Market Research - What do you want from a web developer

[JoyDivision]

When you choose a web developer what is most important for you?

Please rate the the following out of 5 (5 being strong agree 1 being strongly disagree).

1) The campanies legal status should be LTD.
2) The delivery time should be quicker than most other developers
3) The price should be the best.
4) The porfolio should be imnressive
5) The sales person should not be pushy
6) There should be direct contact with the actual developers

Finally would you say that £1000 for a very well produced static site which works on all platforms was too expensive?

Thanks for any replies.

[keirms]

Not sure if the below will help but we are about to begin the process of finding a new web developer for a post Christmas re-design of our site. I am currently judging developers by the following criteria:

1 - Impressive portfolio of designed sites
2 - SERPs of developed sites
3 - Decent page rank of developer site

We can't ask developers to compete on price or delivery time as we're not entirely sure what we want, but that will most definitely come into it.

It doesn't matter to us if they are a LTD company or not, although I would like to have some contact with the developer.

Hope that helps,

Keir

[Jayne]

Hi,

None of them for me..I joined this forum to look into a web site and pick a designer, I went on how nice someone was, how helpful to a none techy they were, how good there own site looked and most of all I like modest people (those that kept telling me how good they were put me off, if they were that good they wouldn't have to tell me)

I narrowed it down to 2 in the end, it was a very hard choice, because both were equal in my eyes, it was a put in a hat job in the end :D

Jayne

[JoyDivision]

Would you say that technical jargon on the developers site put you off? Or if the website is in plain english would you find it patronising?

[MorethanWords]

I'd say it's better to be in plain english until you start discussing your brief. Then be guided by the information they know/can provide you with.

No wording on a website should be too 'wordy' if you like. Especially in design terms. People want to see what you are capable of in design terms, rather than how much information you can cram on your site. Websites are simply a sales platform, a means by which you can ruffle your feathers and get people interested in what you do.

In my opinion anyway!!

[SillyJokes]

I'd be looking for the person who could give me the most simple, usable, accessible and search engine friendly site, someone with a knowledge of how people use the web.

Then I'd want someone who could deliver the above on targets and I would want a website that people can really use.

I'm not sure how much this costs as I have never asked but I can expect it to cost about £15-£30 an hour I suppose.

[SillyJokes]

No wording on a website should be too 'wordy' if you like. Especially in design terms. People want to see what you are capable of in design terms, rather than how much information you can cram on your site. Websites are simply a sales platform, a means by which you can ruffle your feathers and get people interested in what you do.

In my opinion anyway!!

Surely the words on the site are down to the person who wants the site not necessarily the designer.

People do want information on a site and would look for this rather than design. A pretty website can be devoid of any useful information and therefore next to useless.

When selling your design skills you are going to have to balance these two.

[Jayne]

Would you say that technical jargon on the developers site put you off? Or if the website is in plain english would you find it patronising?

Why would it be patronising?

The sort of people who pay designers are mostly like me, if they knew all the techy stuff, then they wouldn't need a designer, they'd do there own site.

So plain english is good for me :D

Jayne

[websage]

1) (quote): "The campanies legal status should be LTD."
Although being a Ltd. Company might give the impression of being a larger or more established concern, this carries little weight in reality as one can buy a 'Ltd. co tag' Off the shelf for £50…The benefit of Ltd. Is to the company directors as it protects personal assets if the business folds…little use to the buyer in this type of business

2) (quote): "The delivery time should be quicker than most other developers"
Delivery time should not be an issue as long as it is not unreasonable, and any target dates for progress are met. If a business has a deadline that is too short for a website project and a developer is not strong enough to re-negotiate it…then s/he will bring a lot of stress on themselves…chance for errors to creep into design…compromise any other work being handled.

