Websites play a vital role in business today. With so many people searching online before buying products, you can’t afford not to have a web presence. And while clicking a few buttons to start up a website is possible, it takes another skill to build a unique site that serves your target audience.
This is an issue when 75% of people use a website’s design to measure a company’s credibility. That’s why it makes sense to look through your options for web development companies to find one to create your web presence.
Before you pick a web development company, you must learn what a great one looks like. The guide below will tell you everything you should know to find a great development company.
Consider Your Project Requirements
Not all web development projects are the same. For many websites, you don’t need much technical knowledge. You only need a website design — which is easy to do by installing WordPress and putting up a theme.
But other web projects aren’t that simple. If you have complex features not available on existing platforms, you’ll need custom development to complete your project.
Make sure you consider these things before you start searching and determine which skill sets you need. Here are a few typical web development roles to think about:
- Frontend developer
- Backend developer
- Web designer
- UX designer
- Copywriter
- Graphic designer
Some larger web agencies may offer every service you need, but smaller companies may only provide a subsection of those services. Examine your options carefully to ensure your provider can meet all your project requirements.
Set Your Budget
Once you have a list of project requirements, you can get to one of the essential parts of finding a web development company — setting your budget.
Depending on your needs, you can spend a ton of money or very little. If you only need a small landing page, you can get by with a simple web design for a few hundred dollars.
But if you have a complex web app, the price you pay for work can cost thousands.
The price you pay also depends on the size of the agency you work with. A smaller agency can give you a great deal, but your price can increase dramatically if you work with a national company.
Use your requirements to set your initial budget. Once you have that number, look for an agency that offers excellent service for what you want to pay.
Verify Previous Experience
A great thing about web development is that it’s public. A web design and development company publishes its work for all the world to see — and smart companies use this fact to show their work and demonstrate their skills.
Most web companies publish case studies demonstrating their past work. They create case study sections on their websites to talk about their previous clients and the work that went into each project.
Explore these sections to see what a company can do. Ideally, you want to see that an agency has done work similar to what you wanted before and can pull off the type of design you have in mind.
If you don’t find what you’re looking for on an agency’s website, contact them for more information. They can likely talk about more of their work in private and show you examples that better suit your needs.
Ask About the Development Process
One thing that will detract from your web development experience is how well the company you hire handles the process. Some agencies don’t do much to cater to what their clients need. They have a cookie-cutter approach to try and turn out as many projects as possible.
A great development company doesn’t do this. They will sit down with you, learn your needs, and create a customized approach for your project.
See if this is the experience you’ll get when you speak to agencies. Have them explain how they will handle the job and the process you’ll go through when handing over your project requirements.
Do they listen to you and tell you how their process helps meet your goals, or do you hear nothing but a sales pitch that tries to close the deal as soon as possible?
You want to hire a company that goes above and beyond to fulfill every requirement you have — even if it creates more work for them.
Get Client Testimonials
Although most web development companies are upfront about their abilities, this won’t always happen. Some providers exaggerate their skills, while others offer poor customer service after you sign your contract.
If you want to get the website you imagine, you need to avoid companies that offer poor service — and the best way to do this is to hear directly from people who have been in your position before.
Look up the agencies you’re considering on Google. Reading online reviews on the search results page will help you learn the pros and cons of a web development company.
There are also websites that list marketing agencies and give people a place to leave feedback. These are great websites to learn more about the specific experiences clients had.
If you’re in contact with other business owners, you probably know someone who has previously hired a website agency. Reach out to your network for feedback about the companies they hired and how they found their experiences.
Pick a Web Development Company Carefully
With how important your website is to grow your business, you can’t afford to have a poor design and buggy interface when visitors arrive. When things don’t work well, your brand loses credibility and misses out on a lot of sales.
That’s why you can’t afford to pick a web development company that doesn’t build your website correctly. Remember the information in the guide above as you search to find a reputable web development company that can help you build an amazing web experience.
Of course, building a great website isn’t enough to get traffic to it. Check out the other posts on the blog to learn how to grow your company online.
