10 Questions to Ask Your Web Development Team

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As it happens with any development project, there’s plenty of things you should do before embarking on a new web development project. From delimiting the resulting product to considering budget matters, preparing everything related to your web project beforehand increases your chances of success down the line.

That’s why the questions you’ll find here are so important: because they’ll let you get acquainted with your web development team more intimately and learn what they are capable of. If you are out there hunting for web development companies, then you need this questionnaire curated by BairesDev web experts who chose the top 10 questions to help you pick the right partner.

Have you worked on similar projects?

One of the first things you need to do is make sure that your potential web development team can fulfill your vision for the final product. This goes way beyond the technical capabilities of the software engineers and into the experience working in similar projects. You can see this in two ways. First, you need a development team that has experience working on a similar product. Second, you should ideally go for a team with experience in your field (which, though not mandatory, can provide you with additional value and efficiency throughout the development lifecycle).

What does your process look like?

All development projects have multiple things to consider from design to deployment. Web development isn’t any different, so you need a web team that has the roadmap figured out to lead you seamlessly to the project’s success. Ask your potential partner how that roadmap looks for them. How do they research your company and your end-users? How does the work move forward? Are there clearly defined stages? If the team can’t answer these questions, then move on to the next one.

How long will it take for the project to be completed?

While it’s close to impossible to know beforehand, seasoned web developers can provide you with a reasonable estimate as to when you’ll get the finished product. This is especially important if you are working with a deadline, because you need a team that’s readily available and can align with your own time frame. That’s why working with nearshore development companies like BairesDev is so good – because you’ll always get access to on-demand talented developers who will work exclusively on your project and get it done in a timely manner.

What services will you provide?

Don’t assume that all web development teams will provide you with the same because their offerings are highly varied. So, it’s up to you to find out which services you will be hiring if you choose a particular team. Services you can ask about include UX and UI design, SEO, and integration with cutting edge technologies like AI and blockchain. It’ll all depend on the project at hand and your specific needs but you need to be sure that the team you’re paying can provide you with the services you consider essential for your web development project.

How involved will I be?

Depending on the type of business owner you are, you might want to be completely involved in the web development project or just chime in once the product is almost finished. Thus, you need a web development team that can work with the level of involvement you want. For instance, at BairesDev we can provide you with autonomous teams that can work on its own but that gets in touch with you as often as you like. On the other hand, we can also provide you with full-cycle custom software development that takes care of the entire project with minimal involvement from you.

What assets do I have to provide?

This will depend on the type of web development company you are considering and your own expectations. For example, you might want to develop a project from scratch, which means the development team will require branding assets like company logo files and brand guide documents. On the other hand, you may need to refresh an existing web app, which means that you’ll have to share the app’s code and access to databases. Be sure to ask what things will you need to provide and which are ok for the team to create on their own.

Is your work entirely custom-made?

Many web development companies offer custom and template web services to accommodate different needs and budgets. That’s why it’s important for you to know whether your web project will be entirely customized or not. There’ll be times when a hybrid might work for you (for instance, when you are working on your first website). However, you should always aspire to tailor-made web products, because they can provide a trove of benefits. Thus, you need to be sure if your potential partner can deliver high-quality custom work.

Will I be able to update the project on my own?

The ideal scenario with any web development project is that you end up owning the final product in its entirety. This will allow you to work on it as you please without having to call the original development team to upgrade or update anything. So, you need to be sure that the resulting web product will be entirely yours with easy access and code clean enough for anyone to work on it in the future. Sure, you can also look for a long-standing partnership with a respectable web development company but having complete ownership of the final product never hurts.

Can you provide me with past references and clients?

Before hiring anyone, you’ll obviously need to research them. This will surely take you to your web development team’s website and social media, where you’ll be able to check their portfolio and (hopefully) some testimonials about their work. While all this may seem enough, your safest bet is to ask your web developers for references and previous clients you can talk to directly. That way, you can access an unbiased opinion on the work of the team.

What does our potential contract look like?

Finally, you need to protect yourself from potential issues down the line, and there’s no better way to do that than having a comprehensive contract that covers everything that will tie you with the web development team. This can also result in a service-level agreement that governs the services you’ll get from the team. You need to be sure that you’re legally covered in case anything happens so you don’t waste time and money.

The Right Web Development Partner

Finding the right partner for your web development project can take you some time but conducting thorough research about your options is the only way you have to ensure your project’s success. If you take the time and do the extra effort, you’ll likely find the web development provider that better suits your needs.

What’s more, you can end up finding a web development team like BairesDev, that can offer you the Top 1% of Web Development talent to jumpstart your projects on demand and provide value throughout the development lifecycle. We can answer all of the questions above and plenty more and are eager to hear about your project so contact us and tell us how we can help you.