So you’re about to get a website, and you’re doing your research online to find the right company to build it for you. That’s probably the best and safest place to start because you can see their work and gauge how fast they respond to you. If the works look good and they’re responsive…HANG ON! There are 3 things you MUST clear with them first before you make that deposit!
1. How will you make my website load fast?
Asking if your website will be fast is a rhetorical question. Of course they’re going to say YES. The last thing you want is a beautifully designed/coded website…that takes 1 minute to load. This is a problem in our industry. Many companies know how to make websites, but don’t know how to make them FAST, and you unfortunately pay the price. Just because the site seems fast on your computer doesn’t mean it’s fast for others, especially those in other states. Your computer may be saving a cache version of your site, allowing it to load lightning fast (Chrome does this).
A good Web company will tell you exactly HOW they will make your website fast and will give you third party options such as CDN to enhance speed if necessary. Never accept “Our sites are just…fast”, trust me that’s not good enough. They need to be able to list the things they will do to enhance speed if necessary.
Asking this question will help you weed our bad companies early on.
2. How are you coding my website? Can other developers fix it?
If they’re using CMS (content management system) to build your website, chances are it’s going to be WordPress, Drupal, or Joomla. If they’re using something custom, you need to know ASAP. Because if whatever they’re using isn’t open-source (meaning it’s freely distributed to other developers and others can work on it) then you have no choice but to stay with them, even if their support is garbage. So make sure they’re coding your website using something common and that other developers can jump in to fix their mistakes or take over their job if necessary.
Now…there are exceptions to the rule. For most websites, using a common CMS is appropriate, however for larger projects it may not be the best. If you’re asking a company to build you a scalable Social Network with complex features, chances are it’s going to be completely custom from the ground up. And it’s appropriate in such instances to maximize performance. If you want to see examples of such awesome work check out our website https://dinoenterprise.com.
Asking this question early on will give you an EXIT if you don’t like the company. Otherwise you are stuck with them.
3. Will you give me a FULL backup of my website?
I know this sounds pretty silly. We’ve had clients who came to us asking to rebuild their website, and when we asked them for access to it they tell us their old web company refused to give them back their website or any access to it. Sure, you can eventually get access to your site and files after a long drawn out court battle that shouldn’t happen in the first place. Why don’t we just skip all this headache and ask them up front if they will give you the FULL backup of your website, and the keyword there is “FULL”. A FULL backup of your website will contain all the graphics/images/files AND Database, and you can upload it to any new host you desire. Trust me, you will be glad you have a full backup of your 50K investment.
Asking this question will save you a lot of money and time on pointless legal battles.