Choosing a digital services contractor has always been difficult for business owners – there are a lot of different agencies, the cost of services differs (sometimes very dramatically), which one to choose remains an open question. Even if you call dozens of studios and hold a series of meetings with potential performers, stepping on the “old rake” is still possible. And what approach is needed when you need several diverse services? Today we analyze all the risks when looking for a web studio to create and promote a site.
Be, not seem to be
Almost any selection of a developer or optimizer begins with a search string. Having driven in the necessary service, a pool of agency websites appears before the customer, each of which praises their services as much as possible, showing laudatory reviews, famous client brands, best works and cases. The situation is typical and quite normal, the main thing is that something else remains behind self-promotion.
For example, one of the clients was looking for a remote SEO specialist on a freelance exchange. Having found a candidate, the client was ready to start working, a high rating, experience and reviews spoke of the competence of the specialist. But the client still wanted to say some points in a voice to be sure about the correct understanding of his needs and business goals. The potential contractor agreed to the conversation, but during the conversation he did not show any interest in the project, dryly answering the customer’s questions. At the same time, the reviews said the opposite, they say the performer always dives deep into the task, prompts and asks questions.
What does this example say? The fact that you should not immediately believe beautiful slogans and detailed reviews – they may not be real.
Different contractors for different services
Another mistake lurking company leaders – is the search for separate agencies for different services. Why is it important to choose one studio? A full-fledged Internet agency has colleagues of various specializations in the staff, who are able not only to solve the tasks set, but also to work harmoniously as a team for the result without losing communication. When choosing a separate site developer, his task will be to close the project as soon as possible and start another one. Whether or not a new resource is promoted usually doesn’t really matter to him. Similarly, in the case of SEO promotion, the optimizer will first of all make a paid audit and identify a number of errors that could simply have been avoided during development. As a result, the business owner will be forced to overpay, even if the site was made a few days ago.
When ordering a complex service, the situation is immediately excluded when different contractors constantly dump tasks on each other, relieving themselves of responsibility. You, as a client, indicate the desired result, and the agency is already looking for the necessary specialists for this and forms a project team working together for the result.
The main mistakes, or how not to look for a contractor
- Miser pays twice. When choosing a contractor, do not try to find the cheapest offer on the market. Saving is a good thing, but a full-fledged website development cannot cost 5,000 rubles conditionally. In just a few hours, at best, you will deploy the simplest ready-made template and minimally configure the main options.
- Advertising is the engine of trade, but not a guarantee of results. We talked about this earlier, beautiful words about the advantages of the agency should be backed up by real cases, and not just advertising slogans compiled by marketers.
- General wording in the specification and contract. When concluding a contractual relationship, avoid common phrases such as “website development”, “page design”, “functional setup”, etc. The list of works should clearly describe what the performer does, which modules he sets up, how many layouts he draws, which CMS he programs on.
Conclusion, or where to look for a contractor
In addition to the standard options for searching and selecting web artists, a very common and good option is to study the studio ratings service. What is special about this option? Rating is not interested and the most objective party between the developer and the customer. The task of the site is to collect reliable information from both parties and bring them into convenient communication. If the services are low or the customer offers a lower budget, such proposals simply will not be published. In addition, a distinctive advantage is the need to provide data to both the web studio and the customer company. If necessary, the parties can check counterparties, request statutory documents, scans of certificates. The feedback system on rating sites is the most honest, since feedback can only be left by the customer who whose project is in the portfolio of a web agency. The final plus should be noted “smart filters” of the search. The owner of the company has the opportunity to search for a contractor by city, price segment, CMS, site type and a number of other parameters that significantly narrow the list of candidates and select the most relevant performers.