How to Choose the Best Web Application Development Company?

If you ask a business owner or startup founder how their first web development project or website development experience was, it’s very likely that you’ll get an irritated expression.  

Heading into a website development project without giving enough thought as to which web development company to select can be a frustrating venture. Partnering with the wrong company can have long-lasting repercussions.  

As web development consultants for over a decade, we’ve seen and heard about all kinds of good, bad and best website projects. From our experience, one thing is certain that the effectiveness of an expert consultant cannot be undermined. You can Google “best web development company” as many times but it won’t get you too far.  

Here we will discuss the five most crucial factors to guide you to choose the best web development company.  

Determine your website needs  

This is an obvious first step, but an important one because every website is different.  

All the big tech giants of our time, Google, Amazon, Facebook, Netflix are websites but with a multi-billion dollar investment and infrastructure. They are managed by numerous data centres across the world.  

Okay, that was an extreme analogy but you get the point that it’s crucial to identify what will the website be made of, what will its functionalities be, how does it look like, what you need the website to do for your customers and your startup.  

Are you going to sell custom made t-shirts? Or handcrafted pottery? You will need a good looking eCommerce website for both and it’s highly unlikely that your next-door buddy will be competent for the project.  

An eCommerce website requires high technological and analytical skills. It comes with its own logistical challenges. To handle such a project you need a web development company with relevant experience in the eCommerce space. One that can provide a solution that can scale as your business expands and maintains any contingencies along the way.  

Also Read: Develop An Ecommerce App That Is Loved By Thousands

The primary target of a website for SMBs is to inform customers, build trust and convert visitors into customers. While several web development companies can do the job, there are other factors you must consider. Like where will the site be hosted, what type of content management system and others. These variables have a considerable impact on everyday website management.  

Determine your congruence  

Hiring a web development company is not just about that one website designing project. If you like their service and are happy with it, then you will end up doing business with them for many years to come. And that’s the hook.  

This is the reason why it is recommended to put in a little extra effort and time in the beginning to save your company a lot of capital and valuable time upfront. Also, later, if you decide to move the web application to another vendor, it will be costly and time taking.  

Getting to know the company you’re hiring for a long term business relationship is a good idea. On the front side don’t just assess their work, find out what are their work principles, values, how they treat their developers and more.  

And while all the formal factors like credibility, brand name and experience are completely up to the mark, sometimes you still don’t like them. Trust the vibe, sometimes it matters.  

Determine support and maintenance  

Even after the project delivery, you will likely need updates and changes to your website regularly. It is frequently noticed that certain features and elements are added after the launch as per the new requirement. For instance, setting up email subscriptions or resetting a password. Moreover, a website should be frequently updated with new functionalities which also comply with Google’ ever-changing algorithms.  

Also Read: Best Web Development Frameworks In 2019

A good web application development company understands their client’s needs and is going to teach you how to add new content, pages and blogs along with adding minor updates. To add new features, you will need your website development partner. Most firms offer ongoing maintenance and support services as part of their package but still, you should determine what kind of support service you will require and which team member will assist you in performing this type of work.  

Pay attention to the details  

Imagine you see a post on social media from a company or business about the launch of their new website. You click on the link in the post to the website. It opens and all you see is the logo and a title in the top bar of the homepage, “Home”.  

Epic disappointment. Right?  

Now imagine your customer in the same situation. It is an utter waste of their time.  

Before getting too excited about your newly designed web presence on social media. Make sure you make the best use of this opportunity.  

Smaller things and opportunities missed like the scenario mentioned above can break a brand’s digital rapport.  

Hire a web development company that pays attention to small details of the website. The design, content, title, subheadings, pages, meta titles and description for search engine rankings and others. A good website development company will know how social media and search engines operate together and will work with you to ensure that your business best side is being represented online. They double-check everything.  

Determine all the costs  

There are many hiring models in the software outsourcing industry from free, fixed to hourly. The glitch here is that after the initial development and design expenses, there are ongoing costs and bills that must be clearly explained and understood before negotiating the final price.  

• Hosting  

The hosting charges for a website can vary widely as per the web development company. Even though you want to choose the cheaper option here, don’t. In the case of hosting prices what you pay for is the website uptime, i.e. when your website is up and running. And as you want your business website to be available 24×7 and not just for some time during the day, don’t be stingy about the hosting costs.  

• Ongoing support  

Again for support the prices are all over the place. You will find web development companies that include support in their initial development package or with hosting. Other firms charge every time a change is required.  

It is crucial to know the supporting cost beforehand because there will be changes and updates you will want on your website. So it is for the best that you understand the costing plan from the beginning.  

What we mentioned here are some of the top factors to focus on while hiring a web development company. There is no definitive guide for hiring the best company, but you must invest in researching your future technology partner thoroughly to avoid the extra cost of building and rebuilding the website.