Why this matters more than most "agency comparison" advice
Most articles on choosing a web design agency are written by web design agencies. They tell you to "look for experience" and "check reviews" — true but useless. What you actually need are tests that distinguish a good agency from a slick-looking bad one, because the bad ones are very good at looking good. Here are five tests that work.
1. They specialise
A good agency works in a niche. "We build websites for solar installers." "We build websites for dental practices." "We build websites for SaaS startups." The narrower, the better.
A bad agency tells you they work with everyone — "B2B and B2C, startups and enterprises, e-commerce and lead gen." That's not breadth; it's nobody having said no to a project in five years. Niche agencies know what your customers click on before you do, because they've built it eighty times. Generalists are learning on your money.
The test: Look at their last six case studies. Are they all in one or two industries, or scattered across estate agents, fitness apps, and law firms?
At Presencly we only work with UK renewable energy installers — solar PV, heat pumps, batteries, EV chargers. We turn down general builders, gas-only heating engineers, and non-renewable trades, even when business is slow. The narrowness is the value.
2. They show live portfolio URLs
A real portfolio links to live sites, not screenshots in a deck. Screenshots can be Photoshopped, lifted from Dribbble, or built once and then taken down because the client cancelled.
The test: Ask for three live URLs of sites they've shipped in the last twelve months. A good agency sends them in the next email. A bad agency says "I'll need to check with my client first" and you never hear back.
When you visit those URLs, run them through Google PageSpeed Insights — a free Google tool. Anything below 80 on mobile is a red flag. Anything below 60 is incompetence dressed in good Photoshop.
3. They commit to outcomes, not deliverables
Bad agencies sell you deliverables: "ten pages, two revision rounds, mobile responsive, SEO-friendly." None of that is a result. "SEO-friendly" doesn't mean you'll rank. "Mobile responsive" is the floor in 2026, not a feature.
Good agencies commit to outcomes that matter to your business: leads, ranking, conversion rate, sale-ready enquiries per month. Outcomes are scarier to sell because they require the agency to deliver something real, not just "ship the file." Which is why so few agencies do it.
The test: Ask "what do you guarantee?" If the answer is "we guarantee the site will launch on time" — they don't guarantee anything. If the answer is "page 1 of Google for one agreed keyword in 90 days or we refund every penny" (which is what Presencly's guarantee commits to), they have skin in the game.
4. Transparent pricing, no "POA"
"Price on application" is a tell. Either the price is so high they're scared to publish it (in which case you're not their target client) or they price based on what they think they can extract from you (in which case run).
The test: Their pricing page should show concrete numbers, even if they're ranges. £3,000–£8,000 is acceptable. £999 + £99/month is even better because it's a specific commitment. "Custom quote — let's chat" usually means £6,000 when the call is over, and they wanted to qualify your budget before naming it.
This isn't a rule for all agencies — bespoke £50,000+ enterprise builds genuinely need scoping calls. But for small UK local businesses, opaque pricing is almost always a red flag.
5. They turn down work that isn't a fit
The best signal an agency is good is them saying "no" to you. It means they have enough demand to be selective, and they care more about the outcome of their work than this month's invoice. Bad agencies say yes to everything because their pipeline is empty.
The test: Describe a use case that's slightly off their stated niche. "I'm a plumber, can you build me a site?" If they say "absolutely, we work with all trades" — they don't have a niche. If they say "we only do renewable installers, but here's a plumbing-specialist agency we'd recommend" — they're confident enough to refer business away.
Three red flags to round it out
- They ask for full payment upfront. Industry standard is 50% deposit, 50% on launch. Anything else is cash-flow trouble masquerading as policy.
- They don't mention ongoing support. A website that launches without a maintenance plan is a hacked website in nine months. Ask about updates, backups, and security patching before you sign.
- Their own website is bad. Sounds obvious. Still happens constantly. If the agency's site is slow, the copy is generic, or the case studies are placeholder Lorem Ipsum — that is exactly what they'll deliver to you.
What to do next
Run any agency you're considering through all five tests. If they pass, they're worth a call. If they fail two or more, save your money. Want a second opinion on a quote you've already received? Forward it to support@presencly.co.uk — happy to give you an honest read, even if we're not the right fit ourselves.
Or get a free audit of your current site and we'll show you what a good agency would have flagged.