Web business beginner series - Part 3: How to choose a full service digital agency to develop your Web Business? Tuesday , October 06 , 2009 by Hasnain Zaheer

Choosing a full service firm to implement Your Web Business

Unless you are an experienced Web developer yourself, you would need the services of a web development firm for your Web business. Hasnain Zaheer lists the key points that you should keep in mind when you are looking for one.

For simplicity, I have used the terms ‘Web developer’ and 'web development firm'. it includes a range of vendors from a small firm of a designer and developer to a full service digital agency.

Tips to shortlist

Look around in the web development market before you finalise a web developer.

Ask for references from people who have got good results from their developers. Check local development firms or even check out the services offered on Web based marketplaces such as eLance, Rent a coder, Guru or oDesk. Always check recommendations.

Check the Web site of the short-listed developers to assess how professional their own Web site is. You'd be surprised how many vendors have a Web site that is sloppy, have spelling mistakes or appears as if no one has updated it for years.

Assess their past work by speaking to their referees and past customers. Check the Web sites they have developed. Look for programming bugs, spelling mistakes and other errors that would indicate gaps in quality of their work.

Check the experience level and results of key persons who will work on your Web site development. Check their record for timely completion of projects. Also, check whether they have a library of software components that may speed up development.

Ensure that the web development team provides you technical as well as business services. Ask questions to assess their technical and business skills-sets. If they are a full service provider, they should ideally assist you in the full range of technical and creative services including:

develop a web strategy for your business
suggest domain names and book them
decide on appropriate technology platforms
find a hosting solution
implement graphic design or provide good recommendations
write text content
do programming and testing
optimise the Web site for search engines and market it on the web.

One person or a small team need not have all the skills. They should have access to a team or network of specialists to help provide you a complete solution. When choosing a full service agency, ask them about the services they will directly provide and what will be contracted out. Get a separate quotation for each service.

Most firms specialise and excel in one or few aspects – design, development, marketing and so on. Try and gauge the areas of excellence and encourage the firm to outsource the other areas to specialists.

After initial short-listing, it is time to invite proposals. Ensure that proposals outline all major heads of cost and all potential expenses are known to you right in the beginning.

Clear basis of costs

If the proposal is based on Time & Material basis (T&M), it means that you will pay for labour per hour. Ensure in advance that project durations and clear end date is given so that you don’t pay for a project that stretches endlessly. Is there a system to log hours spent on your project? Will the log book be periodically shared with you? Is the rate per hour reasonable and drawn for all roles who would be involved in the project? Is this inclusive of duties and levies such as GST (Australia) and service tax (India)

If the proposal is based on project basis, it means that you will pay for the end product irrespective of how much effort goes into it. Ensure that all end-deliverables and specifications are clearly mentioned so that both parties know the stage at which the project is over.

In both the above cases, ensure that estimate of time is given and check if there is any penalty for delays on the part of the vendor.

Check that the quote covers not only labour but also expenses such as domain name registration, hosting and any software tools that may be required for development. You must insist on having an estimate of total cost.

Requirements specifications

It is essential that in the first phase of project, clear requirements specifications are developed, the project moves according to those specifications and any updates are recorded and agreed to.

As a promoter, think about the functionalities that you need in your Web site - content, graphics, forms, alerts, processes, reports - and freeze the requirements only after developing clear requirements.

Try not to change your requirements once the development has started. However, if there is any deviation from the original plan, then it should be negotiated and the cost and time re-adjusted in the initial stage itself. Ensure that developers are required to prepare, submit and get your agreement on a requirements specifications document and a design document that would act as base documents in the development.

Remember that unclear specifications and scope creep at later stages are the biggest cause of dispute between customers and developers. Ensure that your project is not ruined by such disputes.

Testing, removal of bugs maintenance of the site for at least one month must be a part of the development package.

Contract / agreement

If your Web site has unique functionality, consider signing a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) and ensure that you receive the source code and own it after it is developed.

There should be a contract that specifies the terms and specifications. The contract should also clearly specify how the Web site would be handed over and training provided should the owner decides to maintain it themselves after the maintenance period.

Choosing the right developer or development firm can make or mar your web business initiative. So, take a lot of time at this stage. Ensure that you are convinced about the capabilities of the selected developer and your contracts are detailed and specific.

After you have signed on a developer

Your job does not end but actually start after you have chosen a web developer and given them the task of building your business Web site.

You would be called upon to make decisions or choose from different options as your Web site is being built. A good Web developer tries to clarify these issues in the beginning of the project when the requirements specifications are being written.

In any case, you should be sufficiently aware of the issues involved and be able to make an informed choice. Some of the most important issues are the choice of a domain name, scope of your web business, technology platforms, hosting of your site and information design. All these issues and more are covered in detail in Web Business Age. Check out other blog posts.