When we send proposals, most of the times our clients compare prices, I am sure I will do the same thing if I am in their shoes. Most common come back is “why is there such a price difference” when I am comparing the quotes. Some companies identify themselves as outsourcing companies, some companies identify themselves as offshore companies and some located within US. It can get complicated if this is your first website project and might discourage you as well from picking a company. I will try to point out some important things you need to consider when picking a website company, apart from their portfolio:

• Do they have verifiable clients list or posted testimonials?
• Can you reach them when you need them after completing the site?
• If any legal or project delivery complications arise, can you hold them accountable?
• Can you verify them as a company/organization with state issued business license?
• If they are outsourcing company, will they provide free support for you, will they guarantee the code quality?
• Do they have free ongoing support?

These should be the first line of qualification verifications you need to check, before you even check their portfolio or designs. Because, if there is a red flag in any of the above points no matter how good graphics skills they have, your decision might not be the right one. Low price website designs are good, as a human we always tend to go that route, but I would strongly recommend comparing apples to apples by comparing your low cost quote with your other quotes to ensure you are getting the same quality deal. Finally, make sure there is always a formal proposal written and signed with the deliverables of your project.