As a merchant in 2022, having a presence on the internet in the form of a website is something that you should definitely be thinking about. Having an internet presence would also apply even if you are only providing professional services. Having a great internet presence will help bring awareness to your brand and it would also improve your business’ credibility. Without an internet presence, you are causing your business to lose out to the competition.
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As soon as you accept the fact that you need a website, you will realize that the quality of your website will say something about who you are as a business. If the website looks amateurish, customers won’t take your business seriously. They will simply continue looking until they find a business that paints a more professional appearance. So, you need a highly functional, stylish website. Most likely, web design and development are not part of your skillset. If you really want a website that looks professional, you will need to hire a professional to develop that website on your behalf.
There is no shortage of web designers and developers out in the public domain. They are available to help people like you bring your business to the internet where you can compete for business in your area. Your job is to find the right web developer whether you are looking for a .NET or PHP developer for your business. To help you succeed in that regard, there are certain questions you should be asking when interviewing a website developer. Here are 5 key questions you can use to evaluate web dev talent on the way to hiring the right web to meet your needs.
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1. Where Will Your Website Be Hosted?
Most web designers operate with domain providers with which they are used to interacting. You need to know who is providing your domain and where it will be hosted. A good web designer will be able to provide you with detailed information regarding the web host, the security protocols the host uses, the annual/monthly costs related to the service, and information about the hosting environment. Also, you will want to make sure that the web hosting services will meet your needs and fall within your budget constraints.
2. What About Mobile Access?
A great majority of your prospective customers will search for merchants and business service providers with their mobile devices. That’s an indication that you need a mobile presence just as much as you need a website. When questioning a prospective web designer, you need to ask about how they plan to provide your customers with mobile access to your business. Do they intend to give your business a responsive mobile app or are they going to settle for an optimized website that is accessible with mobile devices? You need to know the answer to this very important question. Also, you will need to ask them about any additional costs that will be associated with the development of an optimized website and mobile app.
3. What About Maintenance and Support for Your Website and Mobile App
Given how fast technology changes from one month to the next, there will be a constant need for someone to upgrade your website and mobile app. This is a service your web designer should be willing to offer. It may not be something you are able to handle on your own. As you are questioning a prospective web designer about service and maintenance, you will want to make sure there is a clear agreement on what they will provide. Will they assist with the website launch process? Will they be available for maintenance and support for the website? What kind of a maintenance schedule would they recommend? These are all things you should be asking before hiring a web designer.
4. What About SEO?
It’s not enough for your business to have a website and mobile app. Potential customers need to be able to find it. In a competitive business environment, you want web searches to pull your website to the top. That is going to require a well-designed plan for how Search Engine Optimization (SEO) will be implemented. You should be asking if your prospective web designer will be focusing on things like rich and relevant content, photo alt-tags, inbound links, and intra-site linking. These are things that need to be included for website rankings. To get a clear indication of their intentions in this regard, you should ask about the SEO principles, philosophies, and strategies they intend to employ on your behalf.
5. How Do You Get Started?
It’s very important that you understand how a prospective web designer would approach your project. What kind of funding will they need upfront? What role would they expect you to play throughout the entire process? What areas of the project will you start with first? You will also want to agree on how they plan to develop your website and how long the project is going to take. Knowing how they would potentially approach your project will give you insight into whether they may be a good fit for you or not.
Having an internet presence in today’s society is very important as a merchant. A great internet presence can boost the amount of people who see your business and increase the number of customers your business has. Creating an internet presence isn’t easy, but having a website can definitely help in increasing your presence on the internet. Asking the graphic designers you are interviewing the questions discussed in this article will definitely help you meet your needs in creating an internet presence for your business.
