Hiring a Web Development Agency: The A-Z Guide

Hiring a Web Development Agency: The A-Z Guide

So, you have to hire a web dev organisation? To make your first site start from the earliest stage? Or give your dated site an all-out update. Whatever your reasons, picking the right agency is essential. Your site is the virtual essence of your business.

This top-to-bottom guide covers everything you need to think about hiring a web development agency – from understanding what they do to vetting possibilities, setting a spending plan, and dealing with the undertaking.

How about we dive in?

What Does a Web Development Agency Do?

At the most basic level, a web development company is responsible for designing, building and launching websites and web applications for clients. But in reality, it’s much more than that. 

The top agencies work as strategic partners that closely collaborate with you to learn about your business, goals, target audience and needs. Then, they strategise, create plans, and design a website that will provide the best possible user experience and drive desired outcomes. What good agencies offer is a full range of services covering all phases of web development:

Discovery & Strategy

• Researching your industry, competitors and users
• Defining objectives, requirements and project roadmap
• Information architecture planning and user journey mapping
• Content strategy development and messaging framework creation

Web Design

• User experience (UX) design
• User interface (UI) design
• Prototyping
• Visual Design: Branding/Identity Creation Graphics Production
• Ensure an intuitive look & feel across touchpoints

Web Development

• Custom website development from scratch or CMS-based solutions like WordPress
• Client-side/front-end coding – HTML5/CSS3/JS etc.
• Server-side/back-end programming – PHP/Python/Ruby etc.
• Database integration & third-party API usage
• Responsive web development for mobile friendliness
• Cross-browser compatible coding/testing
• Security implementation + caching / CDN / speed optimisations etc.

Quality Assurance

• Testing across multiple browsers/devices/environments/scenarios etc.
• Bug catching + troubleshooting potential issues through thorough testing cycles.
• Compliance with standards + best practices in code quality assurance

Launch & Maintenance

• Hosting setup – domain registration – email accounts configuration, etc.
• Website migration content population from old site to new one if necessary
• SEO optimisation during the launch phase
• Training on how to update or manage the site internally
• Ongoing support after completion, including updates, backups, security fixes, monitoring uptime, guarantees response times, SLA agreements

Why Hire a Professional Web Development Agency?

In the world today, it is essential for almost all businesses to have a solid online presence to keep up with the times. However, this raises the question of whether you should build your business website, hire freelancers, or go for professional web development companies.

The advantages of doing it yourself (DIY) or hiring cheap freelancers may be tempting, but significant risks are also attached. Excellent websites demand expertise in design, development, SEO, and security, among other areas. This means that you also need someone with good project management skills.

Below are some compelling reasons why you should contact an experienced web development firm:

Knowledge and Resources

Usually, professional agencies have teams of designers and developers who are also highly skilled and passionate about what they do. They possess the technical know-how to build sites using current coding practices, frameworks, architectures, etc.

Apart from these abilities, they also come armed with premium tools, technologies, and resources that may not be affordable for individuals or small teams.

Time-Saving and Cost-Effective

Becoming proficient in web design takes several years of training and hands-on experience. Suppose your organisation needs such employees on its payroll. In that case, engaging amateurs (freelancers) or adopting the DIY approach can prove too costly a mistake because chances are high that more time will be wasted trying to fix mistakes arising from incompetence than if experts were hired at once.

On the other hand, having well-established systems backed up by solid track records earned over many successful projects completed within stipulated periods, professional agencies save both money and time, thus sparing clients unnecessary headaches.

Higher Quality Standards User Experience (UX)

Any given site’s success hinges upon user experience; hence, this aspect cannot be overlooked when designing websites lest we want visitors bouncing off as soon as they land thereon, resulting in abandoned carts and lost sales leads, among other adverse outcomes associated with poor quality UX design. Reputable establishments boast UX designers who will customise sites to fit buyers’ journey needs while ensuring easy understanding by all potential users.

