conflicts with mobile performance, failing Google’s page speed checks and WCAG’s accessibility standards.
Finding the sweet spot between technology and design-led websites can be vital for purpose-driven organisations. Designers who understand the technical implications of their choices and accessibility, working collectively with developers who understand lightweight micro-interactions and audience psychology, can create the sweet spot. By combining sustainably conscious developers with human-centered design, purposeful websites are built to achieve your mission through conscious design and technical innovations meant to last.
Choosing a website agency that works for your goals
A website build is a collaborative journey that often lasts way beyond the initial build and requires ongoing optimisation. Working with an agency that doesn’t share your core values can cause conflict, while finding an agency that works with your purpose in mind can create a collaborative, long-lasting relationship.
Creating a culturally aligned relationship with the web agency goes beyond the business; the core aspects of the website are managed by like-minded individuals who share a desire to create change. It contributes to how the project is managed, decisions are made, and the core message of the organisation.
An agency that works with purpose-driven organisations understands the importance of accessibility, inclusion, sustainability, and the mission behind the organisation. Purpose-driven web agencies prioritise sustainability and intention. If values are important to your organisation, working with these types of agencies aligns with your views and can create an impactful website.
Whether your organisation fights for climate change or poverty, finding an expert purpose-driven agency to rebuild your website that aligns with your goals makes the difference. Finding the sweet spot between web development and design, balancing conversions and vivid storytelling while maintaining its digital edge is imperative for a successful website build.
Photo by Tanja Tepavac on Unsplash