There your have a small local business or a larger enterprise business your website is a powerful tool to reach new customers, show potential customers what you offer and give your company credibility. But when is the time to get your business online?

Starting a new business.

If you’re just starting up a website should be one of the most important things to ensure you prioritise. Your website is your storefront to the world, allowing users to see your services, contact you and if you’re an ecommerce store make purchases. Regardless of your business industry a website will help generate leads before you even start trading. Having a site from the word go helps build the reputation right away.

Expanding your business and reach

If you’re already trading and looking to grow, then creating or re-designing your website is essential to achieve that growth.  Traditional methods such as referrals, word of mouth and advertising will always help but being online and present will expand that audience. If you are planning on targeting customers outside your geographic area then having a wider audience is crucial.

Steaming operations

Having a website isn’t just to show users what you offer, it’s a useful tool in streamlining workflow. Whether that’s sales via eccommerce, having user guides, documents and FAQs to offer support or even having contact forms to gain leads. It saves you time on tasks and frees time for other parts of your business.

Enhancing user experience

Over the past number of years customers now expect to be able to engage and interact with businesses online. Whether that’s booking appointments,  looking for help or purchasing having a website that offers this is key to customer satisfaction. Ensuring your website has a great user experience and everything they might need is easy to find.

Investing in growth

A website is an investment, not only in terms of financial terms but in terms of giving it then time and effort to ensure the site grows, attracts customers, continues to get leads and ultimately save you time. Some of the things you can do to help your site improve is keep it updated, work on your Search Engine Optimisation and if you can commit to it have a blog/news section. When this investment is nurtured it can become the foundation of your marketing strategy.

Conclusion

Ultimately the answer is different for every business, but in general getting yourself online is a wise move and can play a crucial part in growth. If your business is ready to grow and take those next steps then for you the time is now.

Finding the right web developer can make a world of difference. There are a number of developers around the world sometimes you need someone local who understands your area, the community and can meet up and talk about specific needs. Here’s a few tips on finding that right person for the job.

What do you need?

• • Before you start looking for a developer you need to have an understanding of what you need.
  • What kind of website do you require. Ecommerce, portfolio, blog)
  • What budget are you working to?
  • Do you have any must have features? Ie: contact forms, payment gateways, API integrations.
  • Do you have a preference to the content management system? ie: WordPress, Shopify etc…

Having a detailed brief or list of requirements will help you and the developers you speak to get a better idea of the task and hand.

Recommendations

Like with any other business word of mouth recommendations are typically a great starting point, ask friends, colleagues or business owners you have a relationship with to find somebody reliable.

Online directories

There are many places you can look through to find listings for web developers. Here’s some of the more popular and trustworthy.

Google My Business

If you search for developers in your location, ie: “web developers in Liverpool” or “web developers near me” you will be presented with results and those with Google reviews. This gives you a better idea and a certain level of trust.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a great tool for connecting with and searching for web developers. On this platform you can also see testimonials, work samples and filter by local area.

Search Engines

The classic way to find web developers, you will get many results but with filtering by area, specialty ie “WordPress developer Liverpool” you’ll get more accurate results.

Once you think you’ve found a developer

One your search is over and you have found that missing piece important next steps are something to consider.

Communication

How has the communication been? If they are responsive and communicate in a way you understand then that will aide the project.

Long Term Support

Will the developer continue to support after the project is launched?

Contract

What does the contract cover? How many revisions and work changes are permitted.

Deadline

When is the deadline? Can they meet it?

Conclusion

It can take some time to find a good developer, lots of research, emails and looking at portfolios. But it’s key that your developer has the technical skills and understands the project and your vision for the project. Communication, defined goals and milestones and mutual respect will be the keys to a successful partnership and will help you achieve your goals.