Want to refurbish a website, or create a new website from the scratch? Need a mobile app to boost your website’s business? Need a new Bespoke Application to run your business activities? Don’t have the necessary in-house expert required to create a whole new website? Don’t fret! You can always hire the services of an offshore web development company. With their expertise and understanding of the web world, you will be able to gauge the success of your organization in terms of visibility, reach and conversions. But, hiring a web development company requires some research from your end. Here are 8 steps that you should follow when planning to hire a developer or a company
Study their Website and Blog
When you are planning to hire a web design company UK, you must have prepared a list of all the shortlisted companies. Your ideal next step should be to study their website and blog. Does their website give you a good feel? It should be decent enough. Do you feel that it is indeed a team of people handling this work, or just an individual pretending to be a team? Is their blog updated on a regular basis? Do they care about the topics they are voicing their opinions on?
Contribution Towards the Community
Community is where you will get a good idea about the web development company. You will need to check on their social presence, and see what kind of conversations do they have with their audience? Are they empowered and act as influencers, or are simply followers? Have they worked on open source or community projects that they can showcase? Do they have a showcase of their work, to prove their credibility, on the social networking sites? Answers to all these questions will decide if they are worth hiring or not.
Check for References
Social networking sites help companies create a buzz about their work. With the help of the social networking sites, these companies can not only showcase their work, but also create conversations about the work. If the work is really good, there will be several people talking about it. You can even check recommendations on LinkedIn to know who their clients are and what they feel about the company. Reviews and recommendations are important!
Check for Communication Skills
How quick and efficient they are in their responses? How crisp and clear their communication is? Are they enthusiastic about their work? Do they take charge of the work or leave it on you to carry it forward? Do they work with a plan? If you have placed a call to them, do they return the call, or forget it? Do they value your time and efforts? The answers to all these questions will determine whether you should work with them or not.
Do they Discuss Everything?
Does this web design company UK understand your idea? Do they discuss the risks involved with your idea? A good team will discuss everything from success ratio to failures they foresee with a particular idea. They will want to know your goals, vision and mission. For them product is a subset of your business.
Test Drive Them
It is always good to test a team before hiring them. Give them a sample work and see how they perform the task. Do they seem to understand what you need? A mock test will help the two of you understand each other’s works and needs better.
Having a Process
It is important for your web development company to have a process that can help you achieve your results in an efficient manner. If they are depending on you to direct them, and are not at the helm of the ship, then you should avoid having such people on board. With a command on their work and a process to follow, the project would have a smooth start and fine tuned end.
Budget Considerations
Before giving a nod to the web design company US, you will need to work out the budget for the project. Plan your budget before you approach a company. You should ask them for their budget with proper breakup if possible. If the budget seems fine with you, then ask them to define a contract. Read the contract properly before signing it. Make sure you don’t go for fixed price projects. Make sure they have mentioned contingency funds in their breakup.
With this 8 step process, you are absolutely ready to hire a web development company. It is suggested that you don’t hire a company without looking at all these points.
