There are numerous web design and development companies out there. We have heard stories of people who have had fabulous experiences with their web development team and those who’s experience has been less than optimal. Here are a few tips and questions to ask if you are looking for a web design company.
#1. Can they customize your website? Are they able to custom program specialized features should the need arise (e-commerce, social media tie-ins, api integration etc.).
#2. Do they use open source systems? In most situations, using open source platforms is the best choice as then you are not vendor locked and you can move elsewhere should you want to.
#3 Do they hand implement their html/css (the “code” that makes the website)? Or are they using a program such as FrontPage or Dreamweaver? Having hand generated source code keeps it cleaner and ultimately better for search engine purposes.
#4 Do they have a clean, well implemented source? If you right click on a website and choose “View
Source” you will see the html source that displays the website. Check out the company’s website source or the source of it’s portfolio pieces (if you have your own website you can check your source too). Here are a few items to look for in the source without needing to know html:
- Look for <div> tags. <table> tags should not be used to layout a site. Unless there is a data table on the site you typically you don’t want to see these.
- In-line css should be used minimally. Font size and type should be in the CSS file not in the html.
- Often you will see meta tags (keywords, description) being used. Having multiple lines of keywords and a huge description just adds extra source that is not needed. We include these but with a few key terms and a short description of each page. Search engines no longer use these to determine the content of a website.
- Look for the usage of <h1>, <h2> etc. tags. These are heading tags and should be used for headings on a website. These are great for SEO especially if they contain relevant keywords.
#5 Are they using flash for simple slideshows? There is still a place for flash on the web. However, many slideshows can be created using JQuery and as such will display properly on Apple’s iPhone and iPad. To find out if flash is being used – right click on the animation – if it says Zoom or at the bottom says “About Adobe Flash Player #” then it is using flash. If flash is used, an html version is needed so there isn’t a broken area on your site.
#6 Are their websites cross-browser compliant? Browsers render websites differently. It should be standard practice for the web company to test websites in the major browsers such as Chrome, Safari, Firefox and various versions of Internet Explorer.
#7 What are the company’s target response times? Often the biggest complaint is the turnaround time on receiving a response from an email or phone call. Ask a prospective company what their target response times are.
#8 Do they run their html/css through a validator? Running html through a validator can help bring errors to light as well as can assist in making a site more accessible for users by highlighting alt tags that are missing etc. However, it need not be used as a crutch as Six Revisions points out in a recent article.
#9 What platforms and technologies are the sites tested in? Users are coming from various operating systems (Windows, Mac and Linux) as well as using various screen resolutions and technologies (from iphones to 30″ monitors). These all can render the website differently and should be considered in the process.
#10 Those are some technical tips – don’t forget conventional tips also apply such as asking for references, portfolio pieces etc.