3) (quote): "The price should be the best."
What is the definition of ‘best’?…To give a mark to this question it is necessary to know if you simply mean cheapest? Any sage buyer will know that cheapest is not always best…hence the price should be secondary to whether or not the design fulfils the clients needs. There may be a budget… this means the developer must be able to work within the budget…the client needs to know just what can be done for the budget clearly and accurately, any developer should be able to communicate what the limitations of the specified budget will mean for the client. If the client wants more than the budget allows…then compromise and negotiation are again required.

4) (quote): "The porfolio should be imnressive"
Most designers rely on portfolio to grab the clients attention. If the style a developer/designer has does not turn the client on, it is unlikely that the relationship will work…BUT a developer should not be judged by any portfolio work alone. As a good developer one should be able to identify the clients design preferences, should be able to assess the requisite ‘look and feel’ a particular client feels they need (advising were necessary to help establish a coherent and effective result). The next site a developer creates should have the potential to look unlike anything they have designed before…thus portfolio can only be a broad guide as to the range of styles that a developer has worked in.
In my opinion, far more important to a website development project is the need for a developer to elicit from the client what they want to achieve with the site, and suggest solutions. The way a site looks is in the end the least important aspect of web development…at least it is very much secondary to whether or not a site ‘achieves its objectives’ (increasing business achieving increased traffic for instance).
A good developer should ensure that they clarify a client’s REAL needs. A site may be ‘pretty’, or ‘cool’, or ‘stylish’, or ‘minimalist’, or ‘eye-catching’, or ‘clever’ or a combination of these and any number of other adjectives…BUT it is basically useless if it doesn’t ‘do the business’…Why pay even ₤1, let alone ₤1000, if the site is going to sit lost among the 75,000,000 other sites on the web…never being found unless you give someone the address on a business card so they can actually look it up!!!?

5) (quote): "The sales person should not be pushy"
Pushy sales people are a pain in any profession, although the deal has got to be done, and a sale has to be closed…there will never be a need for pushiness, IF the developer can ascertain what the client needs, establish how they will be able to achieve the clients objectives, kept their own ‘creative ego’ under control…provide a solution in an acceptable time-frame at a price within the clients budget.
If you employ pushy tactics, or pushy salespeople, then I certainly wouldn’t use you.

6) (quote): "There should be direct contact with the actual developers"
One advantage of working in the virtual world of the web, is that you can employ people to do a job for you from anywhere in the world…so you are spoilt for choice…website development is a global market…BUT it is still true that someone who needs a job doing, and doing well, will no doubt be happier if they feel an empathy with their developer. This is hard to establish if you never even talk to them in person. It is also hard for a developer to do more than ‘clone’ or re-use a basic idea over and again….unless they talk to their client first hand, and get to know what makes them tick, and what they want to achieve with their website. A good developer MUST be able to find out what the client expects/needs, and must be able to communicate with the client so that any issues are ironed out before the work is undertaken.
Contact at an early stage is vital, and empathy and trust is a must for a business relationship to thrive and become a potential source of future work and good recommendations.

In short I am not sure that these questions will help you really find out what you seem to want to know.

In my opinion a website developer (and what we try and do :wink: ):
- Needs to be first an foremost to be both a good listener and intuitive ( to identify what the client wants…not just spout on about ‘what you’ve done before’);
- Needs to be perceptive and diplomatic (pick up on clients needs, and using their insight to how the web works, assist the client to identify real business needs as opposed to simple personal ‘desires’ - without upsetting the client :) );
- Needs to be able to subdue their own creative urges to interpret the clients preferences as accurately as possible:
- Needs to recognize the importance of functionality, and visitor/user friendliness, above and beyond self indulgent creative whims and fancies :shock: ;
- Needs to know how the web works so that the sites they design ‘perform’…above and beyond being able to produce an aesthetically appealing site!...There are loads of really artful sites out there…that get NO visitors!

