When developing my list I started from my personal experience working with clients, then I became curious as to what others were saying out there so I read several top online articles and not one mentioned my #1 suggestion. Most put design in the number one spot, design is important but it’s not #1. So my number 1 suggestion is...
1) Service …Tell me about your customer service and support…If something happens to you or your company what happens to my website?
Web designers and web design companies like real-estate agents… are a dime a dozen. But what differentiates a good one from the bunch?
Your web development company should have a professional support staff that is easy to access and available by phone at least during normal business hours.
2) Control….will I have access to edit and make changes to my website or do I have to call you (company) every time I want to make a change or update?
This is very important yet not very common. If you do have access is the platform you are working with user friendly or frustrating? Do they provide service and support? Remember #1
3) Experience…How long has your company been in business? Can you provide me with testimonials and or sample work?
No offense but many business owners do not know what makes a great website, worse yet many web developers especially freelancers don't know and too often what they think looks nice and professional is really very amateur looking and not user friendly.
4) Hosting…Where will my website be hosted?
Believe it or not there are some mom & pop type web designers that have their own servers. I bet that is something you never thought to ask about. Wow….what do you know about their security and reliability? More often your smaller web design freelancer is typically using a third party service like Host Gator or Godaddy and you are likely not going to be in the loop as to where and how to control the very engine that keeps your site alive on the web.
5) Contracts…Am I locked into a contract of any kind?
Many companies will lock you into a minimum of a one year contract….just know there are other companies out there that believe in earning your business month after month and therefore have no need to hand cuff you with unnecessary contracts.
6) Marketing...Do you help market my site? If so how?
In today’s web marketing world it is no longer enough to just have a website, you must market your site by incorporating several web marketing mediums such as search engine optimization, social media, mobile marketing and web video. Make sure to find out if the company you are talking with stays on top of the latest trends and has resources to help you in these areas or if you will be on your own to find a third party resource.
7) Pricing...can I get a breakdown of what is included in your package?
Often times business owners will agree to work with a company and think they are getting a great deal only to discover that when they need to make a change, want to add additional pages or an e-commerce shopping cart it’s going to cost a lot of money. As the business owner you don’t want to start over so you're stuck where you are either moving forward and paying the price or allowing your online business to stagnate.
So there you have it…..My top 7 suggestions of questions to ask before hiring a web development company….I invite you to give me a call and ask me the 7 questions I have just laid out for you and see if we would be a good fit for your business.
1) Service …Tell me about your customer service and support…If something happens to you or your company what happens to my website?
Web designers and web design companies like real-estate agents… are a dime a dozen. But what differentiates a good one from the bunch?
Service & Support…
After speaking with so many business owners who have lost their sites or wasted money on their previous web presence it is always due to bad service on one level or another!
Your web development company should have a professional support staff that is easy to access and available by phone at least during normal business hours.
Be very careful of the freelancers…you know your sons best friend in college, or the family member who learned Dreamweaver…what kind of customer service are they going to offer you 1, 2 10 years down the road?....remember you get what you pay for and this is YOUR BUSINESS only online!
2) Control….will I have access to edit and make changes to my website or do I have to call you (company) every time I want to make a change or update?
This is very important yet not very common. If you do have access is the platform you are working with user friendly or frustrating? Do they provide service and support? Remember #1
Even though as a business owner you should not be spending your time building a website, as that would not be the highest and best use of your time. However, you should have access to and be able to make minor changes to your site. A website is an integral part of your business…you need to have control over it just like you have access and control of your books…..you don’t do your own bookkeeping your bookkeeper or CPA does that but you as the business owner always have access!
3) Experience…How long has your company been in business? Can you provide me with testimonials and or sample work?
No offense but many business owners do not know what makes a great website, worse yet many web developers especially freelancers don't know and too often what they think looks nice and professional is really very amateur looking and not user friendly.
So be very careful, if you don’t know what makes a great website be sure to hire a company that does. Pretty graphics alone won’t cut it. There are some great graphic artists out there but there is so much more to a website. And just because someone knows HTML or Dreamweaver does NOT mean they have knowledge of standard usability conventions…..which means where a logo should be placed on the page…how the navigation should work…how NOT to use various fonts and colored text…etc.
It is very important that these elements are created properly by an experienced team so your visitors will have a good experience and see you as the professional business person you are, or you will lose them instead of converting them into customers.
It is very important that these elements are created properly by an experienced team so your visitors will have a good experience and see you as the professional business person you are, or you will lose them instead of converting them into customers.
4) Hosting…Where will my website be hosted?
Believe it or not there are some mom & pop type web designers that have their own servers. I bet that is something you never thought to ask about. Wow….what do you know about their security and reliability? More often your smaller web design freelancer is typically using a third party service like Host Gator or Godaddy and you are likely not going to be in the loop as to where and how to control the very engine that keeps your site alive on the web.
5) Contracts…Am I locked into a contract of any kind?
Many companies will lock you into a minimum of a one year contract….just know there are other companies out there that believe in earning your business month after month and therefore have no need to hand cuff you with unnecessary contracts.
6) Marketing...Do you help market my site? If so how?
In today’s web marketing world it is no longer enough to just have a website, you must market your site by incorporating several web marketing mediums such as search engine optimization, social media, mobile marketing and web video. Make sure to find out if the company you are talking with stays on top of the latest trends and has resources to help you in these areas or if you will be on your own to find a third party resource.
7) Pricing...can I get a breakdown of what is included in your package?
Often times business owners will agree to work with a company and think they are getting a great deal only to discover that when they need to make a change, want to add additional pages or an e-commerce shopping cart it’s going to cost a lot of money. As the business owner you don’t want to start over so you're stuck where you are either moving forward and paying the price or allowing your online business to stagnate.
So there you have it…..My top 7 suggestions of questions to ask before hiring a web development company….I invite you to give me a call and ask me the 7 questions I have just laid out for you and see if we would be a good fit for your business.
