#024_RANT_Good Web Development – Buyer Beware
How to choose wisely
Published on August 27, 2018
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What’s the point of hiring a great web developer when you aren’t able to get the best out of them? Or how do you know if your agency is not just handballing the web brief to an offshore outsourced company? Here’s another rant episode where Chris and Mark outline a best practice web development process.
There are two main things we’d like to highlight here. Outsourcing and Strategy. In both cases, it pays to have your eyes wide open and your ducks in a row. Let’s start with outsourcing.
Caveat Emptor – Buyer Beware
In it’s best practice form, there is nothing wrong with your agency outsourcing its web development expertise. Some web skills are highly specialised and having to bring in experts is a smart move. Especially, if your agency has a strong track record in delivering good web projects and has robust project management processes.
The problem arises when your agency simply outsources to a faceless offshore company and then not have the internal expertise to neither check nor direct the work. We see this all too often – and we’ve had clients pay us good money to fix a botched job.
Strategy as your roadmap
How do you go on a journey without a map? How do you build a house without a blueprint? The ideal situation is to really do your strategy work. Make sure you do your Persona Work, Conversion Flows, Conversion Funnels, Required Assets and Implementation Timelines. Understand your plan and then use it to successfully brief not only your web developers but also your digital and content marketers.
Hiring a great web developer
…really isn’t that hard. Ask the right questions and have a strategy in place to ensure that you both get the best out of the brief.
PS Chris comes out in this episode…yep. He’s finally admitted to being a nerd. And we love him nonetheless.
