Introduction: Web developers are a vital part of any business, but we often don’t have the time or knowledge to find the right one. This can lead to hiring a web developer who isn’t well suited for your project or ends up costing you more in the long run. Luckily, there are things you can do to avoid these problems and make sure that your project succeeds! Here are seven things you should know before hiring a web developer:
Approaching the wrong type of web developer for the job.
As a business owner, you need a web developer who can help you accomplish your goals. But before you begin the hunt for a web developer, it’s important to consider what sort of role you want that person to play. A good place to start is by asking yourself: “What do I want from my website?” This may sound simple enough, but there are several ways in which this question could be answered incorrectly.
- You might decide that all your site needs is more traffic or increased sales. While those things might be true—and it’s possible for your web developer to help with those things—they aren’t exactly what we mean when we say “web design.” A web designer will build out all aspects of the design and function into something beautiful and useful, without any real knowledge of what goes into making those things happen (traffic generation/increase in sales).
- Or perhaps instead of going after traffic or revenue directly, you seek out someone who focuses on user experience (UX). In this case too much emphasis is put on how users interact with your product rather than how they interact/use it. UX designers generally come from backgrounds where they’ve worked as graphic designers first; their main goal is making something look nice rather than actually getting users engaged with content or functionality beyond clicking buttons and forms (like checking out).
Underestimating the complexity and cost of large projects.
It’s easy to underestimate the time and cost of large projects. The best way to minimize these risks is by breaking your project into smaller parts, but this might not always be possible.
You should also be aware that there are many factors that affect how much your web development project will cost, including:
- How complex your idea is (e.g., if it requires a lot of custom functionality)
- The developer’s experience level
Focusing on price over value.
- Understand what you need.
- Understand what you’re getting for the price.
- Don’t be afraid to ask questions and get everything in writing that can be put into a contract, such as:
- How many revisions do you offer?
- Is it full-time or part-time?
- What kind of training do you provide?
- How much experience do they have in this field?
Not having a contract in place to protect yourself from liability and lost work.
The first thing you need to do before hiring a web developer is to draft a contract that will protect you from liability and lost work. This contract should detail what the developer will do, what you’ll pay them for their services, and also how long they have to complete the project. If there are any stipulations about what happens if you don’t like the work or if something goes wrong, make sure those are included as well.
When working with your web developer on projects where there are multiple elements (like logo design), make sure that everyone involved knows which tasks belong to whom so no one gets confused or does something wrong by accident.
Not giving developers what they need to do their job.
The first step to getting an awesome website is making sure you have the right team in place. A lot of people think they can do it on their own, and while that might be true for simple websites, most projects will require a professional web developer.
A web developer is someone who can figure out what you need and then build it (or tell you why they can’t). They’re also your go-to person if something breaks or isn’t working properly—so make sure whoever you hire knows exactly what he or she is doing!
To ensure that this happens:
- Give them everything they need. You don’t want to give an incomplete document or project brief because then when there are questions, who do they turn to? You! Make sure everyone involved has all the information up front so there aren’t any holdups later on down the line when things start moving fast (and believe me; things move fast).
Hiring a web developer can easily be an exercise in frustration if you’re not prepared, so do your homework!
If you’re hiring a web developer, make sure they know the following:
- The difference between programming languages and databases. They should be able to tell the difference between HTML, CSS, PHP and JavaScript. If they can’t answer this question with confidence, then it’s likely that they don’t know what they’re doing.
- What “web-safe” colors mean (hint: it doesn’t mean what most people think). A better question is “Is there anything else I should know?” You want to see if they have any other useful insights into best practices for web design or development in general. It’ll help them stand out from other applicants who just read basic tutorials online without having any real-world experience themselves!
- How long it takes them to learn new things about their job (and how long this has taken others before). Some positions require more specialized knowledge than others so if someone hasn’t trained themselves yet then maybe consider hiring someone else instead who already knows all this stuff inside out because guess what? Your project requires exactly those skillsets too!
Conclusion
Of course, there are many other things to consider when hiring a developer. But by being aware of these seven potential pitfalls, you can avoid them and achieve success.
