Web development companies offer packages for a discount while others boast of their quick, budget-friendly process. This may seem like a steal, but we want to give you reasons that might make you rethink this strategy.
Examine Your Reasons
Here are some important questions to ask before running down the street to find a deal on a website.
- Why do you need a new website? No matter what your budget is, you should know what you want your website to accomplish before signing a contract. A website is the online face of your company, and you should have an idea of what the results will be before you drop money in the bucket.
- What stage is your company at? Companies naturally grow and expand with time. A simple WordPress website that worked 3 years ago might not be big enough now. When looking at new options, consider what your business goals are; if you plan to reach enterprise level in 5-10 years, you should build a site that won't require an overhaul later to accommodate those needs. Drupal is an excellent tool to give websites the necessary long-term scalability and performance.
- What is your budget? It is important to correctly match your budget to your business goals to get a good return on investment. Working with a company that delivers value instead of just a discount will prove more fruitful in the long run.
Find the Right Company
Your development team should know how to match your budget with your business goals. A company specializing in websites builds exactly to your needs, whereas a company offering low-cost development might only be competitive on price instead of on quality.
- Relationship. A website is a valuable asset for your company and the people building it should also be an asset. It is smart to build a relationship with an expert development team. They know your site and can best help with optimizing it for your audience both now and in the future.
- Skill set. A relationship is a great idea as long as the team has the skills. The best intentions to build a relationship won't help if they don't know how to properly build a solid Drupal site. We have another post about how to gauge your developer's expertise, so you find the quality you need. Experience is the best way to build this skill set, so a team with relevant projects under its belt, big or small, is more likely to provide a better product.
- Code is money. Coding may be in the details, but it affects the project on a grand scale. Developers that follow best practices and standards will save you time and money as the site changes and grows. Developers later down the road won't question their faith in humanity when looking at a well-built website because they can add and change features with ease. Poorly built code will cost you more because developers actually charge for the additional time spent to fix it.
A website is an asset to a company and should be leveraged for financial growth.
Summary
A website is an investment and should be treated with care to get the most value out of it. An experienced team of developers will provide real value for the investment you put in. You are not only paying for a site that meets your business goals, but also for a team that will stay with you as your website evolves and changes. At the end of the day, a cheap site means less value.
Have you worked with an outside development team? What are your experiences or pieces of advice?
Photo by Diana Parkhouse