7 Right Steps to Choose a Web Development Company.
by Ambrose YK Lee
7 Right Steps to Choose a Web Development Company.
On our last journey, we had established that most companies will profit from a good website. Anybody, from a child to ripe old age could design and publish a website. That granted. but the question is, will the website efficiently achieve the intended results or the other way around? Will the website represent your company rightfully, will it and increase your sales? That is the difference between a website and an online e-business.
Hence, if you have not been designing professional websites or planning to do so, my advice is to leave the designing and management to the professionals.
Outsourcing website design will be more cost effective and efficient because the professionals know how to avoid common pitfalls and follow
the unwritten rules and guidelines for authoring an effective website.
Here are some steps to take before making that important decision:
1. Testimonials
Testimonials will further enhance your confidence towards the design. Take note of the strengths and perhaps weaknesses of the previous design work and compare it with your needs. A word of caution though - beware of fake or mock-up testimonials. Most true testimonial will include some form of contact info, email, website or actual names.
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Ambrose Lee
 He manages project development and also supports the overall sales execution and deal negotiation.
He devotes most of his time working with clients in achieving their business objectives by leveraging the power of web marketing / presence. |
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2. Knowledge and Experience
A knowledgeable developer would be able to guide you through the entire process of transforming your ideas into practical designs. Look at the existing portfolios, pay attention if it follows a professional trend (i.e. consistent color theme, easy to read text, fast loading pages).
One such rule of thumb for websites is that anything should be within a 3-click reach. This means that the user will only need to click on three links to find its destination.
Also, if you have specific requirements you want, make sure your developer has the expertise to fulfill your demands such as inclusion of Macromedia Flash, Java scripting and other programming tools.
3. Objective
Decide upfront the objective(s) of your website. An informative website might be very wordy or pictorial. Browse other websites of similar genre; this will help you to get an idea of what you might want for your website. Discuss this with your web developer who'll be happy to assist you on that.
4. Testing the waters
Call your potential web developer and check the response time, his / her willingness to cooperate and whether he synergies with you. This will be a good indication if the developer will work well with you and will be quite vital to the success of your website. Also, he may offer to help you with the outline and structure of your website.
5. Specify details of Designs & Payment
Nail the details of designs before awarding the contract (e.g. approximate number of pages and any additional features /functionalities). Also identify the additional charges, extra page charges and future maintenance charges.
Request the quotation to spell out the cost of each item to enable you to budget for the website. Some good developers will even market your website for you, submitting your website URL to popular search engines.
6. Final assessment
Finally, test the website prior to launching it. You want to make sure your website looks good in all popular browsers like Internet Explorer and Netscape. There should be a verification and validation process during the soft launch.
Verification means to make sure the website contains information as instructed to the developer. Validation means to make sure those information published is correct and true to the time it is uploaded. Usually, good developers will allow for a 1 month trial period should you need any minor changes to your website.
7. On going Support
You may also want the developer or company to be available (in time), when you need them to maintain and upkeep the website. A good practice is to sign an agreement with the web developer for at least a 1 year service and support. It would be good business sense for your website developer to grow alongside with your company website.
With all these preparations and a little research, you are on a certain road to find your Mr. Right web developer.
Enjoy reading.
