How to choose the right Web Development Company?

4 min readSep 15, 2021

Venturing into your first website project can be a frustrating proposition without giving proper due diligence to the selection of a web development company. What I can tell you for certain is that the value of an experienced consultant cannot be understated.

And it’s one that can have long-lasting ramifications. Throughout my career in web development, I’ve seen (or heard about) the good, the bad, and the ugly. What follows are 5 of the most important determining factors to consider when choosing a custom web development company.

Factor in all the costs

Beyond the initial design and development costs, there are ongoing charges and fees that should be understood prior to signing the contract.

Some companies even have tiered pricing based on the type of person do the work. Website design and development pricing run the gamut from free, to fixed, to hourly.

1. Hosting

In most cases, you get what you pay for and that means site uptime — you want your site to be available all the time, not just some of the time. Nearly every web development company charges something for hosting a website, but even this can vary widely.

2. On-Going Support

Again, this is an area where pricing is all over the board. It’s important to understand that you will make changes to your website and there is likely to be a cost.

Some companies include a certain level of support in their hosting plans, while other charge time and materials for any change. There’s no silver bullet or definitive guide for web development and every company operates with differing business models.

Attention to details

Recently, someone in my network announced the launch of their new website. I could tell from their post they were excited and proud of their new online presence. Here’s an opportunity to shine on social media!

More importantly, the lack of the proper title and description will likely harm their search engine rankings. A good web development company has the experience and understands the importance of how social media and search engines display information from websites.

It’s small details like this that, over time, can help make or break a brand’s digital properties. They work with your company to make sure these bases are covered so that you’ll always be putting your best face forward.

Determine the level of support do you need

A good development company is going to provide you with the tools to add update content, add new pages, and articles, and make minor updates. With website support, you’ll likely need changes to your site on a regular basis. And more importantly, a website is not, nor should be static.

Most web development companies provide some level of on-going support, but it’s always a good idea to find out what level, turnaround time, and which members of the staff will be doing this type of work.

Determine your compatibility

Get to know who you are hiring for this long-term relationship. While the quality and efficacy of their work is surely a consideration, find out what they value, how they work, and how they treat their staff.

When you hire a web design company, you are hiring a technology partner. This partner will likely be part of your business for many years, given you are happy with their service.

Moving a website from one provider to another can be costly and time-consuming. Spending a little extra time on the front side can save your business a lot of money and more importantly, a lot of time.

Determine what type of website you need

Google is a website. But it’s powered by a multibillion-dollar infrastructure with several data centers around the globe. Are you going to sell widgets?

The company you hire should have experience working in this space and have an e-commerce solution that will scale with the growth of your business — and provide support for the inevitable glitches that occur along the way.

Well, you’re going to need an e-commerce website and it’s unlikely your buddy’s cousin is going to be well-suited for this project. E-commerce brings several logistical and technological challenges.

While there are hundreds of web development companies that can handily accomplish this task, there are several variables to consider like the type of content management system and where the site will be hosted. For many small businesses offering professional services, the main objectives of a website are to build trust, educate, inform, and convert visitors into leads.