CHOOSING A DEVELOPER

Now that you have a good idea of what’s involved in web development you will be in a good position to find a developer or development company. This is where the Approved Index, the UK's leading online business to business referral service, proves invaluable, with a list of established, proven web development companies on its books for you to contact. You can complete a simple form on our website and receive up to six free quotes from web developers and companies. You will still have to choose one company to work with, so here are some things to consider.

The greatest resource available for researching a web developer's aptitude and suitability for the kind of work you have in mind is the portfolio of jobs they have done in the past. Qualities to look for include variety, originality and whether you consider the style of the designs appropriate for the sites in question. Be sure to give consideration to the functional and practical aspects of the sites under review as much as their visual impact. Does the site load quickly? Does it require any plug-ins or software downloads to operate effectively? It is well worth your time entering the site using different web browsers and connection speeds to test compatibility and adaptability, because these issues can make or break a web site and you'll want to see how well the developer accommodates them.

Be sure to read any descriptions of the projects to get an idea of what was involved. Though you may not fully understand some technical aspects of what’s involved, this guide should give you a firm enough grounding to appreciate when a difficult problem has been solved in a particularly elegant or innovative way. It may also be helpful to see if any of their past work is similar to your project

SEO – Search Engine Optimisation – is of vital importance if your website is to receive large numbers of visitors. Look to see if SEO was a part of any projects in the portfolio. You can easily assess how effective a developer’s SEO abilities are by performing a few searches yourself and noting how easy it is to find the sites in the portfolio.

Any web developer should be happy to provide you with a list of satisfied clients as references. This is possibly the most important step in choosing the right company to work with, as talking to past clients will give you an idea what the company is like to work with in practice. There are a number of questions worth asking referees. How well did the developer communicate with the clients? Did they deliver what was required within budget and to schedule? Has the project stood the test of time or presented any technical problems and is it dynamic and adaptable enough that alterations to the content can be made without difficulty?

You will likely find that there are all sizes of organisations available for your project, from freelance individuals to multinational corporations. Which is best depends on you and your project and there are advantages and disadvantages to either. While a freelancer will probably give you a very high level of personal service, they may not personally be able to take on all of your tasks, and employ a third party, losing the personal touch. Large companies offer stability, capacity and guarantees, but you may not receive such personal service, especially if you are a relatively small client. Additionally, a larger organisation is likely to be more stable. Ultimately, you should be confident that the individual or company you choose can provide you with high quality work and the level of service you want.

It may seem obvious, but having a good working relationship with your developer is vital. You will inevitably need to communicate a lot and effectively in order to achieve the result you want, so you must feel comfortable with them. It’s no good having the world’s most sought-after developer working for you unless you feel able to tell them that they’ve done something wrong or that you don’t like something they’ve created. A developer should be able to take constructive criticism and suggestions and be generally personable. Compatibility between client and designer is key to generating the best possible end result.

In this current climate, it is important to make sure that a company is solvent and has the ability to survive. You don’t want a company going bust midway through your website development. Our recommendation is to view the latest accounts to ensure they have made no significant losses recently. It is also worth considering using Equifax or Experian for company credit worthiness checks.