At work I’m faced with a decision to choose a web design company, to redesign our web site, which is quite archaic now. Some time ago, when faced with a similar task to look for web hosting firm I’ve looked at top rankings of hosting directories. So I chose the top host which later proved to be worse then we expected. At the same time for our family web site my daughter found veghost.com - a cheaper host which proved to be much better. So the question is how to choose a good web design company? I wouldn’t like to pay more money for worse services again.
What are the focus points to look at when choosing a web design company?
How to make sure that service is not overpriced?
Thanks for your help.

There are many things to consider, and some of them overlap from what you look for in a good webhost.

- You want to look at their corp-website. Check out the design, view it in a couple of different browsers, check the source, etc.

- Ask for and check up on references. Make sure the references aren't friends and family.

- Check out some of their other designs.

- Get second opinions, in this case get multiple bids on projects.

I think Div has pretty much hit most of the major points. To ensure that you are getting the best deal possible, contact multiple companies for quotes. And as Div said, review their portfolio carefully. If they do not have one, it is imperative that you ask for some samples. A lot of people also get ripped off (a horrible and overpriced design) and don't even realize it, but you can prevent this!

You may want to consider looking for a young designer. You'd be surprised how many 14-year olds can make better templates than 40-year olds, and of course, they won't charge nearly as much.

Conker

How and where is better to get multiple bids on project?
Also how to be sure about price not being too big?

Checking a company's profile is always a good idea, then try to contact them and see how difficult it is. Better to find out if you can contact them before you buy.