Looking for a website developer?

I got an email from a relative (my brother in law’s step son - so I guess my step nephew in law?) asking what he should look for in a web developer for the business he runs with his wife. The website will be fairly complex and they are in need of design, programming and ongoing support. Always on the lookout for newsletter topics, I thought I’d post my response here.

What’s the process?

Before diving into a project, there needs to be a plan. When speaking to developers, I like to find out what their process is for arriving at a specification for the project. This is likely to be broken into pieces, at the least one spec for the front end (look and feel) and another for the back end (programming). How will the developer determine the project’s priorities and address building them in an efficient manner? There are different approaches that can be used successfully and the developer should be able to clearly explain his or her path to the creation of this plan.

What are the tools?

Websites can be built on many different platforms. While the end result delivered to the web browser will always be a combination of HTML, CSS and Javascript, there are a wide variety of tools that can be used along the way including software frameworks and choice of server. It’s perfectly legitimate for a developer to wait until after developing a project specification before deciding on which tools to use. However, they should be able to talk about why they would choose one set of tools over another.

Will there be testing?

Developers have blind spots, just like anyone else. There needs to be some form of regular “sanity checks” to keep a project on track. For the design and user interface, there should be “user testing” with people who will actually be using the site. At each point in the design process (starting with paper sketches, if you have them), check that the layout and flow makes sense to them. I guarantee that they will come up with perspectives and reasoning that you and your developer never considered. On the back end, systems like user accounts and checkout flow need to be tested against all possible conditions.

Hosting and maintenance

Based on the volume of traffic and number of transactions, what kind of hosting does the developer expect to use? Almost all hosting these days is done on clustered servers, split into virtual machines by software. This allows for much more flexibility, including the ability to scale server resources up or down depending on demand. Some developers have existing relationships with hosting companies, which can make for smoother site rollouts and ongoing maintenance. Others consider their job finished as soon as the site is installed and functioning.

It’s a rare developer that delivers completely bug free code that works perpetually without change forevermore. Find out their policy for fixing bugs that come up within the initial launch period and for changes and updates that you will want to make over time.

Find a good communicator

The stereotypical developer is an non-verbal introvert. Avoid those. You will probably be working closely with this person and their team over a period of several months. They need to be able to listen and respond to you in a way that promotes effective communication. Find out what the process will be for staying in touch over the course of the project. Will there be regular meetings or written progress reports?

Finally, make sure that all of the above is covered in a written agreement, scope of work and/or contract. There’s nothing worse than getting a few months into a project and finding that there is a disagreement over the specifics of the work being done. Set it all down in writing, including how any changes will be handled along the way.

And that’s my advice on choosing a developer. Until next week...