14 Questions to Ask Web Design & Development Company Before Hire

What should I look for when hiring a web development company?

1. Have you worked on projects from the industry like my own?

The development company you’re considering to hire should be able to describe the projects they have completed in the past and which industries they serve most. While proffesional diversity is advantageous, since this enables gleaning best practices in design, development and management, you may also be fine with someone who is primarily focused on one type of project.

2.  Do you outsource projects or complete them in house?

Understanding what pieces of your web design & development project will be or won’t be conducted in-house is an important aspect for consideration. If a company delegates parts of projects to outsource partners and/or freelance developers, this may be beneficial cost-wise. However, this may also position communication and scheduling challenges. Thus, if a potential partner plans to utilize third-party assistance, it is critical to know who they will be using for collaboration and in which proportions.

3. What kind of web technologies do you use?

If you are not yet familiar with the programming side of projects, listening to your potential partner mention technologies (React, Vue.js, PHP, Python, Ruby on Rails, ObjC, Flutter, Elixir, etc) will unlikely become a deal-maker, even if their expertise is impressively vast. What actually matters at this point is evaluation of your business goals, review of your legacy code (in case there’s an ongoing project) and suggesting best possible solution tailored to your specific business requirements. In a nutshell, the most sophisticated or complex technology is not necessarily the best option - development languages and technologies are designed to serve your business, and not vice versa.

4. Do you offer services other than web development?

Different development companies offer different ranges of services. Some may be primarily focused on web development, while others may lead you through the entire product lifecycle by offering comprehensive packages. Chanсes are, small companies only offer one type of development services. That being said, when interviewing potential vendors, it is your job to find out whether they are techy enough to take on your project and deliver the desired result.

In the perfect scenario, development companies also offer

mobile app development services and web design services. Oftentimes, these service branches are interconnected and make a powerful combo that serves your business requirements best.

Top 5 questions to ask when hiring a web designer

1. Can you show me some of the things you have designed?

Normally, web design companies proudly showcase their successful projects on their websites, unless some of those projects are NDA-protected. Either way, feel free to inquire case studies prior to signing a contract. UIX design and digital representation of your business are of utmost value, and seeing how your potential partner handled web design projects in the past will give you a clear idea if it’s a match for you. Other than visual representation, though, which is often a matter of preference, you might be interested in numbers, as in detailed statistics of business results that were reached with a specific project. Increase in conversion rates, decrease in bounce rates and so much more depends on how web design portion is executed.

2.  Do you create a fully-custom web design for my website or a “customized” theme

Oftentimes, web design companies combine template and “from scratch” approaches in providing their services. Clearly, web design themes and templates are rather cost-effective. Template libraries offer hundreds of various visual solutions that require minimum customization. One significant drawback of templates is that they are designed to work with any type of website and therefore contain a lot of unnecessary and junk code which affects speedtest and web performance results. Also, in some cases, technical maintenance of a template-based website may end up more costly than building a website with unique design from scratch. Custom websites, being purpose-built, are typically more pricey and may take longer to create, but, on the bright side, allow to make effortless front-end updates, manage content and keep up with higher performance results in the long run. Depending on project goals and budget expectations, web design companies will offer an optimal solution.

3. Can you design a website that fits my budget?

Commonly web design companies provide custom quotes upon customer inquiries, so it will help both parties if you clearly communicate the budget you’re looking to fit at the very start. Ask your web designer what options they may offer to fit your budget. Note that imagery and copywriting, hosting, 3rd party plugins or software programs, domain registration, email marketing, etc should also be kept in mind as extras.

4. Should I provide the images or my mood board for the website?

If you’re trying to rebrand your business and/or create new visual identity, one can not underestimate the importance of photographs and brand direction. If there is an existing brandbook and vetted business style that is necessary to retain, sharing those guidelines with your web designer will be necessary. If that’s not the case, a web designer is supposed to kick-off the project by asking you to fill out a branding questionnaire and creating a moodboard. To facilitate the process, clients are usually welcome to share their own ideas and moodboards, but this is not necessary per se.

5. Are your web designs responsive?

As tech companies release more mobile devices year by year and more diverse screen sizes become available, hence, the concept of responsive web design (RWD) is the new black. Responsive web design is a set of techniques that allow web pages to alter their layouts to suit different screen resolutions and render well on different devices.

Organizational questions for Web Development & Design firm

1. How long will it take to complete the site and how much will it cost?

If you have a sharp deadline for your website completion, you should let your web development & design vendor know beforehand. Along with project cost evalution, your web developers should give you a timeline with clear project milestones. It is not always possible to squeeze a complex project in a tight timeline, especially given that rushed development is barely a good idea, quality-wise, but it’s a matter of priorities. In some cases, it is optimal to settle for an MVP in a tight timing, and then extend the timeline to let the project grow steadily.

2.  How many revisions are you willing to make?

Oftentimes, miscommunications occur at the design & approval stage, and you surely want to love your end project, and your web designer should give you the product you’re expecting. To avoid miscommunications, it’s best to find out how many revisions are allowed before signing a contract. Web designers normally set a limit on number of edits to limit the project creep. Also, extra edits and revisions entail extra costs on designers, so typically additional costs are implied for further revisions beyond a set number.

3. What are the major steps you follow when developing a site?

Process plays a major role in web design & development, and can those steps may vary significantly from agency to agency. Knowing what the process consists of and how things are performed is essential. Find out who you will be in touch with on regular basis, how frequently they will require your feedback and approvals and what each team member’s role will be.

4. How will we communicate during the website development process?

Communication flow varies in different web development companies. At DNA Team, we utilize ClickUp for agile task management and Slack for internal communications. Both of these channels can be extended to invite clients for 100% transparent process. Other than that, email and Google Meet are primary channels of communication for check-ins, progress reports, questions & answers and status updates.

5. What’s included or not included in your final price?

When it comes to billing, no one likes surprises. Be sure to clarify what kinds of additional costs may come up along with what was agreed upon in the proposal, and how web development company handles estimating and charging for what falls outside of the original scope of work.

Conclusion

Bearing all specific questions in mind, and having come up with budget, goals and overall expectations, it may still be difficult to choose one vetted web development partner among many companies offering similar services. Not such an easy task, is it? Luckily, we at DNA Team believe it's our mission to transform complex tasks into solutions. To learn more about magic we perform for websites, mobile apps and design projects, get in touch with us. We will answer all questions you may have and make you feel confident about your choice.

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