Some good advice before creating a website!
Is there a saying that sounds like, “too good to be true”?!
This is usually the case with websites as well. If you receive a web development offer that seems too favorable, the price is often that you have to spend several times more on it later to be able to use it. We always hear and see horror stories where, for example, the developer has disappeared. This can happen, for example, if your neighbor or your friend’s friend is the guru who knows a lot about websites and creates one for you for £150. You can make a website for that much, but 99% of the time it will be unusable. We have collected some good advice below, in case you want to have your own website made, but as a layman you have no idea what to pay attention to.
Let’s start by looking for a reliable developer who is not the little brother of your neighbor’s friend. Be an official company that you can sign a contract with! This way, you have already reduced the chances of the developer disappearing into the fog and you never being able to access your website again.
If it’s already a contract, read it carefully to know exactly what the development fee includes and what it doesn’t!
Listed are the most important factors
• Adequate speed
• Mobile-friendly interface
• Responsiveness
• Safety
• SSL
• Admin interface
The significance of these will be discussed in more detail in a subsequent post.
It is also very important that the purchased domain always belongs to you! In other words, before the development begins – if they don’t offer it themselves (although this is not a good sign) – ask the developers to help you buy the domain so that it can be in your or your company’s name. This is important, among other things, because we have also heard that the relationship between the two parties deteriorated, the domain was in the name of the developer and, interestingly enough, the owner of the website never had access to it again.
Ask for a guarantee! In practice, this looks like you include in the contract what and for how long the developer guarantees.
Don’t pay in advance! At least never the full amount! If someone asks you for an advance of 20-25%, it is completely normal, but pay the remaining amount only when you have received the access data and the website is working as promised. In the case of larger projects, this is usually broken down into development phases and an invoice is issued when each phase is completed.
Ask about the monthly costs! There may be a fixed monthly fee for website operation and maintenance.
Ask about the costs and options for further development, if you might want an extra function or sub-page in the future, it’s good if you know these in advance.
In the contract, it’s good if you write deadlines. This is usually another pivotal point when exactly a page is ready. We do this by dividing the development process into parts and attaching a “timing” addendum to the contract, which includes the deadline for completion of each phase.
You will only need the admin interface if your website is dynamic and needs to be updated frequently. In the case of introductory, static pages, it is unnecessary to spend money on this.
