"My company is planning an online re-launch but we are a small organisation without an in-house digital team so will be hiring an agency to handle our web design. From all the agencies available how do we choose the right one for our company? Should SEO be a major factor during the design stage or can this be worked on later?"

Finding a good fit of design agency is tricky since an effective design requires a balance of a number of different factors that affect the emotional and rational appeal of a site for visitors. The six key issues that will influence the success of your site are:

1. Usability

2. Accessibility

3. Persuasion - key messages and call-to-action

4. Search engine optimisation

5. Emotional appeal through branding

6. Content quality

To find the right agency, make sure your brief emphasises these factors and review previous work done by the agency against these criteria. Check for whether the agency has specialists in each of these areas which can feed into the design, since it's unlikely that a single designer working on a site will be knowledgeable in all of these areas. I would also check for their design approach – is it user-centred and do they design against target audience personas and align with the needs of a business?

Design styles vary markedly according to the type of market and customers within it, so my final suggestion is to try to find an agency that has worked in similar sectors.

If you drop me an e-mail, I have a checklist which covers the six areas in more detail.

Dr Dave Chaffey, a digital marketing specialist since 1997, is author of several internet marketing books including eMarketing eXcellence: Planning and Optimising Your Digital Marketing. Dave is also a consultant and trainer focusing on digital marketing optimisation. You can read more of Dave's recommendations on best practice on his SMARTinsights digital marketing blog and Twitter.  

E-mail your digital marketing questions and problems to Dave at digital@themarketer.co.uk 

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