In today's market, there are a huge number of offers from website developers. Different prices, different companies, but the descriptions are all the same, like a match: we have ten years of experience, hundreds of completed projects, a team of professionals... How to choose a website developer to effectively invest money and get a decent result? Knowing this is relevant for every businessman who embarks on the path of online development.
Why is it Important to Find a Professional?
On the Internet, you can find a lot of information about how the site is created for free on your own with the help of special designers. But it is unlikely that this product will be effective and show the results you expect. After all, website development actually includes many processes and tasks, ranging from choosing a hosting to writing code. You also need to place the site on the server, design the main pages, implement the functionality. This is the minimum required for the normal operation of the project.
Without specialized knowledge and the availability of several free months for work, it is impossible to solve these problems on your own. The rational solution is to contact a specialist. But here another difficulty appears: how to choose the right website developer? After all, many important factors will depend on this choice:
- The reliability of the site;
- Technical support of the resource;
- The stability of the engine for the site;
- Its design, navigation, user-friendliness;
- General quality of work performance;
- Accounting for the requirements of the site owner.
Naturally, this affects the success of the entire project. That is why choosing a good performer - is a paramount and important task. Where to find a reliable professional, we will tell further.
Freelancer or Agency?
The choice of an artist begins with this question. A professional in the field of website development can also be found among freelancers, but in this case, the business owner takes quite a risk. The main advantages of a freelancer:
- Low price;
- Direct contact with the person who directly works on the site.
At the same time, such cooperation also has disadvantages:
- Lack of guarantees of order fulfillment;
- It is almost impossible to return the money if the work is not done or done poorly;
- A freelancer can simply disappear from your life at any moment;
- It is necessary to organize the whole process of cooperation independently.
And if only one person works on a project, then he combines several professions, from a programmer to a designer. This often leads to insufficient competence in each of the areas and, accordingly, the low quality of the final work.
Website development in Ukraine is carried out, in addition to freelancers, by web studios or full-cycle digital agencies. These are professional website development companies. Cooperation with them is more reliable. Main advantages:
- Staff, where everyone is responsible for their own process;
- Ability to control all tasks currently running;
- Wider range of services;
- A formal contract that spells out the obligations of both parties.
The main disadvantage of applying to such a company - is the high price. But a well-designed site, in the end, will quickly bring you a profit that overlaps investments.
How to choose a website developer: a step by step plan
Approach the choice of the artist responsibly, and you will be rewarded with an excellent result. It takes just a few days to find a company.
Step 1. Define the Objectives of the Project
A new site is always created for the purpose of profit. To achieve this goal, he solves a number of problems. Decide on them to explain the desired functionality to the developer and assess whether he can handle such an order. To find out the main business requirements, answer the following questions:
- What is your target audience? A detailed description is needed: gender, age, position in society, hobbies, activity, interests, etc.
- What region are you planning to work in?
- What will the site be used for? Selling products, promoting services, studying demand, increasing awareness in the market, etc.
- When is the site going to be launched?
- Are there any possible difficulties of the project, rare technical solutions?
- How much (approximately) do you expect to develop and fill the site?
- What content will be hosted and who handles the content?
- Do you need a registration function on the site? What features will be available in your personal account?
- Do you need integration with a CRM system, a warehouse program?
- Do I need accounting / bookkeeping functions, telephony connection and others?
- What do you plan to implement on the site in the future?
- How is it planned to promote the site after its launch?
Any creation of a site from scratch will begin with such a survey. What is it for? First, you yourself will better understand the scope and specific goals of the project. Secondly, the developer will be able to offer you implementation options faster and more accurately. Any good web agency will ask you to fill out such a questionnaire. It may include other additional questions. Do not be lazy to answer them, as this will help save money - only the necessary, effective functionality will be developed. Also, developers will be able to lay the "foundation" for improvements in the future, which will help to avoid unnecessary time and financial expenses.
An important point: think in advance about maintaining the site. After all, for doing business on the Internet, it is not enough just to launch a website. Surely, your niche already has its leaders, and your competitors can lure customers away thanks to convenient navigation, up-to-date information, and good ranking. In order for your site to become like this, it needs to be regularly refined, checked for errors and eliminated, and updated information. That's what technical support and maintenance is for.
Full cycle agencies can do this. It will be great if one company is engaged in the development of the site and its further maintenance. Specialists will be 100% “in the know” and will be able to complete tasks as quickly as possible. Of course, it costs money, but it's worth it. Doing good business on the Internet cannot be cheap - remember this truth!