They also prioritise performance tuning, accessibility enhancements, and technical SEO best practices integration right from the beginning instead of treating them as afterthoughts during development.

Long-Term Value Support

Web pages built by professional developers are usually scalable due to the adoption of modular codes, which facilitate gradual improvements over time without much hassle being experienced when new features need adding or existing ones require updating later; additionally, basic training is commonly included, so enabling self-sufficiency for minor content changes.

In future, whenever significant alterations become necessary, one can always approach the same experts who were initially involved, thereby eliminating retraining costs, among others associated with bringing different people up to speed about a given site’s unique characteristics, thus implying that an ROI (Return on Investment) standpoint it only makes sense to invest into such agencies while aiming for greater returns in terms of increased conversions etc.

What to Look For When Hiring a Web Dev Agency

So you’ve decided to let the professionals handle your web project – good choice! But how do you choose the right development agency when so many are out there?

There is no one-size-fits-all answer, but here are some things to consider.

Skills & Specialisation

Write down a list of required skills and services based on what you need for your project. Do you require e-commerce functionality? Custom web applications? Mobile responsiveness?

Look for agencies that specialise in those areas. Whether you're working with an in-house team or a nearshore software development company is equally important.

Also, check if the agency has previously worked with clients in your industry. They will be more familiar with the challenges and user expectations.

Quality Portfolio & Testimonials

An agency's past work and client reviews speak volumes. Look at their portfolio – does the quality vary across different industries or do all sites look cookie-cutter? Are the designs modern, professional, and user-friendly?

Ask for testimonials or case studies focusing on user experience (UX), delivered results (ROI), or building successful client relationships. It's important to hear from someone other than just them!

Effective Communication

Web development involves constant communication throughout a project's life cycle. The agency should be great at listening, explaining technical concepts clearly (without jargon), setting expectations up-front, and updating regularly.

It might signify future things if they don't respond within 48 hours during your initial conversations.

Established Processes

Experienced agencies have documented processes for every stage: discovery, design, development, testing/launching – even ongoing support/maintenance. This level of organisation saves time, ensures everyone knows what's expected, keeps things transparent, and holds people accountable…you get peace of mind!

For example, we use an Agile framework with defined sprints and progress tracking via project management tools like Trello or Asana, weekly status meetings with stakeholders, etc.

Post-Launch Plans

Think beyond just building the website itself. Who will maintain it? Where will it be hosted? What about updating software/plugins/themes for security reasons? These are all critical questions to ask.

Make sure they offer training for your team (content management system), have monthly/annual website care plans available, keep an eye on things with 24/7 security monitoring, perform routine backups should anything go wrong, and so on.

Ongoing Support

This ties into the last point: websites are never “done” – they're living, breathing entities that need love and attention to stay healthy as technology/trends evolve. Find out how they handle support requests after a site goes live.

Do you get assigned a dedicated account manager who knows your business inside-out, or do you have to call/email a general inbox? What's their typical response time?

Company Culture & Chemistry

Last but certainly not least: does their company culture align with yours? This might seem fluffy, but hear us out. You'll be working closely with these folks for at least several months!

Are conversations natural/easy or awkward/stilted? Are they genuinely excited about potentially collaborating on this project – even passionate??

Chemistry is essential in any client-service provider relationship; trust your gut.

Setting a Realistic Budget for Web Development

Talking about budgeting… what is the average price range for professional web development services? There isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer because it depends on your project’s scope, which can vary greatly.

Here are some usual factors of expense:

1. Design difficulty (information structure, layouts, graphics, etc.)
2. Needs of front-end and back-end functionality
3. If it is a brochure site or a more complex web app
4. Amount of pages, templates and custom elements
5. Integration with e-commerce systems, CMS or other platforms
6. Advanced features such as multi-language support or booking systems
7. Hosting services along with domain names, security measures and other aspects related to the environment setup
8. Marketing efforts like SEO post-launch content creation, PPC advertisements, etc.

