Helpful Tools

1. Helping you Choose the Right Web Professional to Build and Host your Website
2. Designing and Building Your Website: Who Will Do it and How Much Will it Cost?
3. Choosing the Right Web Hosting Service

Helping you Choose the Right Web Professional to Build and Host your Website

Hiring a professional to design and build your website can be a significant investment -- especially if you're a small business owner on a budget. And, in a highly competitive market saturated with fledgling designers keen to attract new business, at first glance it may be difficult to separate the novices from the more experienced professionals. But, since the end product must have a professional look and feel, it should be scaleable/expandable and it must function effectively, a great deal of care should be taken when choosing a web designer/developer to design, build and host your site.

Remember, shopping for a web professional is no different than choosing an accountant or a lawyer - all are vital to the birth and growth of a healthy business.

In order to help you choose a professional that's right for you, consider the following questions:

Are you comfortable with this company and the person with whom you'll be dealing?
It is important that you are at ease communicating with your web professional, as, throughout the web development process they will have your company in their hands -- interpreting your needs and wants, adapting them to the needs of your clients and balancing them with required site functionality. If you are not comfortable expressing your concerns or you feel you are not being heard by the person/firm that you hire, then that company is not right for you.

How long has your chosen professional been developing web sites?
How many sites have they completed and do they have sample sites online to view? Have they completed projects similar to yours? Keep in mind, more experienced professionals usually have a faster turn around time - which is important if you are being charged by the hour - and are often able to troubleshoot development issues before they arise.

Take a tour of sample sites to ensure they meet your standards. Look for glitches that could impact the successful completion of sales transactions or customer inquiries. Make sure the sites are easy to navigate. Consider style and tone and ensure they fit with your vision.

Alternately, in lieu of samples, ask for the names and website addresses of previous clients and contact them to ensure that they were happy with the work. Visit their sites to get a feel for the results of their projects.

What design/technical qualifications does staff possess?
Although there are many self-taught designers/developers out there, ideally you want to hire someone with some formal education behind them. Why? Ask yourself: Would you hire a self-taught lawyer to draft your legal documents?

In addition, it is important to understand that a web designer/developer may not possess all the skills you require and therefore may have to outsource a portion of your project. This is a common practice in the industry, but you should still ensure you know upfront what portions of your project are being outsourced and the level of skill of any outside contractors.

What technologies does your chosen professional use and do they meet your needs?
Understanding the answer to this question does require that you do some research into your own business requirements and budget constraints, now and in the future.

If you choose to design your website yourself or have a novice friend design it for you, you may end up with a site that has both limited functionality and limited future growth potential. That said, many small businesses on a budget choose this avenue as a 'first-step' to bringing their business online, understanding that in order to grow their online business they may have to start from scratch and rebuild their site again.

By designing and hosting with the latest industry standard technologies, you make it easier, should you ever wish to add to or move your site to another server.

Does your chosen professional offer maintenance and upgrades at reasonable rates?
Once your site is published on the Internet, the process of keeping it up-to-date is continuous. It is vital that your site reflects relevant information about your business at all times. You may want to consider having your site designed to allow you to do some site maintenance in-house through a back-end administrative system. If your budget does not allow for administrative sections, ensure in advance that your designer/developer is willing to maintain and upgrade your site for a reasonable price.

Where and how will the site be hosted?
If your chosen professional is hosting your site or arranging hosting for you, there are some issues you need to be aware of which can have a serious effect on the security and integrity of your site. Here are some key questions to ask:

Is the site hosted in a secure fire-proof facility? -- This is a simple step to guard against losing your site in the event of fire.

Is there backup power in case of a power failure? -- If your site is not up and running, your losing business!

Are there firewalls etc. in place to guard against an invasion and compromising of your data? -- Your customers want to be reassured that the information they provide is stored securely and kept confidential.

How much does it cost per month? -- Costs can vary widely as the market is highly competitive. Comparison shop and make a choice based on cost and level of service.

Is a statistics package included and can you access it 24 hours a day? -- Having access to your incoming and outgoing traffic details can provide you with valuable market data. This will allow you to fine tune your site to your customers' needs in a timely manner.

Will your name be listed as the administrative and billing contact for your domain name? -- Insist on having your company listed as owner and contact for your domain name. This can save you costly headaches should you want to change servers/hosts or website administrators.

Who does what and when?
Ensure you develop a written contract that outlines your expectations, timeline for development, and price as well as a payment schedule. Ensure you arrange 'sign-off' stages throughout site development and that you are able to make changes within the quoted price. This way you can guarantee the finished product is closest to what you imagined.

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