Top Questions to Ask When Hiring a Web Development Company

Are you interested in hiring a web development company to get your business online but aren’t sure what to look for?

Hiring qualified web development experts can be a challenge. If you’re new to digital marketing, you may feel completely lost when you try to compare services from different agencies.

You know you need a website, but beyond that, you may not be sure what to ask. How can you tell whether a web developer has the experience and resources necessary to do the job well?

As it turns out, it all comes down to knowing the right questions.

In this article, we’ll share some of the top questions to ask when hiring a web development firm. As you’re comparing different web development companies, use these questions to help you know which ones can really get you the service you deserve.

For your quick web development guide on the best questions to ask, keep reading now.

How Many Sites Have You Built Like Mine?

Experience is probably the most important factor in expertise. You’ll want to make sure that the agency you entrust your website to has plenty of it.

Don’t merely ask how many different websites the agency has built, however. You need to know whether the businesses the agency has worked for in the past had goals similar to yours.

If a web development agency has built great sites for multiple businesses like yours in the past, that’s a good sign.

What Platform do You Develop Sites For?

Not all web developers create sites from scratch to run on their own. Sometimes developers make sites that run on specific platforms, like WordPress or Magento.

Having a website built for a certain platform can make it easier for you as the site owner to make adjustments to it later.

With a platform like WordPress, you can make new blog posts and update content with a point-and-click system. Platforms like Magento let you operate e-commerce stores conveniently.

Getting a website built for a specific platform isn’t always the best choice, and there are pros and cons to each one. After you find out if the developer you’re considering works with a platform, make sure to ask for their reason for using that one.

What Will You do for SEO?

If your site can’t be discovered by search engines, there’s almost no point in having one. That’s why it’s incredibly important that the developer you choose to specialize in search engine optimization.

You should ask the developer what they’ll do to make your site SEO-friendly if you hire them. If they tell you SEO only matters after the site is designed, look elsewhere.

How Long Do You Expect the Process to Take?

Rome wasn’t built in a day, and good websites aren’t, either. However, you’ll need to have a clear idea of how long to expect before you strike a deal.

Different developers can have wildly different time frames, from two months to a year. Of course, this depends in part on the complexity of the site being created. Either way, it’s important to know what to expect.

Will You Provide Maintenance or Updates?

Some developers offer website packages where they will continue to service and update the site as long as you have a contract with them. Sometimes these developers host the sites they build on their own servers.

This is important for two reasons.

For one thing, websites need to be updated periodically for security reasons. For another, if your site isn’t built on a user-friendly platform like WordPress, you may need an ongoing relationship with the developer to update the content on the site.

Do You Provide Content Marketing Services?

As you’ll soon see if you’re new to digital marketing, web development is just the beginning. Besides having a great website, your business will need additional marketing services to thrive.

Many web development and marketing agencies provide content marketing services. This means they help produce content—such as blog posts, social media posts, or videos—to promote your brand.

961 Interactive offers multiple marketing services in addition to web development. You can learn more about our services here.

What End-to-End Cost Should I Expect?

A good website is an investment, so you shouldn’t expect it to be too cheap. But that’s not to say its development should be an endless money pit.

A good developer should be able to give you a fair and reasonable idea of what to expect overall costs to be. They’ll work with you to make sure it falls into your budget before they get to work.

Can I Speak to Your Clients?

Last but not least, find out if you can talk to past clients who’ve worked with the development agency before.

Getting a developer’s references will show you that they can be trusted, and talking to their past clients will give you an idea of what you can expect.

Get Online With 961 Interactive, a Web Development Company You Can Trust

With that, you now know what questions to ask before hiring a web development company.

But that still leaves the question: where should you look for developers to hire in the first place?

Fortunately for you, the answer can be simple with 961 Interactive.

Our development firm provides world-class web design and development services to businesses like yours. From design and SEO to social media and brand management, 961 Interactive has everything you need to get online now.

You can stop scouring the internet for web development tips and hunting for qualified developers. Contact us and get your business online right away.