However, to give you an idea of how much should be spent as an initial investment towards building a modern SMB-focused website from scratch, these numbers might help:

• Basic brochure site: $5k – $25k 
• Medium complexity: $25k – $75k 
• Enterprise-level 75K up to 150K or more, depending on needs

Although this is quite a wide range, keep in mind that, in the end, everything boils down to what size your company is and what you want to achieve through online presence.

For instance, even if an e-commerce platform generating millions per annum income stream can have only a “cheap” marketing website created that won’t work well with its operations, such a combination wouldn’t make sense…

Below, find some additional suggestions on how you can budget better:

• Clearly understand what needs to be done within a given time frame by setting realistic goals based on long-term expectations towards ROI from online representation.
• Do not go cheap – Web Development Quality vs Price correlation should always remain in favour of paying more when necessary. If quality requires (and expected) higher levels, don't hesitate to invest in them.
• Ask potential agencies to provide detailed breakdowns of their quotes, explaining each item contained therein very clearly step-by-step so that it is easier to compare them with other quotes you have obtained.

Expect to pay extra when changing things around after the initial launch; keep aside some money for content creation, post-launch support services, etc.

The Website Development Process

So you've found and hired your ideal web development partner – fantastic! But what exactly happens next? While processes vary across agencies, here's a general overview of the typical web dev lifecycle:

1) Discovery and Planning

First, the agency will want to learn everything about your business, target audience, competitors, objectives and requirements for the new website. This discovery phase aligns everyone's expectations through activities like:

• Kickoff meetings and stakeholder interviews
• Reviewing your existing site's performance
• Competitive analysis and user research
• Technical audits and requirement gathering
• Defining the project scope, sitemap and user stories

The output is a comprehensive strategy document mapping out the overarching plan, milestones and KPIs guiding the rest of the project.

2) Web Design

With a clear roadmap in hand, the agency's UI/UX designers get to work crafting the perfect user experience and visual identity for your new website through:

• Information architecture (IA) and user flows
• Wireframing layouts and key interface elements
• Branding and visual design (logos, colours, typography etc.)
• Interactive prototypes for client feedback and approval

The end design deliverable is a comprehensive set of finalised mockups that lay the aesthetic and functional foundation for development.

3) Website Development

Developers take those approved designs and coded brand elements and start transforming them into a fully functioning website through:

• Architecting the overall technical solution
• Programming the front-end code, markup and styling
• Integrating back-end functionality and databases
• Custom coding features, plugins and third-party tools
• Optimisation for performance, SEO and accessibility

Typically, development follows an Agile-esque methodology with the work split across multiple sprints. The agency provides staging environments for you to test functionality throughout.

4) Testing and Launch

With the bulk of development complete, comprehensive quality assurance (QA) testing kicks in to identify and squash any bugs, errors or functionality issues through:

• Cross-browser compatibility checks
• Mobile/responsiveness testing across devices
• User acceptance testing and debugging
• Performance and stress testing
• Accessibility and security audits

Once finalised and you've signed off, the agency handles everything for the big website launch:

• Setting up production hosting and domain configurations
• Data migration and populating with your actual content
• Submitting a sitemap to Google and other launch SEO tasks
• Making the new site publicly live and accessible!

5) Training and Maintenance

Even after launch, a professional agency provides supporting services:

• Thoroughly training your staff on how to use the CMS and make essential updates
• Web hosting, security monitoring and routine backups
• Analytics setup and reporting
• Scheduled maintenance windows for updates and improvements
• Retainer plans for ongoing development needs

Of course, this process can get far more granular based on your project's complexity, requirements and the agency's specific approach. But you can expect close collaboration and regular communication every step of the way.

Managing Your Web Dev Project Effectively

Alright, the agency is building your new site – but as the client, your role isn't just sitting back. The most successful web development projects involve proactive client leadership and effective management.

