I've learned so much over the past year about working with web developers and have shared my experiences with fans of Womentorz. One of the Facebook postings on this subject became such a hot button that I decided to post the suggested questions developers were leaving on the Fan Page. I wish I had these questions in the beginning of the development process. It would have saved me a lot of heartache and money!!! I know have an amazing developer www.bearcreekweb.com who has completely revamped the Womentorz site, but it was a long road to get to them. If you are a developer or have experience working with developers please feel free to post comments with additional questions.
Questions below provided by Revvell P. Revati
http://www.bodaciousliving.com/
http://www.bodaciousliving.com/
Question 1 - Do you do the work or do you send it overseas?
Question 2 - Give me names of at least three people you've worked with and their websites as referrals.
Question 3- Will you be teaching me how to use the back office so I or my assistant can update?
Questions Below Provided By Richard Weiss
www.dmpros.com
Question 1 - Are you the designer and developer of my site? Do you do it all, or will there be others involved? Is your expertise in design or do you consider yourself a developer first and a designer second?
Question 2- Have you built sites similar to what I am looking for?
Question 3 - Who will own the designs after you are paid? (Without a contract, the designer legally owns the design. You must have a contract that gives the design over to the "buyer" once the site is completed.)
Question 4 - Will I have full access to everything related to my site build? For example, will I have ftp access, can I go into the server control panel and work with the database (if any) or setup my own email accounts?
Question 5 - How familiar are you with SEO? Do you know how to build a site that focuses on SEO, or do you build the site and let SEO specialists do that part? Will I be getting a lot for my money if building with you - BOTH the site and the SEO as a combo pack?
Question 6 - How locked in is the price you quoted me? What factors will cause the price to increase? Are there any factors that could decrease the cost? After the site is built, and online, do you charge for any "fixes" that I see now but missed before? What do you charge for further additions and/or edits?
Question 7 - Am I getting any type of Content Management with my site so that I can make my own edits or changes (even add new material) without having to pay you?
3 comments:
Thanks for the post, Melinda. I think it's so important for people to communicate well. I've been on both sides of this coin - hearing from people who felt they were taken advantage of by their web designer/developer...and as you saw on Facebook, many developers feel that the client takes advantage of them (asking for lots of work to be done, no charge, etc).
I don't think we realized how many other designers/developers feel that way until we saw your facebook page - so it helped us! I'm happy you posted the questions to assist clients so they know what to ask, what to inquire about, and so on.
It's wonderful when needs and wants are clearly expressed (in ANY relationship, in fact) so that everyone knows what's happening...no big misunderstandings! :-)
KUDOS to you for the post.
Thank you for the kind words Melinda. It’s been a pleasure working with you. I wish I could say that it’s rare for people to come to us with problems similar to yours, but it’s becoming increasingly frequent. I think a big reason is that it’s pretty easy to call yourself a Web Designer or Web Developer without having much experience at either.
We have been doing Web Design, Web Development and Search Engine Optimization in the Seattle Area for over 15 years. One of the first questions I would ask is “how long have you been in business”?
I’d also make sure there are a few testimonials on their site from clients, and ask for references to speak with before committing to use them. Lastly, I’d never hire a vendor (or employee for that matter) without having at least three - five contacts with them. Keep in mind that during this initial period, you are seeing them as good as they will be. If they are slow to respond, unclear with their communication, or you have any hesitation, it’s best to move on. I guarantee they will not get better as time progresses and will likely get worse.
The last point I’d like to make is that it is virtually impossible to compare how satisfied you’ll be with the end product by looking at different proposals. Each Web Design company will likely have a different approach to creating the proposal. Many will lowball and then create change orders midstream once you’ve committed to using them. Others will simply leave out features (that you really do need) or short cut the testing or coding phases to make their price seem more attractive. These are challenging economic times for many businesses, but don’t let that draw to much focus on the price in the proposal. Treat it as a marriage, and find the best overall match for your project and your business.
Thank you so much Kevin for posting a comment and sharing your expertise. I can't tell you how grateful I am for finding Bear Creek. You have literally been a Godsend!!!
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