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The wily world of web design and online marketing may get a little easier, thanks to a specialised marketplace

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So, you’re already navigating the wild and often unintuitive world of the web, striving to build an online presence for your brand.

Getting your brand off the ground means traversing a clustered landscape of web designers, online marketers, and SEO services, all in the name of gaining market share for your company. But, that’s the nature of entrepreneurship, a hurdle that you must clear in order to build a brand in the modern world.

A new Australian marketplace that helps businesses compare and select design and marketing services across the country aims to simplify the process. In fact, DesignQuotes, aims help businesses find a match that fits its requirements.

According to company Founder, Daniel Duckworth, the idea to start such a service came to him a few years ago.

“Back in 2008 I pitched an idea to a friend of mine who was a freelance web designer. I was obsessed with all things web and discovered Joomla at the time,” said Duckworth.

“I was blown away at the idea that I could build a website in one day, using a CMS and a theme. I showed him how it worked and we started a web design business together.”

“At some point we said ‘wouldn’t it nice if there was just one site we could go to and quote on local design jobs?’ We did a bit of research and there was nothing in Australia at the time, so we decided to build it.”

The perfect match

DesignQuotes is meant to be place to find objective information about procuring design and marketing services.

The system will recommend providers that have proven expertise and experience in the areas of web design and/or online marketing. The providers earn points by winning projects, getting reviews and contributing to our community blog. In other words, it’s a full-on marketplace.

For service providers, DesignQuotes is a simple system for getting more sales leads. They create a profile and portfolio and indicate which services they provide. When clients select them to quote, they are given an opportunity to present a proposal and win new clients.

With a little help from their friends…

The service providers at DesignQuotes will soon be able to take advantage of integration with Quote Roller, an online tool specialising in helping users generate proposals with ease, analytics, and instant acceptance notification.

“We will soon be allowing our members to send lead data directly to Quote Roller so proposals can be submitted online,” explained Duckworth.

An eye toward the future

As the world collectively makes the transition to responsive web design, DesignQuotes is poised to assist as the worlds of web design and marketing align even more closely, and reach more destinations, thanks to the growth of mobile.

“I think we are going to see a lot more responsive web apps simply because it means it will work on multiple devices without having to code the application from the ground up,” continued Duckworth.

“More and more core functions of devices, like iPhones are becoming available via web frameworks, so native apps are becoming less important. I know Google is pushing in this direction too, and when Google wants something it tends to make it happen. Google aside, standards for web frameworks are a good thing.”

Considering the coming flood of existing sites making the switch to responsive designs (and the need to make such a switch), DesignQuotes is keen to help Australian businesses make the transition.

There are a few other online quote marketplaces in Australia, but DesignQuotes occupies a highly specific niche. The company’s long term plan is to set up service hubs that are tailored to each industry. Ultimately, this means members get more personalised results from the matchmaking.

“DesignQuotes’ ranking system is also unique. The other systems offer a ‘first come, first served’ system. So, the first people to buy a lead get to quote. Yet, the first in are not necessarily the best for the job. That’s why we introduced our matching system and let clients evaluate profiles and portfolios that are ranked using our points system,” concluded Duckworth.

Web design and marketing are the pillars of branding on the web. Often, you might rely on the search engines to connect you with either of those services, but DesignQuotes is offering a more personalised, tailored approach to finding not just any old service provider, but one that appeals to your specific needs.