How we chose
We started from the marketing agencies Google Maps shows across Telford. Industry qualifications were sourced from the registers, each firm's own website and the platforms checked [2] [3] [4] [8]. Each business must first meet our basic checks: it is who it says it is, it is trading today and can be reached, and anything it must hold by law is in place. We looked first at what customers say, then qualifications, then whether the firm has traded for two years or more and whether its cover is stated, then pricing clarity and website detail. All evidence is dated early September 2026.
How to hire
Match the firm to the job first. A content studio owns video, photography and social; a PR practice owns press coverage, reputation and training; a web agency owns sites, shops and search, and few firms do all three equally well. Drone filming is the one job with a licence attached: anyone flying a camera drone for your business must hold CAA operational authorisation, so ask for the operator ID and read the CAA's own drone guidance before the shoot day [1].
There is no mandatory register for marketing agencies, so anyone can set one up and a badge on a website proves nothing on its own. What you can check depends on the claim: Partner status lives with Google's own Partners programme [2], charter accreditation appears in the Good Business Charter's directory of accredited organisations [8], and data-protection registration can be searched on the ICO register [3]. Where a firm claims an award or partnership, ask for the listing or certificate behind it.
Run the company check yourself whatever the trade. Type the legal name into the Companies House search and confirm the record is active and the address matches the one on the quote [4]. Brands and legal names often differ, so the invoice must carry the legal one. Then search the ICO register for the same name to confirm the data-protection entry behind any customer database the firm will hold for you [3].
Ask for an itemised quote against the same written brief: exactly what will be delivered, how many revision rounds and shoot days are included, who supplies copy, images and logins, and the timetable with review points. Management fees and ad spend must sit on separate lines, and the quote must state whether VAT is included and what changes the price if the brief grows. Quotes written against different scopes tell you nothing, so send every bidder the same pages and keep each reply.
Settle ownership before money moves. Your terms should say in plain words that you own the website, the domain, the ad accounts and the finished files, with admin access handed over and any licence or handover fee named. Deposits are normal for design and video work, but staged payments tied to visible milestones beat a large sum up front, and every business-to-business quote in this round should be read as excluding VAT unless it says otherwise [6].
At handover, collect admin logins, source files, the final invoice and written confirmation of what you own, plus reports showing where any ad spend went. Marketing claims must follow the UK advertising code, which the ASA enforces when readers complain [5]. If a Telford supplier stops answering or the invoice does not match the quote, Citizens Advice sets out your options for faulty services and disputed bills [7].
Telford adds its own wrinkles. A new fascia, projecting sign or lit board outside client-facing premises can need advertisement consent from Telford & Wrekin Council, decided on amenity and public safety, and some displays without consent are a criminal offence [10]; the council's planning pages set out when permission is likely needed and offer pre-application advice before a formal bid [9]. Conservation areas tighten the rules further, and most of the Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site, inscribed in the mid-eighties, is also a conservation area with its own policies plus an Article 4 direction removing some permitted development rights [11]. Tell the agency which streets the business serves, from Wellington and Dawley to Madeley, Lawley and Ironbridge, so signs, shoots and targeting fit the patch.
A typical job runs the same course whatever the service. First contact means sending the written brief and getting back comparable itemised quotes; the shortlist then meets or calls to test how each bidder thinks, not just what each charges. Kickoff pins down the timetable with review points, who supplies copy, images and logins, and where drafts land for comment. Drafts and proofs pass back and forth against that timetable, with changes recorded so the final invoice matches the quote. Sign-off means seeing everything work in front of you: the site takes orders, the files play, and the coverage report names real outlets.
The written quote should name the deliverables, the revision rounds and shoot days, the timetable, the VAT position, and what pausing or ending the work early costs. Check who licenses any stock images, music or fonts, when hosting and domains renew and who pays, and how often reports land and what each one shows. The closing pack should hold admin logins, source files, written confirmation of what you own and the final invoice. Keep the quote, terms and every invoice together: a paper trail settles most arguments before they start.
Pricing
As of autumn 2026, a starter website from an assessed Telford firm runs to a few hundred pounds: fixed packages at £299 for a starter build and £599 for a standard one, covering consultation, domain, a year of hosting, on-page SEO and contact forms, while another practice advertises sites from £399 with a monthly special offer. Bespoke builds are quoted to budget, with same-day turnaround promised at one Ironbridge practice. Treat any single fixed price for a large bespoke job with no breakdown as a question, not an answer.
Priced content is rarer but clearer where it exists: drone video starts from £300 and photo shoots from £250 at the town-centre practice, and studio design time runs to £100 an hour with itemised estimates that change only if your brief does. At the other end, one digital partner shows budget bands from under £5,000 to over £50,000, which tells you retainers and consultancy briefs live in a different league from starter sites.
Scope moves the price most: page and product counts, revision rounds, shoot days and editing time, whether the firm writes your copy, and whether photography or a studio day is hired in. Monthly search, social or ads management is usually quoted separately from the build, and ad spend itself always sits outside the fee, so confirm what a month of management buys and how results are reported before you sign.
Ask whether VAT is added on top, since most published figures exclude it; the standard rate is 20% [6]. Most firms in this round publish no prices at all, so get the scope in writing with payment stages tied to milestones, and keep every quote and invoice together.
Monthly search, social or ads management is the third common shape, and it is always quoted to brief in this round. What moves it is the channel count, how many posts or edits each month are included, whether reports and meetings sit inside the fee, and whether ad spend passes through the agency's accounts or your own. Confirm what one month buys, how results are reported and what notice ends the arrangement, and keep the spend on its own line so the fee stays visible.
PR, training and consultancy form the fourth shape, quoted by day or by project rather than by page. What moves those quotes is senior time, preparation and travel, how many outlets or trainees are covered, and whether follow-up support is included. Identical scopes matter more here than for websites: the same day rate can buy very different preparation.
Red flags
Quotes a website or content package without asking what the pages, products or shoot days involve.
Will not say which legal entity stands behind the quote when the brand and the company name differ.
Flies camera drones but cannot show a CAA operator ID when asked [1].
Promises first place on Google or a fixed number of new customers for a set fee.
Asks for the full fee in cash before starting, with no written scope or terms.
Runs your ads from its own accounts and will not give you admin access or monthly spend figures.
Hands over a finished site with no admin logins, source files or written transfer of ownership.
Sends terms with no end date, no delivery dates and no way to pause or cancel the work.
Uses your logo, photos or customer details in its own portfolio or advertising without written permission.
Corrections and business responses
Tell us what needs checking, or ask to claim a listing and reply to an assessment.