If you are in considering having a new website built, then you need to think carefully about who you are going to use. You need to decide if you are going to choose an individual web design and separate programmer, someone that can do both or a web design company. Choosing an individual rather than a web design agency often works out cheaper, but you may have to be a little bit more flexible in circumstances where they are off ill or on holiday as there will not be any cover.  

If you are looking to have a website designed and programmed then you should first spend some time researching a few different companies to find out a) what price they will quote for the work and b) what the quality of their work is like. Try and find some reviews for the company and not ones that are just on their website. Have a look on third party review sites and if you cannot find any, have a look on their site to see if they have links to websites they have worked on in the past. Most web design companies will be more than happy for you to do this.

Many web design companies will also offer online marketing ranging from Search Engine Optimisation to Google Adwords. Basic SEO should be built in from the start, so ensure that this is going to be done whilst it is being done.