Hiring a web development agency is not rocket science. The tricky part is finding one that is the ideal fit for you, capable of understanding your requirements and delivering them to you.
The task at hand can be a breeze if you just know what to look for and what steps to follow, and you need to look no further!
We have got you covered with this comprehensive step by step guide to hiring the best web development company in Sydney for your web application project.
Depending on your current stage, you can choose to jump directly to any of the sections below:
Scoping The Project
The first and really crucial step in starting with website development is really knowing your own requirements. Having a clearly thought out approach and defining the framework you want is essential for communication with the potential web development companies you are looking to hire. So get started with your own homework first!
1. Defining the Development Needs
Web development is a really broad term and encompasses a number of things. What services do you want from the web development company?
Is a just focused on website development or do you need a web app as well? Are you looking for web services to connect multiple applications on the internet?
Having clearly defined product requirements not only helps you get a clear idea of what you are hiring for, it also is instrumental in narrowing down the choices among the prospective web development companies.
For example you need a web app to be developed alongside the website, this would automatically eliminate the companies that solely offer website development in their portfolio as they don’t meet your requirements.
While you are at it, it makes sense to also define your business goals and how is the website going to help you in accomplish them. Ask yourself, “What is the end goal for getting into website development?”
The answers may very, from brand awareness and product information to generation of leads, sales and eCommerce, but having this bit sorted right at the beginning would be really useful for measuring the success achieved at the later stages.
2. Building a Prototype for Developers
A creative brief and project requirement documents are a must for building a prototype for the developers. This website prototyping phase is the cornerstone and arguably the most important step of the project. So what exactly does this entail?
The project requirement documents are essentially the backbone of our project. It contains the project outline, goals you envision for the project, product specifications, features and technical details that you wish to be incorporated by the web development company into the final product delivered.
3. Drawing a Framework
Nobody understands the requirements and the desired framework of your website better than you do so drawing a basic framework of the design you have in mind constitutes best practices. Quickly jot down the list of features you want the web development company to incorporate into your project.
The basic framework need not be something very technical or complicated. A basic diagram of the design on paper can do the trick.
Choosing A Web Development Company
Once you have shortlisted a list of prospective companies, focusing on certain guidelines can be instrumental in making a selection. Here are the things you need to keep in consideration.
1. Company’s own website
How the web development firm has designed and developed its own website can act as a screener for you. A company that doesn’t put in the extra efforts to develop their own website isn’t one that would likely go an extra mile to ensure the success of your project either.
It is a good indication of the capability of the company, its design style and technological expertise. The things to look for are the functionality of the site, visual aesthetics, how updated it looks and the user experience it provides.
The website would also ideally include the portfolios and case studies of other companies they have worked for and a quick review of those would give you an estimate of the kind of work the company is capable of producing and deciding whether it meets your requirements.
2. Work experience
Several niches like eCommerce require complex development process both frontend and backend, so a web development company that has previous work experience in the niche of your business is an added advantage. They are likely to be familiar with the requirements and the challenges designing and developing for you would pose.
The understanding of industry specific trends and challenges is essential for the company you hire. It must be familiar with the target customers segment and be capable of coming up with innovative ways to keep the site competitive.
3. Cost-Value equation
Web development companies work across a staggering price range. As with any other product, the higher the price, the better the quality. It is up to you to determine what value proposition would be the most beneficial to you.
Pricing is decided keeping the following three factors in consideration: technology used, experience of the company, skills of the developers. Higher price generally results in better result so the best approach is to decide on your budget range and then look for companies willing to work within the specified price range.
4. Soft skills and communication
You need to work in close correlation with the website development company over an extended period of time. Ease of communication with the developers and designers is very important for the project completion and smooth project management.
The soft skills the people at the web development company, the replies they give to your email queries, and proactive behavior, all give insight into the level on understanding and ease of communication that would be there once they start working on the project.
5. Getting to know the team
It is vital for you to understand who exactly would be the people working on your project. You might hire a top end web development company but the price you would be paying them won’t be justified if they assign a bunch of new hires to your project or outsource it to another team altogether.
Summing it up
Making the decision of hiring the web development company that meets your criteria and fits your budget is not an easy task. We sure hope that we made your decision making process a tad bit simpler with our comprehensive guide. Drop us a comment below if you found it helpful.
A creative brief and project requirement documents are a must for building a prototype for the developers. This website prototyping phase is the cornerstone and arguably the most important step of the project. So what exactly does this entail?
The project requirement documents are essentially the backbone of our project. It contains the project outline, goals you envision for the project, product specifications, features and technical details that you wish to be incorporated by the web development company into the final product delivered.
