Five (5) Things You Need to Know Before Hiring a Web Developer to Create a Website for you.

Hire a Professional Web Designer / Developer

Hi, I’m Stanislaus IfeanyiChukwu, the Creative Director of Stanrich Online Technologies – a web design company – based in Lagos – Nigeria (CodedWebmaster.Com). This is the second in the series of articles I’m writing to help educate and enlighten people about the process of website development. My objective is to assist people make the right assessment or decision when engaging or hiring a web designer or developer and work well with him through the project so that two of you can create a great website that helps your business / organization accomplish its mission.

Earlier, I posted an article titled How to Get Your Interactive Website Designed For You at Affordable Price on an Indian Search Engine Optimization website – Content-Catalyst.Com. You can read the article to avoid paying through your nose for hiring a web developer for your organization.

In this blog post, I am going to share with you 5 things you need to know before you even start searching for a web developer.

Here is Five Things You Need to Know Before Hiring a Web Developer

1. You need a Web team

Do you have a web team? If no, you need to create one! This is very important because two good heads, they say, is better than one. Even if it is two or three people, find more than one interested and knowledgeable person on your web team. Their role in making the website a success cannot be over emphasized. Here are some of the roles of your chosen web team:-

(a) The chosen web team has the power to make all decision about the look and feel of the website.

(b) They will be useful to get a few diverse opinions to help make decisions to make the creation and proof reading of website content a breeze.

(c) Having a team of people lets you to extend the work load of the website to other team members. They will help in calling, visiting, requesting more information, etc.?

(d) A team gives you an opportunity to plan your way out of town or gets busy with other priorities.

2. You need to define the purpose of your website.

What do you intend to achieve with your website? What type of information do you intend to serve your community or visitors? Try to make your entire content ready before approaching or searching for a web developer.

3. Value your website as an investment

Your website is an instrument of marketing, so your website is real investment and not just an expense.

If your company or organization is generating more money than it is spending, then it is an excellent investment. For instance, if you could put in $2, 000 in business and at the end of that year, your money increased to $3, 000, that is a good investment. In the same vein, if you spend $1, 000 to create a website and the website helps you to make you $3, 000 in your first year, you not only have the $1, 000 that you invested in the first place but you now have an extra $2, 000 in your pocket. Is that not great gain?

4. Two websites can be created with the same website software but they are not created equally.

A website can look great but that doesn’t mean the website will it do all you want it to do for you. There are so many website software and their advantages over the other. Some pre-designed or open source website software like WordPress, Joomla etc can allow you to manage your website easier. Do research and ask your website developer some questions about some website specifications, different software he use and the particular one he is going to use to develop or to create a website for you.

 5. Develop a proper plan to measure the effectiveness of your website

Here is where there is a lot of work to do but it is often neglected by some people. I often hear people commenting on the value of their website – (great looking, eye-catching), however, when I ask if they track their conversions, sales, visitors or where their new visitors are coming from, most of the time they cannot figure it out.  No matter the form of marketing, it is essential to have some tools in place to monitor and measure how your website is performing in general.

Dear reader, before I sign out, I want to know what you think. Are these things essential to know before hiring a web developer? Do you have other suggestions for people that are looking forward to hire a web developer in the near future? They will be happy to read your comments.

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