Are You Looking For A New Web Developer for Your Web Site?
If you are the person responsible for the foreseeable future of your organization’s website, please read.
An important factor to remember about this marketplace is that there is more transfer of web development business accounts than creation of new ones at this point of time in the web development industry. Brand new entities needing a web site, well that’s new business. Everyone else that already has a web site that hires somebody new for that web site, that’s really a transfer of a business account.
And so, if you are in that majority of “shoppers” for web development services that are actually looking to transfer from one provider to another, what should you know in advance of the search? What can you know before?
Well, you should know the reason(s) you want to transfer. Is it functionality? Is it the relationship you want with the developer? Is it cost? Is it capability?
You should have an idea of what your web site should be doing today. What are your competitors doing? What does your customer/user base want from you? What seems to be most “popular” online for your current web site, and how does that fit into your future plans?
You should have an accurate assessment of your “web” internal talent capabilities now, and what they will be in the future… and what are your limits. Do you have staff that can maintain the content? Can they maintain the server environment? The software? How about the technology connections, from SEO in search engines to domain registrations to custom DNS to social media sharing to analytics and beyond? What can your organization’s internal resources handle?
How long do you expect to be responsible for the web site? What do you think is a reasonable expectation for a web site developer for your organization in terms of length of time? Do you have an active plan TO actively plan your web site’s evolution within your organization? How do you want to integrate your new web site developer into that plan? What do you need them to bring to the table as far as thinking of future development?
Who develops web sites for your industry? Sometimes you can find out simply by Googling, and sometimes you can’t. Sometimes there isn’t really an industry “leader”. But it is well worth looking. There can be proprietary benefits from a developer – software, marketplace, or others – that allow for clear cut advantages for clients.
I know, that’s a lot of questions. But aren’t those questions that should be asked, and answers determined, even if the answer is “we’re working on that”? If you don’t ask them, then the web developer ought to ask them, and you’ll find yourself right back here after contacting web developers.
And if the web developer doesn’t ask these questions, and doesn’t demonstrate they are considering these issues, then keep looking around. Try to make a good decision, not a hurried one… it will be to your advantage in the end.