Mistakes to Avoid When Hiring a Website Design and Development Company

Web designers do not want you to know certain things so that they can keep exploiting you. By making certain hiring mistakes, they take advantage of your lack of knowledge. This is why there are numerous clients disappointed by developers. To get the best website design and development company, you need to avoid the following common hiring mistakes.

• Focusing on the Budget

We all want to rush to the bargain store where top quality products are sold at a song. But this does not apply to the web development company. While you focus on the budget, other crucial areas are ignored. Consider the experience of the developer in the kind of site you are looking for. The budget is likely to conceal skill deficiency, poor communication, delays in delivery, etc. On the flip side, high fees do not translate to quality work. It could as well be extortion. To get value for money, always demand an itemized breakdown of the price quoted.

• Ignoring the CMS

Websites are not static. They require constant update especially of content. Every time a visitor returns to your site, he should find something new. However, some businesses get the website without the Content Management System. You will essentially be crippled or be left with a redundant website. Do not allow the developer or designer to claim ownership. This will turn you into a dependant. Get the passwords and back office operations from the website design and development company to enable you update and take full control of your website.

• Taking The Job As a One Off

Most clients want a quotation with a final figure. Websites should be viewed like phones or other electronic gadgets in that what is relevant today becomes obsolete tomorrow. As such, develop a relationship with the designer that allows your site to be constantly updated. You will initiate some of the updates while the developer initiates others. However, some of the functions like creating the main frame should only be charged once.

• Knowing Nothing About Websites

Websites perform the most exclusive jobs. There are no two sites that should be similar. As such, you should know what you want from the website you are ordering. This is the only way to have a site that is tailored to your needs. Search on the internet about the features of a website depending on the kind of goods or services you offer. Give the developer a sample link. Some developers con you into opening blogs or operating from other platforms that are not websites. Know the features you want and be specific in your order.

Dealing with a website design and development company should not be from the point of ignorance. Search over the internet for websites you would like to emulate. Learn a bit about properties of websites that you would like incorporated into yours. This makes the developer to realize that you know what you are asking. It raises the quality of work you get in return.

How Much To Pay Website Design and Development Company in 2017

There is a rush and genuine need to put businesses online. This increases visibility, eases communication, makes it easier to sell and is a perfect way to globalize your brand. Since web developers understand these benefits, they have inflated costs, making it impossible to determine the value of their services. However, there are tenets you can use to determine how much you pay your WebsiteDesign and Development Company without compromising on the quality of services or paying an exorbitant amount.

• The Features You Want

The skills required to build a website depend on the features you wish to incorporate into the website. There are generic platforms and templates that can be used to host ecommerce stores and still give you excellent results. On the other hand, you may want to build your site from scratch for customization purposes. Each approach means that the resultant website will have different features.

The features you include on your site depend on the nature of your business operations. The process of buying and selling will determine the features that should be included on the site. Where a template is used, the skill set required concentrates on customization. You need a Website Design and Development Company with a lot of coding experience when you plan to build a site from scratch. This will cost you more.

• Ongoing Support

Websites are not fixed products. Developing and operating a website requires constant IT support for managing upgrading to the platform, updating content, etc. If you have an internal IT department, they only need to be trained on how to handle such tasks. However, where such a department is non-existent, you will need to engage a developer to provide constant ongoing support. There is a cost implication. Failure to update aspects of your site will make it unattractive, cause it to rank poorly and affect the customer experience as well.

• Level of Expertise Required

The quality of a website depends on the skills of the designer and developer. The level of expertise also affects the customer experience that is crucial for capturing return visitors. Without good experience, the rate of cart abandonment increases. You need an experienced developer who knows the latest tools to add to the site to make it attractive and functional. When hiring an experienced and more knowledgeable developer, you will need to pay more.

• Consider Your Budget

Your budget also determines the quality of the developer you get. When you are ready to invest in a good website, you will hire highly skilled, innovative and experienced developers. You will also incorporate more features; these would raise what you pay for the website. It should, however, be known that not all cheap developers are low quality. Factors like seasonal offers, market entry strategy and client loyalty determine the amount paid.

It is impossible to quote an exact figure for hiring a Website Design and Development Company. Each project has its unique requirements that determine the price you pay. When searching for a company, decide on the features you want and demand the same from the designer. Getting different quotations is a better way of knowing the average you should pay.

