Finding the right web developer for your enterprise project is one of the most important steps during the website creation process. There are a ton of options out there, but only a handful will provide exactly what you want. What should you look for when choosing a web developer? Start with these three factors:

Relevant Experience

A developer with years of experience is obviously more valuable than someone with limited experience. They know best practices and solutions to all the problems that may crop up. However, do they have relevant experience? For instance, if you are a municipality looking for a new government website, you should look for developers with government experience. They'll have a better understanding of your needs, wants, and market.

Location

Thanks to the Internet industry, companies have access to an enormous talent pool. Hiring a local developer can be a good option if you want someone you can easily get a hold of, and speaks your language fluently. On the other hand, outsourcing development can lead to lower costs, while there may be some communication problems. Just make sure you do your research and hire someone who is a good fit for you. There are great options both domestic and abroad.

Price/Features

Every developer is going to have a different pricing/feature mix. You need to ensure that you find a developer that fits your budget while offering the best feature set. Ask for quotes from different developers so you can get a sense of the industry average and avoid overpaying. You also want to avoid selecting the cheapest solution simply because it's cheaper. Make sure the quality of the work is the same as more expensive options. One of the worst things to do is underpay for a project, and then realize you need to redo all the development work.

Designing a great website for a client is extremely rewarding. It's even more rewarding when your customer thanks you for your excellent customer service and promises to refer you to others in their network. Providing great customer service is crucial if you want to be able to retain business and gain access to new clients easily. So how do you go about improving your customer service? Check out these three tips:

Go above and beyond the status quo to understand their business, industry, and vision.

As a designer you need to interpret words and ideas, and turn those into a visual masterpiece. This is not an easy task if you don't understand what their business is about. A great way of improving the quality of your designs is to do background research on your client's industry. Get to know what sort of design approaches sell well for their target market. Also, make sure to sit down with them and go over their business vision. This is important because you want your design to evoke their ideas. Your clients will undoubtedly be impressed with your dedication.

Make sure you clearly communicate your pricing and deliverables before starting work.

No one likes surprise charges. That's why people are always complaining about cable companies or banks. You agreed to pay $100 per month for cable/internet and now it's $145. That's terrible customer service on their part. There should be no surprises for the customer. As a designer, make sure you all of your pricing and deliverables are communicated upfront. The client needs to know exactly what they are going to get with their investment. Surprise charges drive away business. Don't be like a cable company.

Be available on different channels of communication so your customer can easily reach you with concerns.

Being available to communicate with a client is also very important for web designers. Web design is a back and forth process. Being on hand to deal with customer concerns or questions is critical to improving customer satisfaction. It's also important to use multiple channels of communication. Sometimes your client won't be able to reach you by phone, but can ping you on Skype. Maybe their e-mail isn't working, so they need to call you instead. As a designer you need to facilitate communication, not impede it. By being available on multiple channels you avoid customers getting frustrated.

Choosing the right CMS is important to every website. While there are many options out there, there is also a dichotomy to be aware of.

One thing you'll need to determine is whether or not to choose between a coupled or de-coupled CMS. A coupled CMS is like a blog engine where the underlying store for your content is used for both authoring and delivering. Authoring is part of your live delivery system, and only certain users with permissions can create content.

On the flip side, a de-coupled system separates authoring and delivery into two different applications. You use a publishing application to push content from the authoring app to the content delivery platform.

If you decide to choose a de-coupled system, you need to make sure it fits your business goals, processes, and requirements. Here is a quick breakdown of the advantages and disadvantages of a de-coupled system:

Advantages:

- De-coupled systems scale better with high traffic websites, and managing multiple websites.

- SLAs are de-coupled. The authoring app can be down while the delivery platform is running and content will still go through.

- Content migration and sharing with other systems is easier.

- De-coupled systems have better multi-channel support, allowing you to publish content to social media, mobile apps, etc.

- Content sharing and syndication are supported better.

- Code complexity is isolated in the two different platforms, allowing you to make code as complex or simple in either app without affecting the other.-

- It is easy to develop awesome features for users when coding is isolated and scaling is easy.

Weaknesses:

- Set up of the system is more complex because of more components and moving parts.

- If not managed properly, all the different components can create more complexity and negatively impact the user experience.

Web design is a profession that has a lot of moving parts, and requires excellent planning and communication to order to succeed. It’s important to be on the same page as your customer while at the same time being aware of your incremental costs as projects take more time than estimated.  .

Efficiency is increased by streamlining all the different processes within your business. Faster processes means quicker turnaround times and increased revenue. Here are three ways to increase your efficiency:

Outsource Web Development

Outsourcing web development is one of the best ways to increase efficiency. Not only do you avoid the development work, but you’ll be able to take on more projects at once because of the additional help. Also, outsourcing development work can lower costs as there are foreign development firms that have very low prices. Another benefit of partnering with a development company is that you can reduce the amount of time searching for clients. Many development firms have their own leads and are looking for designers to do some work for them. Outsourcing can be a definite win-win for all parties involved. Just be sure to do your research before engaging in a partnership!

Utilize Client Questionnaires and Templates

An important part of design is developing the ability to understand exactly what your client wants and letting them know what deliverables to expect. Using client questionnaires is an easy way to break down the scope of the project and the client’s vision. It’s important to cover all the bases with the questionnaire so that  both you and your client are on the same page. It is also important to have a proposal template where you describe in full detail all the deliverables and timelines the client can expect to receive.  . Confusion on either side will lower overall efficiency by requiring more handholding and communication.

Create price/cost estimating system.

Arguably one of the most important factors in improving efficiency is managing costs and prices. Develop a system where you can quickly estimate projects time. This can be as simple as charging a flat amount per page. It’s also important to make sure that your hard costs are covered. Having a system like this will help to respond quickly and avoid losing any potential sales.

An enterprise website is one of the most important pieces of any company’s marketing strategy. It’s important to invest enough time and money into your website to make sure it’s implemented well. There are five areas you should focus on to make sure your website design is executed properly.  Check them out:

Focus on the fundamentals.

What are the fundamentals? There are a lot of answers out there, but for us it’s delivering a clear message throughout the website. Your message needs to be clear and consistent across content, navigation, visuals etc.

Make sure you can appeal to multiple audiences.

As an enterprise you will have a variety of different audiences looking at your site. You need to make sure your website can cater to every potential customer/partner type. Keep your website’s overall feel in line with what your target segment is looking for. Ensure that your approach can appeal to a wider audience. Don't focus on a small niche that doesn’t reflect your entire customer base. One good way of doing this is by using different tabs for your different audiences. For instance, on our Fast Track website we have small business, designers, and enterprise tabs.

Utilize advanced design solutions.

Your website design needs to be able to seamlessly bring together the different components of an enterprise website. You need to ensure your e-commerce storefront, database/content management systems, and other systems synergize with each other.  A clean, unique, and consistent approach that adeptly reflects your brand is important. Also, keep up with the latest advancements and trends in enterprise design approaches. For instance, if your website isn’t responsively designed yet, by all means invest in that!

Focus on maximizing search engine visibility.

Search engines are king on the Internet today. Every enterprise website design needs to be built search engine friendly. Organic search is one of the best ways to get your company in front of your target audience. Invest early in a search engine friendly design to eliminate headaches down the road.

Treat your website like a showcase.

Think of your website as a showcase for all the great things your enterprise provides. Focus on how to bring your value proposition and products to life. Doing this will help to create a website that is vibrant, dynamic, and a sales asset for your company.