5 Reasons You Should Hire A Boutique Web Design Agency Over A Big Design Firm

So you’re in the market for a web design agency and are looking at a few prospective companies to hire to build your website. Some are small local firms and some are large international agencies. It’s often difficult to figure out what the best option might be. Should you go with the large web design agency? There has to be a reason they are so successful, right? Well, as it turns out, experts recommend that you hire the boutique design agencies over big brand agencies. In fact, many large agencies nowadays actually outsource their work to these smaller boutiques, so you might end up working with boutiques anyways without even knowing it.

So, what is a boutique web design agency and what makes them better? A boutique web development company usually is smaller and focuses on specific areas with a limited client base. Ideally, small and medium businesses are their customers. With smaller and compact teams, they often have more control over the quality of their work. Here are 5 reasons why you should hire a boutique agency.

1. Direct access to the CEO/owner of the agency. This can be beneficial as the CEO is typically closely involved with overseeing all web design projects, ensuring that your website gets the attention it deserves.
2. Communicate directly with the people who do the work. Larger agencies typically have sales reps or account reps that handle all client communications. These people are usually less knowledgeable and oftentimes they can relay the wrong message to their web development team. With a boutique agency, you can communicate directly with the web developers or designers who will be working on your website. This way things get done quickly and correctly.
3. Specialization within your industry or location. Oftentimes a boutique agency will have a portfolio of clients that fall within a specific location, industry or niche. This gives boutique agencies a specific advantage over larger firms, as they will have a better understanding of your target customers and the standards required to properly run your business, which will be reflected through your website’s design and copy.
4. Lower costs. Because boutique agencies are much smaller, they typically have lower overhead. Fewer employees, smaller office space, and less money spent on “team building exercises” are just a few examples of why boutique agencies don’t need to charge as much as big brand agencies do.
5. Faster turnaround. Lower overhead also means faster turnaround. Your project is passed around by fewer hands, meaning quicker execution. These agencies also have fewer clients, which means you won’t have to wait around for your turn to get the spotlight.

The Specialist: Boutique Design Agency

In short, boutique agencies let you cut through the red tape and give your project the attention it needs. Boutique web design agencies are more specialized and have lower overhead, which makes them more knowledgeable and less expensive. They also have faster turnaround than larger agencies, and can often finish the project within a matter of weeks rather than months like some larger agencies do. Barbara Corcoran of ABC’s Shark Tank said it best: “Little companies always move faster! The big guy may have the corner on money but the little guy usually has the corner on creativity.”