How do you define quality web design and development?

Every single agency on the planet is going to tell you they're a quality web design agency, that they're the best, that everything they do is of the highest regard and that if you work with them, you're going to get the best website that money can buy. But how do you, as the business owner looking for an agency to work with, know how to tell the difference between the quality agencies and the charlatans? 

You can look at their portfolio, and that's usually a good sign, but it may not tell you what's happening underneath the surface - a lot of websites out there LOOK good, but underneath it's a rotting mess of unmaintainable, insecure code. 

The best way to tell if an agency delivers quality web design is to look at their PROCESS. Talk to a few of the agencies you're considering, and ask them to provide documentation on their design and development processes. A sure sign that the agency produces shoddy work is if they don't have any documentation or marketing material on their processes - worse, that they don't have any processes at all! 

A quality web design agency should have a formal methodology for design; how do they approach the design process, what is the systematic process they work through to capture your design requirements, and the requirements of your users? 

There should also be formal processes for development - how is the code managed, how are code reviews being conducted, who is ensuring that code is being written securely, how are deployments managed, etc. If none of these things are done, you can be assured that the company you're dealing with isn't yet equipped to deliver quality! 

Assembler is a web design agency based in Perth, Western Australia. This blog is intended to be an informal, behind the scenes look into the web design and development industry. If you like our content, please follow us on LinkedIn or Facebook!