Before you even think about hiring a web developer, it’s important to ask some important questions. In this post, we’ll outline seven of the most crucial questions and provide tips on answering them. Armed with this information, you’ll be able to decide who to hire for your next project! After all, it’s your money, and you need to make sure you’re spending it in the right place.
1. Will you have access to a CMS (Content Management System)?
Static websites rarely do well these days, and if you want people coming to your website, then you need to be posting valuable content that draws people in, and doing this in an organized, effective, and easy way, you’re going to want to use a CMS, like WordPress. Therefore, you need to ask whether your web dev is building your website with this or if he’s building a static website.
2. Is the Website Responsive?
Why is this so important? Because if you have a web dev who isn’t building your website with being responsive in mind, then it will be extremely difficult to find an audience for the site when it’s launched because it’s not going to be optimized for mobile usage.
This means that people will be trying to access the website on their mobile devices at all times, from day one of launch until forever afterward, or going through a browser that doesn’t support features like this. When hiring your web designer, ensure responsiveness will be fully incorporated into the design. You can do this by researching various designers to see how well existing sites have been designed. Start by searching “web design melbourne” (or something similar depending on your location) and ask each designer for their portfolio. Once you’re happy with what you see, talk to your chosen designer and make it clear to them that you need the design to be responsive.
3. Are Basic SEO Features Included in the Contract?
You want to make sure that the website your web dev is building has a search engine optimization strategy built in so you can come up with keywords and descriptions for each piece of content that will help people find it.
This kind of SEO includes features like optimizing any images used, having a decent site structure, and, if they’re providing hosting, offering decent speeds that will boost your SEO ranking and therefore, your website’s visibility.
Read More: 9 Tips For Creating Content Your Customers Want To Read
4. What’s the Time Frame for the Website to Be Built?
A no-brainer. How long the website takes to build is so important because if you don’t have this time frame in mind, then you’re going to be left wondering what the web dev is doing with your money, and therefore you can’t send people to your website. If people simply find you and see a ‘website coming soon page,’ they’ll quickly forget about you before moving on to a competitor.
The Top Web Development Companies will take around 150 hours, or about two weeks, so this is a good baseline, but this does, of course, depend on the make of your website, how much content you want, and what features you’re offering.
5. Can Users Sign Up To Your Mailing List?
With email marketing around 66% more effective than social media marketing, you’ll want to make sure your users can sign up with ease. Even if you’re not planning on running an email marketing campaign from the word go, you’re surely going to want the option in the future and, therefore, should have mailing list capabilities integrated cleanly into your website.
Read More: 8 Strategies to Increase Landing Page Conversions
6. Will You Own the Domain Name and Address?
This is a big one. ALWAYS ask who will own the domain name and address you’re going to use. Many times this will be a website developer, who in turn can sell that URL for thousands of dollars. When your contract runs out, if you don’t own your domain name, the web dev could keep it and may not want to sell it to you or will try and charge a large rate for it, meaning that you’ll be left without a website. Ask first and ensure this isn’t an issue.
7. Is All the Website Content Provided, or is it Extra?
Your website needs content. It’s the bread and butter of your pages, and this includes homepage content, an about us page, order forms, product descriptions, and so on. With this in mind, you need to know what content is included in your purchase and what content you’ll need to provide.
Most web devs will offer a basic package that allows you to publish your own content but may be limited to the number of pages and images included.
Read More: Business Website 101: Why Is Design Important for Your Website?
Summary
If you’re considering hiring a web developer, there are a few important questions you should ask before signing the contract. By asking these questions up front, you’ll be able to avoid any potential conflicts or headaches down the road. Keep in mind that not all developers are created equal, so make sure to ask for references and assess their skills and experience before deciding. We hope this blog was of some help!
