Web Development
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What To Ask Potential Developers

Description: Not everyone thinks of interviewing developers before they decide to take them on, but that's exactly what you should do if you want to make sure your choice is the right one.

If you're looking for a web developer to help you create a website that will attract attention for all the right reasons, it's a good idea to ask a few questions to figure out whether the developers you have found will be the right ones for the job.

You can find out a lot before you even speak to them by checking out their own website. However this may only give you information regarding the company instead of shedding light on the developers themselves. Make sure you check the other websites they have designed, as it can give you a good insight into how versatile the developers are, and whether or not they would be a good fit for your business.

Think about the various different aspects of the websites they've done in the past as well. Don't just look at the home pages - see how easy they are to navigate and what kind of tools are used as well. This will help you to figure out how sympathetic they are with each different style of business. Do they seem to instinctively understand what is required for each company to really stand out among their competition? Ask them how they design each site - not in a technical way but so you know how much client input there is and how they progress through the various design elements to create a site that represents the client in the best possible way.

Any good web developer will also be pleased to share their track record with you. They should also be happy to reveal their qualifications, and it's always a good sign if you find a web developer that designs websites as a hobby as well as for a living. This tends to reveal those web developers that have a real passion for what they do, and don't have one eye on the clock all the time.

Of course web developers don't just make sites look pretty. They also make them easy to navigate - both for the site visitors and for the search engine spiders that index sites to appear in search results. Your ideal web developer should also be able to tell you everything they can do to make your site more visible in this way; if they can't then it might be worth going elsewhere. Make sure you ask them how SEO techniques fit into what they do.

The bottom line is that any good web developer will be more than happy to answer questions about what they do - and what they can do for you. They will be delighted to show you what they have done in the past, and they won't pressure you into using their service. To them, doing a good job is more important than anything, and if they don't feel they can do your site justice - or if they don't feel that you would make a good fit together - then they would more than likely turn the job down.

One final point - be skeptical of any web developer that gives you a specific price for designing your website before they even know what's involved. If you ask them for a price list they shouldn't give you one. The best answer you could receive is an estimated price - but only once they know what's involved.