We often wonder why we don’t get asked these web design related questions more often, and feel there would be far less problems online if they were asked as standard!

When investing your hard earned cash into your new website, you should feel 100% secure that you have chosen the right web developement company.

These are a selection of what you should know before you spend your dough!

1. How long will it take? – Too often we hear nightmare stories of deposits being made, and then 2 months down the line they still have no website! If you like wasting money on banter, don’t ask this question.
2. What input will you have? – Will the designer throw a paddy fit when you say you don’t like what they have done? Are you able to have a creative input?
3. How will the website be updated? – Is the site on a Content Management System so you can update it yourself? If not how much does the developer charge per update?
4. Will the site be Search Engine friendly? - This is incredibly important, as your website is just a brochure without the search engines knowing about it. The site can be built with search engines in mind, but this does not necessarily mean you will have an ongoing Search Engine Optimisation contract. This leads us to the next question…
5. Does the site include ongoing Search Engine Optimisation? – Ongoing SEO can get expensive, and is rarely part of the deal. This is an essential part of a successful online marketing campaign so make sure you know everything going forward. Nobody can guarantee rankings, not even Google themselves, as there search engine is not controllable by the living breathing types! Be wary of ANY company that offers a money back guarantee, as you DON’T get a full refund of your money. It’s normally a small percentage based on which page in the search rankings they get you to!
6. Will your site be built to W3C standards? - There is an ongoing disagreement between various web developers of the world about whether a website should comply to the W3C standards. They need very good reasoning to not follow the standards, and “W3C standards are too restrictive for our technology” is not a valid excuse. ALL web technology can comply to W3C standards if done in the right way.
7. Is your site accessible? – This ties in closely with the last question. But this is essential for users with disabilities, for example if your menu jumps to different positions on each page, somebody using a screen reader(a device that allows them to zoom into to different areas of the screen) will have difficulty locating it on the next page load. It is now a legal requirement to make sure your site is accessible, and depending on your contract, it is not your web developer who will be responsible.
8. Any further costs? – Too often we hear of people being told they were only quoted for the basic website, when they thought they had the full job! Also make sure you know if your paying per hour, or a set project fee. Set project fees are always better for a lot of reasons, for example designers might not feel as creative that day, so the job will take them longer, costing you more money.
9. What after sales support is on offer? – What support is included free? Are errors resolved free of charge? Do they offer an extended support service? If so is there a minimum contract period? We normally recommend taking out upto 6 months extended support, so you know you are covered for everything while you get to grips with your new website.
10. What tuition is included? – Some development companies will include tuition free of charge as part of the deal, others will charge per hour. Make sure you know where you are with this as per hour charging can quickly mount up.