Step 2. Finding a Contractor
Your task is to find 8-10 candidates. Considering your needs (including both development and promotion), exclude from the options those that cannot close them. It also makes no sense to contact companies that offer too high a price for you.
Where to look for a website developer:
- In the footer of competitor sites. Find resources you like and try to find information about the developer.
- In a search engine. Just enter your request (“order website development”) and go through the issue. On the first two pages, you will definitely find companies that will interest you.
- Word of mouth radio. If there are friends in your environment who made the site, ask them. Who did they work with, what did they like and what did they not.
- In ratings, for example, “Runet Rating”, “IT Rating of Ukraine”, etc. They are updated regularly. Pay attention to companies that appear on several lists.
If you have a large company and you are planning a large-scale project, for example, the development of an online store, you can create a tender and invite different studios you like to take part in it.
Step 3. Evaluate Candidates and Create a Comparison Table
For clarity, you need to create a table that will display basic data about each developer. Put the names of companies in the first column and select the main criteria that you will evaluate.
The Convenience of the Company's Website
A website developer who does not have a website - is like a “shoemaker without shoes”. A clear indication of unprofessionalism. The developer's site should have easy navigation, modern design, normally working functions, up-to-date information about the activity.
Portfolio
Evaluate the portfolio for the presence of works that you like, similar to your projects, what are the positions of the developed sites, traffic.
Reviews
One of the main indicators, but not always true. On the site, the company is unlikely to post an impartial review about itself, so try to find the opinion of people on third-party sites. If there are links to clients on the site, try to contact them and find out their impressions of cooperation.
Achievements
A nice bonus if the company has some awards or a good place in the ratings. This is not the main indicator, but testifies to the professionalism of the agency.
Work Principles
Analyzing the information on the site or already communicating personally with the manager, clarify the following points:
- Transparency of work (can you monitor the implementation of tasks);
- The presence of diversified specialists in the state, especially if you are interested in the development of a turnkey website;
- Warranty service;
- Technical support;
- Making payments (what are the possibilities);
- Approval of the beginning of each stage of work with the customer;
- Prompt response to requests;
- Ability to demonstrate the project and test it on test servers.
All these points will help you control the development process and actively participate in it even remotely. You will be more confident in the performer and get a guarantee of completing the tasks. These are prerequisites for large-scale projects, such as developing an online store from scratch.
It will also be useful to look at the company's social networks: what content do they publish, what style of communication with customers do they choose? Pay attention to the materials they publish on the blog. If you are not close to the positioning of the agency, you are unlikely to work with them.
Service Quality
You can evaluate this criterion by getting in touch with the manager of the company. Leave a request for a callback on the site and see how quickly they call you back. During the conversation, specify what exactly you need, with what functionality. This will give the consultant the opportunity to orient you on the price. At this stage, they will not be able to tell you the exact price of website development. This will be known only after the preparation of the terms of reference. Enter the approximate amount in the table. Pay attention to the competence of the performer. Does he ask clarifying questions and can answer yours accurately and clearly.
Assessing each criterion, put "+" and "-" or "yes" and "no" in the table opposite each company. This way you will immediately eliminate those options that do not suit you.
Step 4. Сontractor Selection
Look at your table. The performer who scored the most positive ratings from you is the right agency. A company with the best value for money is also suitable. As an example, in our table, “Agency 3” collected the most pluses, but the price of services bites. But "Agency 1" has a great price, only achievements are missing, not the most important criterion.
Contacts of other good companies should be kept as a fallback. If something in cooperation with the chosen agency does not suit you, you can always contact another without doing the described amount of work again.
Conclusion of an Agreement
When you have chosen a company with which you want to cooperate, visit its office, get acquainted with the head. This will not only put a logical end and help you finally form an opinion about the company, but also increase the level of responsibility of the developer. After all, he simply has nowhere to run :).
After communicating with the team, filling out the brief and drawing up the terms of reference, you will be given the exact cost of development. Additional costs may arise in the process of work, so always lay a larger budget than the announced amount. After the approval of the estimate, a contract is drawn up. This is the key moment after which all work begins. Now you just have to control the workflow and make your edits and comments. Each stage: logo development, website design development, functionality implementation, etc. will be approved with you. And it will depend only on the right choice whether your cooperation with a web company will be successful.