5 Things to Look for When Choosing a Web Developer
Whether it is to sell a product or service, or whether you just want to just display company information, all businesses need a strong website in order to survive. These days, pretty much everyone searches for a phone number or product online rather than the likes of the Yellow Pages or having a browse in-store.
While it is fairly easy to set-up your own website these days, especially with the likes of the new Gutenberg tool for Wordpress, some business owners may not have the time to set-up their own and instead would want to hire a freelancer or web-development company.
However, there are some key factors to consider when choosing the right web developer company for you, and I though that I would share my top five tips on choosing the best web development company for your business.
1. Price
Price should of course be one of the top priorities. You don't want to splash the cash on a company when they may not produce the best job, and they might wipe your business account dry before the business is even set-up.
Just because someone charges a crazy-high price for something doesn't necessarily mean that they will do the best job.
2. Key Skill: Aptitude
The digital world changes daily, and you want a web developer that is easily adaptable to these changes. Sure, knowing everything there is to know about web development right now is a huge benefit, but who knows when a new plug-in or template will become available that they will quickly need to learn how to use.
3. Past Portfolio
It is important that your potential new developer is able to provide evidence on past sites that they've worked on. Ensure that they show you live sites that they have transformed, so that you can go away and actually check them out for yourselves.
Ideally, see if they have worked on any sites in a similar industry as your business and offer a similar product or service. This way, you're able to see that they have experience on working on similar sites to yours, and you can take some of their best features and use them on your own site.
4. Previous Awards
Awards say a lot about a company. Most companies usually shout about all the great stuff they’ve been doing and all the awards that they’ve been winning, so check out a potential web developer’s blog for any cool awards they’ve won beforehand. This is a big sign that they’re doing a great job, and that they’re trusted in the industry.
For example, check out this blog by Illustrate Digital, and how they've recently won a Cardiff Life Award.
5. A Friendly Team
When you first start out, you will want to meet up with your developer every couple of months, or even weeks. This is just so that you can test out different ideas and discuss goals and what you want your site to look like. You certainly don't want to sit with a team that look like they don't get on - this can really bring the mood down.
Teamwork makes the dream work after all, so again, check out the company blog and see if the team you're thinking of choosing tend to go on company days out or attend events together. Things like this usually builds a stronger team and therefore, a stronger working relationship.