15 Tips and Factors to Consider When Developing Your Web Portal

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Top tips for choosing the right web development
company
It doesnt matter what the nature of your
business is these days, you need a website in
order to maximise your potential. Short of having
the required skills to design and develop your
own web platform, youre almost certainly going
to need the services of a web development
company. But how do you go about choosing the
right website design agency to help you meet all
your online needs? Finding a web development
service that understands your requirements and
can deliver the best solutions within your budget
is not always easy. But use our following top
tips and youll increase your chances of finding
developers who are a good match for your brand,
budget and working methods.
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Work out what kind of site you want
Before deciding to work with any other design
partners, you need to have at least some idea of
the kind of site you need. Will you need an
ecommerce platform to sell directly to customers
or is the site purely for information? Will you
need a contact form or chatbot service? Do you
need a site with responsive design and will you
need web hosting? You need to think about all
these things and they will help to inform your
decision.
How much support do you need?
As well as working out what kind of site you
want, you also need to think about how much
support you need from a web development company.
Is it just a site design you need or do you
require a much more intensive level of support?
For example, will you need ongoing web hosting?
Do you require assistance to set up websites,
chat portals and more? Will you require ongoing
maintenance or content creation? These are all
questions you need to ask yourself before looking
for a web design agency.
Portfolio
Once you have an idea in mind of the kind of site
that you need you should look at the p ortfolio
of any website design company that youre
considering working with. This will give you a
greater insight into the work they do and the
type of clients they work with. If possible, try
to choose an agency that has
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worked with similar clients to your own business.
That way you can be sure that they understand the
needs and challenges you face on a day-to-day
basis.
Social media presence and website
As well as the work they have done for other
businesses, you can tell a lot about any agency
by looking at their own website and social media
presence. Look at their Facebook or Twitter
accounts and try to get a feel for their
personality, check reviews and see if you can see
any feedback. This should also give you more of
an idea of the kind of company they are, how they
operate and whether they will be a good fit for
your business.
See the bigger picture
Of course, the main goal of your project may be
to establish or renew your web presence. But you
should also try and see this as part of a bigger
marketing strategy. The website will be the face
of the company online and is an essential tool
for marketing, but it is also just one piece of
your marketing plan. As well as the look and
functionality of your site, you need to be asking
questions about other marketing features such as
search engine optimisation, blog outreach,
interaction, communication and more.
Cost
Of course, the bottom line is always the bottom
line when it comes to any business decision.
However, what you should really be focused on is
value
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rather than cost. Yes, you need to have a
realistic budget, but you should also shy away
from scrimping on your online presence. Try to
find web development services that offer great
value, providing all the services you need for
the cost. You may need to be willing to sacrifice
some things in order to get value, particularly
around showy or flashy web designs. What you
really need is functionality. You need a site
designed with the user experience at its core
component. All the flashy design elements can be
an unnecessary cost. Ultimately your money
should be spent on a site thats easy to
navigate and provides great content.
Problem solving
Great web design and marketing is not easy and
you will inevitably come up against a number of
problems throughout the process. You need to try
and identify designers who are skilled problem
solvers and who can find ways to overcome the
obstacles and hurdles you encounter. The capacity
for developers to be successful trouble shooters
is very important. So, try and ask for examples
and instances when theyve been able to find
positive solutions.
Communication
Any kind of successful collaboration is all about
effective communication. How your partner
expresses their ideas and how well they are able
to understand your point of view are essential
for developing a successful project. If
theyre slow to respond or communicate poorly
from the outset, this is a sure sign that there
are going to be issues along the way.
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Professionalism
The way a development company behaves,
communicates and performs should always be
professional. With any luck your business will be
able to build good relationships for an ongoing
project, but these should always be defined
within professional boundaries.
Industry knowledge
No one knows your industry better than you, so
its unlikely that a development team is going to
fully understand what you do and how you
operate. But if they have experience in your
industry or demonstrate that they will make a
big effort to work closely with you then you
stand a much better chance of getting the kind of
site you need. The more they understand your
operation the more they will be in tune with the
requirements of your site, so any developer who
takes the time to get to know you is one whos
going about things the right way. Follow all
the above top tips and you should be able to f
ind web developers and designers who understand
what you need and how to deliver it. Take the
time to understand your needs and requirements
first, and this will make the process easier.
And do your research in the right way and you can
create working relationships that have a big
impact on the future success of your business.
Finding the right partner doesnt always have to
be difficult.