Essential Qualities of a Good Website Design and Development Company

In this modern world, businesses have realized the importance of websites. Every business wants to beat their competition and top the charts. Hence, it is vital for every business to have a website of its own. A website not only lets the business showcase their products and services, but also helps them engage customers. A website is a promotional tool for every business, and can provide the business with a platform to make sales and generates revenue online.

However, building a professional website requires finesse, and every business may not always be able to build a website that reflects their brand, and promotes them effectively on their own. Instead, hiring a website design and development company makes this task very easy to accomplish.

Many companies offer web development services, and it is sometimes daunting to choose the best one. However, a business can use a few tricks to ensure that they choose the most appropriate website design and development company.

Here are some qualities or signs, of a good websitedesign and development company….

1. Experienced and expertise: An agency is more likely to be good if it has certain years of experience and a team of expert professionals.

2. Proven Methodologies and Process: they follow a specific process - right from client interaction, analysis, market research and planning, to design, development, testing, deployment and maintenance. A company that follows a systematic process is less likely to face problems.

3. Varied Portfolio: Have a look at their portfolio to get an idea of the type of work they do. If they have worked on a diversity of projects, and if you have a similar requirement, you can consider them.

4. Positive testimonials: No matter how good a company talks about itself, learning that their clients give positive feedback, could convince you that they are the real deal. So, if you see positive testimonials from their clients, you could consider them trustworthy.

5. Good Blog: Look for the blog on the web development company’s website. A good company will always have a team of enthusiast who wants to share their knowledge with other people, through their blogs.

6. Communication: The website development process involves a lot of communicating back and forth, so communication channels should be kept open. If a company demonstrates great communication skills, it would be easy for you to stay in touch with them. They should also be willing to update you with the status of your project on a regular basis. If the developer’s communication skills are great, you can consider that company.

7. Offer support and maintenance: If you want to update your website after it has been launched, or maybe make some changes two years down the line, the same company should provide you with maintenance services. Check if they provide web support and maintenance services.

These are the main qualities of good a websitedesign and development company. So, the next time you look to hire someone to work on a website for you, look for one that exhibits these qualities so that you end up choosing the right pool of resources and get the best website for your business.

5 Benefits of Hiring a Website Design and Development Company

Do you really need a website design and development company when you can launch your website on your own?

The answer is yes. 

You do need professional help to plan a good online strategy and put your best foot forward with technology driven web pages. Regardless of many free-to-download web development software apps doing the rounds, it makes good sense to hire the expertise of skilled web designers and developers for the task on hand.

Read on for why you need to access the skills of a reputed website design and development company for your digital marketing purposes, and not rely on DIY techniques only.

Positive Impressions for First Time Visitors

Your online revenues are directly proportional to how your customers perceive your business when visiting your website. Their opinions are based on the way your site looks, ease of navigation, layout of content, design of the page, graphics and media inputs, and so forth. However good your services or products may be in reality, they will fail to sell if your website does not do the talking. This is where the skills of professional web developers and designers come into play. With years of experience on their side, these experts go an extra mile to help you create the right first impression for your existing and perspective clients alike.

Latest Mobile Technologies

Today, mobile technology has taken over the traditional ways of web design and development. Because of this reason, it is important that your website contains responsive web designs and is mobile compatible. As a freelancer or DIY expert, you may not have the right inputs for creating a well-presented mobile version of your business portal. On the other hand, a web design company that’s equipped with the skills of integrating responsive design technology can save you hundreds of dollars--by making your website compatible with existing and futuristic technologies.

Images that are High-DPI Retina Optimized

Most amateurishly constructed websites tend to have fuzzy and low resolution images when viewed from high-def tablets or the latest models of iPhones. This is because new high-resolution devices are designed to support high-dpi or “retina-compatible” images. A professional web design company will make the same images appear razor-sharp on iPhones, iPads, the Nexus 7 and all other devices.

Better Designs

Pre-made templates (offered by a web hosting company’s free built-in website maker) offer basic designs that are replicated by many. By hiring a web design expert, you may expect clean, original, and customized designs that address your business goals to perfection. Better designs showcase powerful branding for your organization and attract more traffic.

Faster Websites

Professional website developers integrate smart plug-ins and other third party tools for enhancing the security and speed of your online business operations. They have access to popular testing tools such as GT-Metrix. These tools are relevant for rating the overall quality of your portal’s coding. The way in which your website is coded impacts its overall performance, so it’s imperative that you go for the best.

Way Forward 

By hiring professional expertise with regards to your web design and development needs, you are in effect paying for better quality tools, higher performance metrics, and technological inputs that are not within the reach of your DIY efforts. Go for it.