4 Non-Technical Questions to Ask a Web Site Developer Before Hiring

You've decided to create a website for your business or organization. You have your list of questions but keep wondering about what else you should be asking. We all know that is important to ask your potential web developer detailed questions about technical abilities but what should you ask beyond that?

Put all aspects of a web developer under a magnifying glass and find the right one for you. Here are 4 questions to ask a potential web developer that don't deal with the technology aspect of your project:

How many employees do you have? Whether you are dealing with a 1 man company or one with hundreds you likely have an idea going into initial meetings but it is wise to get a better idea. You want to make sure they have enough time/personnel to handle your project but not too many that contact with those you are working with becomes difficult. Likewise, too many people involved means a higher chance of miscommunication.

Is all the work and customer support done in your local office? We know the horror stories of dealing with overseas help. Even if all the people who would be working on your site are located in the same country if they are in different offices that can create additional roadblocks and miscommunication during and after website creation. Make no mistake, if a web developer reaches for outside help it can make your site better but beware of the pitfalls.

Do we have access to what we need if you go out of business? In all the excitement of creating a new site one could easily forget about contingency plans. It is important to confirm with a potential web developer who actually owns the site, logo, graphics, and so on. There have been plenty of occasions where a seemingly good and honest web developer suddenly goes out of business. A developer with a high end office can just as easily disappear as a guy working out of his parents basement. Do you have access to all the files and records you need to keep going?

How is business? Of course, you can expect to hear that things are going well and have them put a good spin on their business situation even if things aren't going well. However, use this to inquire about some recent business and perhaps some references. Once you dig a little deeper it will work to your advantage to ask how their business is doing and it can save you a headache later on if it turns out things aren't doing so well.

Of course, there are countless other questions you could ask. What are some other ones? What is the most important non-technical question you would ask your web developer? Comment and help us grow our list of questions.

Social Media - THE #1 Reason to Get Involved

The future is now! Sounds like a motivational speaker doesn't it? But there is some serious truth to that phrase when it comes to online marketing. Slowly but surely businesses are discovering how social media can help potential customers find out about their business but there are still countless businesses that aren't taking advantage of social media. Because internet searches are the Yellow Pages of our times you should use social media to maximize your business' chances of being found on the internet. That is THE reason to get involved.

If you have an online business you really should be looking into social media now. I stress that for online business because you are selling online so why shouldn't the internet be one of the first sources of creating business. Your customer base will likely come from people looking for your products by doing searches on Google, Yahoo, and other search engines. It depends on the line of work your business is in but likely your competitors are using social media already. Put your company's name in a blog, a Twitter account, a YouTube channel, etc. Search engines are like advertising in print. The more your name is out there the more likely someone will find your business in a search. We have begun using these means of marketing at Sourcical.com and it has resulted in better search engine positioning. We have a long way to go but every little bit helps.

If you have a brick and mortar store or service business you have an even better chance of social media paying off for you. In most situations businesses that aren't focused on internet based sales are slower to use the internet as a means of marketing. This gives you a chance to beat the competition to it and get the name of your local business or service out there on the internet. Everyone searches for local businesses every now and then so don't think you're wasting your time. Likely you've done it many times before yourself... "(insert city name here) restaurants" or "(insert city name here) plumber". Using social media will improve your chances of being found all the more in those internet searches.

A bonus reason for getting involved is that it's free! Twitter accounts, Facebook pages, YouTube channels are free and most others are free at least for basic accounts. Of course, you can buy ads on Google and a lot of sites but that is an entirely separate topic. You have to keep at it for social media to pay off but since the internet is the Yellow Pages of our times why not take advantage of it?

Alright, you and your friends, coworkers, etc. can debate if this really is the number one reason to get involved in social media but you are hurting your business if you are not taking advantage of social media in some way.

Do you agree? Some social media sites will fail but I firmly believe social media as a whole is here to stay. What do you think? Is there a more important reason to get involved in social media?

New Website Advertising

Right now, finding ways to successfully advertise our new online business (www.sourcical.com) is the most pressing task. Run a contest? Social media? Adjust our AdWords campaign? Trade shows? How important do you think any of those are? In looking back I think we should have tried to build some online buzz leading up to the site launch but it is up and running now.

What are some of the means of advertising that have proven successful for your new online business? Of course, I would love any input from you out there but I think we can all gain from on thoughts posted here.