To keep things running smoothly:

Assign Project Champions

Identify one or two people from your organisation who own the client-side project management. They should have decision-making authority and be responsible for:

• Coordinating internally across your teams/stakeholders
• Acting as the primary agency point(s) of contact
• Reviewing/approving deliverables and keeping things on track

This streamlines communication and ensures nothing gets lost in translation between too many cooks in the kitchen.

Leverage Project Management Tools

Consider leveraging a shared project management platform both teams can use, like Asana or Trello. These centralise all assets, conversations, deadlines and more in one accessible hub.

Your agency should have internal systems, too, but a collaborative client-facing portal keeps everyone aligned.

Prioritise Clear Communication

From day one, open and frequent communication is paramount. Ask questions. Discuss contingencies. Don't let little things become big fires.

Set a cadence for recurring status meetings – weekly, bi-weekly or whatever makes sense for your timeline. Use these checkpoints to discuss progress, challenges, next steps and pivots as needed.

Make Prompt Feedback a Priority

Agencies need your prompt reviews and approvals to keep the development train chugging along. Don't let “approval purgatory” bring everything to a grinding halt!

Make feedback a priority, and consolidate stakeholder comments before sharing concise revision notes. Having to chase down multiple conflicting sources wastes time.

Embrace Change (Reasonably)

Even with stellar upfront planning, changes always arise in web projects as real-world realities come into focus. Things will pivot, so maintain a flexible mindset.

However, significant scope changes can threaten timelines and budgets, so prioritise thoroughly vetting requirements early. Then, only embrace “nice-to-have” changes insofar as schedules and budgets allow.

Tap Their Strategic Expertise

Your agency's web veterans have seen and done it all many times. So leverage their experience! Don't just treat them as code factories.

Engage them early for strategic guidance, from best practices and new tech capabilities to user experience and SEO. Their perspectives and forward-thinking can strengthen your entire web strategy.

Allow for the Process

Building a first-rate website from scratch takes time – there are no cutting corners for quality work. Don't rush the agency or demand unrealistic turnarounds; this only breeds mistakes and headaches.

Remember, an iterative process with recalibrations along the way is entirely normal, so trust in the agency's proven process and timelines. A little patience goes a long way.

Following these principles, you can establish a cohesive, productive client-agency partnership and keep your web dev project running like a well-oiled machine!

Why Hiring A Web Development Agency Is Worth It

We've covered a ton of ground, from budgeting and vetting agencies through the nitty-gritty project lifecycle and management best practices.

Handing your website over to professionals requires time, money and energy. So, is it worth it versus DIYing or bargain freelancing?

Investing in a proven web development agency pays dividends and should be viewed as a growth strategy rather than a sunk cost. Here's why:

For starters, a stellar website is indispensable for any modern business trying to:

• Grow brand awareness and credibility
• Attract new leads and customers
• Sell products/services online
• Provide value to existing customers
• Establish a competitive digital presence
• Drive measurable business results

Your website is often the first experience people have with your brand. Does your current site reflect positivity and compel visitors to convert? Or does it scream outdated and amateur?

A professional website demonstrates you take your business seriously.

More importantly, established web agencies build websites as strategic business assets from the ground up:

• Baked-in search engine optimisation for visibility
• Optimised for accessibility, performance and conversions
• Integrated seamlessly with tools like CRMs, analytics and automation
• Crafted for superior usability tailored to your audience's needs
• Scalable code foundations to grow and adapt long-term

In other words, your website is an investment in setting your business up for long-term success in our digital-first world.

And sure, you could cobble something together for cheaper. But will it achieve your goals and provide ROI? Or just look unprofessional and become another project perpetually stuck on your to-do list?

A professional web development agency removes those headaches and executes your digital vision from concept to launch – allowing you to focus on actually running your business.

So, if you're serious about growing online with a modern, high-performing website that delivers value year over year, leap and invest in a web dev partner. In the long run, it's well worth it.

Web Dev Agency FAQs

There you have it – all the essentials for hiring the right web development agency for your business! Ready to take that next step in elevating your digital presence? Start vetting your potential partners today.