Whether you’ve got an existing website or are thinking about launching one of your own, you need the right team to build and manage it. Every digital agency has its own approach to website development, and their choices matter, from the technology and tools to the configurations of your content management system. One wrong choice could be the difference between a website that lasts for years and a website that needs to be rebuilt in a matter of days.
You’re putting a lot in the hands of your web developer, and according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics, there are a lot of them. That’s why we’ve developed a guide to help you identify the best web developer.
1. Great Web Developers Must Common Sense
Website development and management shouldn’t be complicated for you and your team. Great web developers know this, and when tasked to build and manage your website, they must follow common sense:
- Less is more for your website. They should use the bare minimum technology to keep your website lightweight and manageable.
- They release your site in batches, starting with the most important pages. Everything else is staged and can come in later batches.
- Another trait of a great web development partner is that they are mindful of web design costs and don’t burn a hole in your wallet. Your web developer should combine and simplify existing work processes whenever possible. For example, why use three separate services when one can do it all?
2. They Treat You Like You’re the Most Important Person
This is one of the most important aspects of any web developer. They give you the time and day and are constantly listening to you. In fact, web developers should do most of the listening and understanding to ensure that your needs are met and executed.
Far too often do we get contacted by client partners who are fed up with their web design and development teams simply ignoring them. You won’t get that with us.
3. They ask for Requirements Well Before Anything Gets Started
We’ll come across businesses that want a website, but are unsure what to put on it. Web developers are great at execution but need your subject-matter expertise to do so effectively. For a successful website, businesses need to communicate their website’s goal.
Enter the business requirements. With a well-defined set of requirements, your web developer can approach your website and plan every aspect of your site accordingly. Uncovering the full requirements may take several conversations, but once you do, there’s alignment among all parties, reducing the risk of misunderstandings. As a result, your website is delivered exactly as requested.
4. They Aren’t a “Yes Man” and Are Willing to Challenge You
A web developer’s job is to approach every website with a healthy level of criticism and pushback. For example, businesses may want everything on their website. A lot of the time, this mentality results in an indefinite project with budgetary constraints, which introduces two major issues:
- The project timeline is severely impacted and stretched
- Your web developer will do work for free and more than what’s needed
There is a balance between the two, and web developers are responsible for speaking up when problems arise. Additionally, their role is to provide the expertise to translate your subject matter expertise into a website. You may have a ton of great ideas, but they need to tell you when something doesn’t work for now, but can work for a later phase.
5. Your Web Developer is Constantly Thinking About What’s Next
Developers should suggest ways to improve your website’s user experience. After all, they have the expertise to pull insights from different industry verticals to improve your site. However, this may be a stretch if your web developer lacks marketing expertise, as ours does.
Whether you move ahead with any of your web developer’s suggestions, you’ll still have a backlog of work for later use in a later phase.
6. They are Detail-Oriented, so You Don’t Have to Be
The last thing you want is to launch your website only to realize that there were spelling mistakes and/or broken functionality. You get one first impression, so don’t waste it!
Make sure your web developers are doing the following:
- They stage your site as a draft or on a staging environment. This allows you and your team to review any updates in an isolated environment without fear of introducing issues in production where your customers can see.
- They are relentless with quality assurance (QA), which refers to testing, testing, and more testing of your website. The goal of QA is to review your website for any issues before customers can do so on your live website. There’s also a final check where they should force you to undergo user acceptance testing (UAT). During UAT, you will confirm that what’s in production matches what you’ve already reviewed and approved in staging.
- They know what they are doing and will always prepare you for the next step. Surprises are the enemy, and preparation simplifies the website development process.
These are a few examples that indicate a detail-oriented web developer. Keep them in mind during your next engagement with your developer.
7. Your Web Developer Takes Care of You Every Step of the Way
This sounds very simple, and it is. Your developer must be thinking of you and what makes your life easier, whether that’s setting up meetings for you, avoiding certain times of day to accommodate your schedule, or looping you in when needed. They should also be mindful and avoid super complex workflows and solutions for you to manage.
The Bottom Line / TLDR
Selecting the right web developer can make all the difference for a website. The best developers combine technical skill with common sense, clear communication, and genuine care for their clients’ goals. They listen, plan thoroughly, challenge ideas when necessary, and remain proactive in improving the site over time. By paying attention to detail and maintaining transparency throughout the process, they build trust in your website and ensure quality. Ultimately, a great web developer isn’t just a service provider; they’re a long-term partner in your digital success.
We are web designers and developers from Columbus, Ohio, who can help you refresh your site to be customer-centric. Reach out to Uplancer today for a free consultation.
