How to Pick a Web Developer

Anyone can throw up a web page… right?

Mostly true. There are plenty of free site-building tools available. However! Developing a powerful sales tool or an intuitive shopping environment is the art of professionals. Every website we build is custom-designed both visually and functionally to fit the client’s needs most precisely. Let us bring your existing website up to speed, or help you make your first impression with a bang!

(Beware the following developers!)

We’ve been doing this since 1995…
There are those who have been doing this since the mid-1990s and their websites still reflect the hay-day of the Flannel, the Backstreet Boys, and America Online. Yes, these are developers who were on the cutting edge of technology, were among the first two know what “search engine” meant, however, unfortunately they were unable to keep up with the breakneck pace of change on the internet. (These are the folks who still refer to the internet as the World Wide Web, note capitals and spacing, or the Information Super Highway). This is not to say that every developer who got their start back at the beginning is an out-classed dinosaur! Just be aware of the common pitfall.

I’ve got a buddy who can…
Beware the “buddy web designer”! This is the talented young kid who can seemingly make computers bend to his or her will. They may still be in High School, or just graduated College and can whip up a brochure-style website seemingly in no time. Here there are two likely scenarios- they are either buying a professionally-designed template and entering content, or they are familiar with Adobe Dreamweaver (a fantastic program! …for amateurs). Their sites can be animated, flashy (Adobe Flash), and look really great at face-value They are usually willing to work for favors, trade, or very little money. Building websites is not their business- it’s their hobby or beer-money bankroll. Unfortunately, once “under the hood” of these sites they are often a mess- difficult to maintain, slow to load without a high-speed connection, virtually invisible to search engine ranking, and lacking cross-browser compatibility.

Find a Professional

A professional web developer builds websites as a full-time job. You may think this is obvious, but as criteria for selecting a developer worth working with it is crucial. Think it through- you want someone who has the time and resources available to focus on your project from conception to launch. Furthermore, you want someone who will be around 8 months or years later when you are looking to update or upgrade your site. This class of developer may be rooted at the dawn of the internet (now over 15 years ago), or maybe opened their doors just two years ago. The important details are that this is their full-time job, and that they have kept up to date with the trends (not fads mind you!) of the internet.

Featured in the National Website Design Directory