12 Questions to Ask a Website Development Agency or Developer Before You Hire Them

网站开发是构建网站或互联网应用程序的过程。它的范围从为现有网站构建简单功能到从头开始创建复杂的Web应用程序。

For many business owners, partnering with a website development or agency is the best way to build a website or app that does exactly what they want. But the market is crowded and can be hard to navigate.

To find a good fit, here are 12 questions you should ask a website development agency or developer before hiring them.

1. What types of websites or applications have you developed for your clients?

Ideally, you want to work with a website development agency or individual who has experience developing projects similar to the one you’re requesting.

For example, if you need an ecommerce website, then working with an agency that’s exclusively built business sites might not be a good fit. Or, if you need aWordPress website, then you likely want to work with a developer who specializes in that CMS. Or perhaps you need afull stack developer, or someone who specializes in backend development specifically.

无论你是要求一个API,移动应用,extranet, or website built on a specific platform, try to partner with an agency or developer whose past projects and skills align with your specific project and needs.

2. Can I see what you’ve developed for some of your other clients?

不要只是要求听听网站开发机构或个人从事的项目 - 要求查看它们。任何专业公司或开发人员都将拥有投资组合来向您展示。

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能够查看他们的工作，在网站上导航或测试插件或其他高级功能，将提供宝贵的见解，并帮助您做出更明智的选择，如果他们是与您独特的项目一起工作的好合作伙伴。

3. What technologies do you use?

Asking what technologies an agency or developer uses will help you better understand their expertise, development process, and whether they’re a good match for your project.

It’s okay if you’re not familiar with many programming languages or frameworks. You’re just looking for someone who’s familiar and comfortable with a technology that will support your project.

For example, if you want a WordPress website, then the agency or individual should be comfortable with PHP. If you want an Android app on the other hand, then you want someone who uses Java or Kotlin.

You can typically find this information on their website and then ask them to go more in-depth about their experience with ReactJS and Angular, for example.

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4. How do you measure the success of your development projects?

In the world of website development, you can measure success through a number ofwebsite metricslike:

• Average time on page - How long visitors tend to spend on a web page
• 跳出率- 在您的网站上加载一页的访问者的百分比，然后不与页面互动或访问任何其他页面。
• Conversion rate- 在您的网站上完成所需操作的访问者的百分比。

Those are only a few of the metrics they might use to measure success. What matters is that they use metrics in the first place, and that those metrics align with your goals. If the agency or developer responds that they measure success in terms of meeting a project’s deadline and budget, then that’s a red flag. You want them to be able to meet your deadline and budget, but also to help you meet your goals, whether that’s attracting, engaging, or converting visitors.

5.您将如何帮助我实现自己的目标？

Let’s say your goals include having a website that’s fast-loading. In that case, make sure the agency or developer can specifically explain how they will develop your application so it’s优化速度. If they can’t, then they likely don’t have the experience or skills to meet your project requirements.

如果您想了解该机构或开发人员如何实现以前客户在开发项目中的目标的可靠记录，请检查其网站以进行案例研究。

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6.如果我保留您的代理商，我可以期待什么每月可交付成果？

Deliverables are essential for establishing client expectations and staying on track in terms of scope, timeline, and budget. Deliverables can include:

• Project briefs
• Budget reports
• 用户角色
• 竞争分析和审核
• 线框
• Prototypes

任何代理商或开发人员都不应期望在您下次交谈时结束介绍性呼叫并交出最终产品。相反，他们应该计划在整个过程中提供每月的可交付成果（或您同意的任何节奏），以便最终结果使所有人满意。

7. How much will this project cost?

It can be difficult to find an agency or developer who publishes their pricing on their website. Oftentimes, you’ll have to reach out for a quote.

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Once you’ve discussed your project scope and needs more in depth, it’s a good idea to check back in about the cost. It may be different from the initial quote if the scope is bigger than the agency or developer thought.

It is essential to discuss costs before hiring. The best of the best agencies and developers won’t be the “best” for you if they don’t fit your budget. And pricing is important for not only evaluating but comparing agencies and developers.

询问他们的定价模型也是一个好主意。他们是收取一次性费用或每月固定器还是通过可交付成果收取费用？由于网站开发是一个持续的过程，因此与代理商或开发人员一起通过可交付成果或结果收费而不是一劳永逸的费用可能更有意义。

8. What’s the estimated timeline?

You want to work with an agency or developer that can meet your budgetand时间线。如果他们检查所有盒子，但无法在最适合您的业务的时间范围内完成该项目，那么您必须在其他地方查看。

在开始之前讨论项目的时间表也很重要。它使您和代理商或开发人员都负责安排会议和电话，提供任何必需的资源并按时完成截止日期。bob体育苹果系统下载安装

9. How will I be involved in the development process?

If you’re hiring a website development agency or developer, you likely don’t want to be involved in the actual development process.

但是，仅仅因为您没有编写代码，并不意味着您在此过程中没有任何作用。本网站或应用程序旨在代表您的品牌。

So you should look for an agency or developer that plans to regularly provide status meetings and progress reports and allow you to review wireframes and prototypes throughout the process.

It could also be helpful to use a tool likeAtarimand onboard an agency using it. Collaboration software tools like this make it easy to leave feedback on the actual website or application, monitor the entire progress, and communicate directly with the agency.

10.我们将如何在整个过程中进行交流？

Establishing how you’ll communicate is essential in any partnership. When partnering with a web development agency or developer in particular, you want to ensure you’ll be communicating throughout the process so you can check in, ask questions, and know about any challenges that may affect the timeline or budget.

If the agency or developer seems unwilling to establish open lines of communication, that’s a red flag.

They should also be open to communicating in ways that you’re most comfortable with. For example, if you prefer phone calls and the occasional meeting, and the developer prefers to communicate via text, you may get frustrated throughout the process. You’ll likely be better off with an agency or individual whose communication preferences align with your own.

11. Do you provide hosting, security, and maintenance?

重要的是要清楚ly establish the agency or developer’s scope. Are they limited to development only, or do they provide hosting, security, and maintenance?

One answer isn’t necessarily better than the other. You may already have hosting, security, and maintenance covered with a内容管理系统and only need help building the website. Or, you may want an agency that can handle everything for you.

在这种情况下，寻找提供全循环开发服务的代理商或开发人员，并要求他们定义它，以便您确切地知道会发生什么。

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12.我有可能编辑网站或应用程序吗？

重要的是要了解您将在开发的网站或应用程序之后对网站或应用程序拥有多少控制。

If your contract with the agency or developer ends once the website or application goes live, then you’ll need to be able to make changes and updates yourself. Otherwise, you’ll have to be prepared to retain their help to maintain the site.

Finding the Right Fit

Picking a web development agency or developer can be stressful and time-consuming. But asking the right questions can help ease the process and ensure you find the right partner for your development project.