What questions should be asked to understand whether it is worth continuing the conversation?

All advertising slogans on the websites of developing companies look equally tempting. How to dig to the essence of promising statements? You need to make the list of your possible contractors short and leave only serious companies that deserve an appropriate relationship, such as SECL Group. To find the one you need for sure, ask them several questions. This way, you could find out if they are ready to provide you with a high-quality service in full.

Here are the distinctive features of the developer company which can live up to your expectations:

• Experience in creating sites for various niches and with different CMS. Several developers work on the site, and you can control the process of execution of your order at all stages. 
• The project manager is constantly in touch with you and is ready to give any explanation without rolling into professional jargon.
• The company provides services in the complex. It gives you advisory and practical assistance in choosing and buying a domain and hosting.
• The company’s staff has specialists who can help you with the choice of functional design corresponding to modern trends and advise you on issues of further website promotion.
• You are dealing with the coordinator and never hear from him stories about the problems the developers team confronts because of your requirements arising in the process.
• The ready-to-use site you get already has the basic optimization for search engines. You or your administrator are explained what actions should be taken for further promotion, or the company offers such services for you.
• The company is ready to sign an official contract with all related accounting documents, particularly transparent pricing tables.
• The company is ready to provide discounts, bonuses, additional services, and technical support.

When choosing between the developer company and the individual designer, it is vital to keep in mind that a company is more reliable. However, the work cost, most likely, would be higher there. Developers from a company with a good reputation cannot “get sick,” “get lost,” and not disappear from the screens of your radars. Thus, you do not risk the loss of money or a breakdown of the deadlines.

Distribute the zones of responsibility

To avoid “rubbing elbows” and making a bustle during the work, distribute the responsibility between you, the customer, and the contractor at the very beginning of your cooperation. The schemes of such a distribution can be different, but we recommend the following fundamental approach.

Customer responsibility zone

• Determine the goals and objectives of the project and comprehensively convey them to the developer.
• Provide the company representative with the complete list of goods and services for the promotion of which the site is created.
• Provide the designers with your brand book, if you have it, or discuss it with the developers. Remember that the appearance of the site should reflect your corporate visual concept.
• Define a reasonable budget and immediately reserve the necessary amount.
• If you don’t have sufficient knowledge or are unsure that you can personally control the process at each stage and be present at all working meetings, appoint a person responsible for the project from among your employees.

Developer responsibility zone

• The company must appoint a representative to directly communicate with the customer’s employee responsible for maintaining the project.
• In cases where the changes made by the customer lead to a significant increase in the budget, the project manager must timely warn the customer’s representative about this and, if necessary, find a compromise solution.
• Having much more experience than the customer, the developer must explain those cases when fulfilling the customer’s requirements can lead to a decrease in the site’s functionality. In such situations, both sides should look for a compromise or, if the customer insists, fix these requirements in writing to avoid further mutual claims.
• The developer must adhere to the agreed deadline thoroughly or discuss possible delays with the customer in advance.

What you definitely should not do

• To determine the deadline unilaterally. Any technological process has a timing during which it can be fulfilled with decent quality. Therefore, discuss in detail with the developer a realistic period of completion of work. If you cannot reach an agreement, try looking for another company. However, keep in mind that if the deadlines for the execution of the order previously called were realistic, another developer who promised you their reduction could sacrifice quality. Be incredibly attentive to keep the balance between your desires and the actual capabilities of the contractor.
• To provide the ready-to-do technical task. As mentioned above, you are responsible for the developer to receive complete information about your vision of the future site and its filling. However, the TT, as a document that both parties are supposed to sign, should be compiled in close cooperation with the representative of the developer company.
• To impose certain technologies on the developer. As Oriental wisdom says: “Understanding without knowledge is pointless; knowledge without understanding is dangerous.” You may read somewhere about popular technical solutions. However, it is far from the fact that this decision applies to your needs and will provide you with the necessary effect. Tell the developer about your wishes, but give him the freedom of choice of tools to realize your idea.

Summing up

The tips given in this article are the quintessence of the experience acquired in the process of numerous orders and the development of sites. They equally reflect the position of both the customer and the contractor. Of course, not one of the positions given here is absolute truth. However, as was repeatedly confirmed by practice, following these recommendations can turn the collaboration of two sides into mutual enriching pleasure, which will be rewarded with an excellent competitive site.