Task: find a reliable order executor – website developer and more.

You, of course, already know many of the rules from personal experience – intrusive advertising and too rosy promises do not inspire much confidence, although this is exactly what they are designed for. We will focus on points specific to the IT sphere in general and web development in particular.

Large company or small agency

If you need everything at once – website development, mobile application, copywriting, exclusive design, advertising, promotion, etc., then it is better to contact a large company where there are many different departments in different areas and a coordinating center. But be prepared for higher expenses. Large companies must maintain a staff of accountants, various types of managers, cleaners, drivers, reception… They often participate in various political, social or charitable events – and this, too, is ultimately paid for by the customer.

For complex, complex tasks, you shouldn’t look for an inexpensive freelancer who can do everything. It may seem to you that this is a high-level professional who speaks freely on any topic. But the IT field is huge, just like the real world, because, in essence, it is a digital reflection of reality. There are also many professions and directions in it. Bruce Lee said: “I am not afraid of someone who has studied 10,000 different blows. I’m afraid of the one who practiced one blow 10,000 times.” It may not be obvious, but a broad perspective is only particularly useful when it serves a narrow purpose. Therefore, if you turn to a freelancer, look for a specialist to solve each specific problem.

A separate discussion is whether it is worth immediately setting goals on a universal scale, while being in sweet dreams of conquering the world market.

If you are ready to move step by step, then it will be more profitable to resort to the services of small companies and freelancers specializing in a specific area – development, copywriting, design, SEO… This way you can save financially, but you will have to spend more time – on searches, on communication , to coordinate tasks. Time is money, and this is not an empty turn of phrase; you will have to sacrifice more of what you currently have.

All of the above does not negate the fact that both large and small companies can be good or not, decent or not. Therefore, don’t be lazy to ask your friends, look for independent reviews, evaluate your portfolio, guarantees, communicate… Next, just how to communicate.

First communication

If at the first meeting a developer or manager speaks a lot (or a little), then this is not always bad (good) – perhaps it’s just a character trait, perhaps this is the mood. It is also not important whether he offered you coffee or not. Good freelancers, by the way, may generally be without a commercial streak and, as they say, not of this world. It is important what a person says and what he asks when discussing an order. It’s definitely bad if a developer immediately throws out terms and doesn’t try to explain them to you – this is almost always akin to a scam. His speech may be impressive, but such dialogue does not promote mutual understanding, which is the cornerstone for high-quality problem solving. Einstein is credited with one expression that I definitely subscribe to: “If you can’t explain something to a six-year-old child, then you don’t understand it yourself.”

A good communication specialist is simple and interesting, does not impose pressure with authority, and if he is forced to resort to special terminology, he will always apologize and try to convey the meaning of what was said as clearly as possible in simple words and analogies. A true professional always makes others want to learn his profession. Do you know this feeling? – “I want that too!” You don’t have to do this, but it’s worth keeping in mind)

It is important whether the developer asks clarifying questions as the discussion progresses. If these are questions that you had not thought about before the meeting, then the developer has experience in solving such problems, and he sees possible pitfalls in advance. It’s good if you leave the first interview not only inspired, but also puzzled in a positive sense, with food for thought.

Deadlines

Pay attention to the deadlines; they should be realistic and do not necessarily have to coincide with your ideas. Determining deadlines at the first meeting is often a difficult or even impossible task, especially if there is no clear technical specification (and as a rule, there is none yet). But the developer’s approach to this issue can be understood – those same clarifying questions from the previous paragraph precisely affect the accuracy of the deadline assessment. If the contractor agrees to any conditions and even favorably regards the deadline “should have been done yesterday” just to receive the order, this is a bad sign. We must come to terms with the fact that a sought-after high-quality specialist or agency always has work to do, which means it would be fair if additional payment was assigned for urgency. After all, other customers should not suffer, which means the order executor will have to work after hours.

It is important that during the entire development process a method of control of the work by the customer is proposed. This is necessary not only for the customer to understand how things are going, but also for the contractor to timely adjust the process in terms of design, functionality, and also, by mutual agreement, timing and price. You should not agree to the option: “We will do everything locally on our (our) computers, and you will see the result at the end, when we put everything on the Internet.”

An honest and transparent justification of prices and terms always has a positive effect on mutual understanding and the final result. So we mentioned the price, now about it…

Price

A modern website is a complex, integrated tool. Only a very simple product can be made entirely from free components that do not require a commercial license.

Yes, today websites are rarely written from scratch, i.e. when only programming languages and technologies are used for development. This is very expensive both in terms of money and time. Large companies with their own staff of developers can afford this – they set the task for themselves, implement it themselves, support and promote it themselves. In most cases, website development differs little from any other production. The agency has specialists and tools: engines, plugins, templates, modules or components of its own design – a kind of factory or plant that produces a certain type of product. Therefore, the price consists not only of labor costs, but also of the cost of various types of licenses and the depreciation of funds invested in the purchase of tools or the time spent on their own development.

It is clear that this article cannot talk about any specific prices, but if the price is significantly lower than the market price, then illegal or outdated versions of plugins and engines may be used, which negatively affects the site’s rating and its security, not to mention possible legal problems. The worst thing here is that the customer, as a rule, does not know about it.

Have a good choice! And good luck – she always has a place in this process)