I’d rather be paid ₤500 down to develop a site that works for the client, with another ₤500 to be paid when the site hits its targets…than to expect to be paid a grand to produce a site that looks pretty, and has lots of bells and whistles…but just doesn’t cut the commercial mustard. :D

A
(P.S. Proofreading skills are important too – see words in bold in 'quote' lines...no doubt you'll spot my errors now :oops: :D

[Cornish Steve]

I'm actually in this boat right now because I need some extensive work done. For me, the following factors are most important:

1) Honesty and integrity. Do I know and trust the people involved? Are they willing to give-and-take to resolve ambiguity or are they going to 'nickel and dime' me to death?

2) Credibility. Do they have the experience and skill set needed to do the work? Can they provide examples of their work?

3) Cost and schedule. Right now, I'm getting quotes from India, Ukraine, and Philippines as well as from closer to home. It's difficult to beat $6/hour. (I know, I know - I'm guilty of off-shoring. Without this option, however, it would be difficult to get off the ground.)

I don't care about the type of company (LTD or not). Delivery time and price are important, but the other factors are too. The portfolio is just one way of establishing credibility. I have not encountered pushy salespeople because I initiated the contact; I do expect responsiveness, and I'm surprised at how poor some companies are in this area. Yes, I'm dealing with the developers directly; I see little point paying for extra overhead.

In business in general, it's important to communicate in everyday language. Some people seem to think that you must use technical and insider terms to sound credible; this is nonsense. Communication should be about exchanging and sharing ideas, not trying to impress with big words.

Tongue in cheek, Benjamin Disraeli described such people over a century ago: "He was inebriated with the exuberance of his own verbosity, and gifted with an egotistical imagination."

[MorethanWords]

No wording on a website should be too 'wordy' if you like. Especially in design terms. People want to see what you are capable of in design terms, rather than how much information you can cram on your site. Websites are simply a sales platform, a means by which you can ruffle your feathers and get people interested in what you do.

In my opinion anyway!!

Surely the words on the site are down to the person who wants the site not necessarily the designer.

People do want information on a site and would look for this rather than design. A pretty website can be devoid of any useful information and therefore next to useless.


I was responding to the original question of whether the content should be too graphic.

If someone is seeking the services of a designer, they may not want to digest acres of incomprehensible technical copy.

You're right SillyJokes, what you actually want is a happy medium. But a clean, easy to use site is going to sell your services as a designer more than waffled copy.

People want to know facts (so copy has to be clear and to the point) and there's no better recommendation of your design skills than your own neatly presented website.

[DarrenH]

Hi

Here's my shopping list for a web developer if I needed one.

1. Someone who can grasp the message I'm trying to get across to my target visitor.

2. Someone who won't just implement something because it looks cool.

3. Someone who understands the fundamental way that the internet is used by your average joe.

4. Someone who knows how to brainstorm the correct keywords for my target visitor.

5. Someone who not only has a list of people they've built sites for, but can prove those sites were successful, in other words that the site they built generated extra income for their client.

Now that list is just off the top of my head, I haven't really sat down and given it a couple of hours thought.

I think for me the most important thing is the proof of building successful sites, cause the bottom line is, a business website is there to make you money, even a site that is built for promotional purposes is there to make you money or you might as well not bother.

That's why I do it myself, cause I know my own customers better than any web developer can. Sure I might get someone to give me a hand with my overall look and feel, but the rest I can do, and I'm not a techie.

I think one of the biggest sins that web designers and developers commit is to somehow make it seem as if the whole business of website design is some mystical thing that only they can do and that your average bod in the street wouldn't have a clue.

There are way too many sites out there that get built and erm...that's about it, no visitors, no extra profit, money down the drain.

Darren

[fraz]

Has anyone considered using a build your own website system instead of going to a web developer?

If so, any recommendations?

[DarrenH]

Hi

The folks I'm hosted with do more than just give you a build your own website, they give the novice and expert alike the tools to be able to build a successful online business.

It ain't get rich quick, they've very very clear on that, they give you the tools and you're meant to suply the motivation and hard work, they just take away the technology so you can concentrate on the business itself.

http://buildit.sitesell.com/bigmix.html

Hope that helps
Darren