Hiring a website design firm is a difficult process. Using these interview questions as a guide, you should be able to find a reputable website development company to fit your online marketing needs.

1. 10 ‘Must Ask’ Interview Questions
When Hiring A Web Design &
Website Development Company

2. #1: How Much Experience Do You
Have As A Web Design Company?
! Longevity in the industry is a good
indicator of stability and skill. Web
design firms who have been in the
business for a while and built
admirable reputations are usually
known for sound design work and
customer service.
! Choosing a web design company
that has been around longer means
they will be more likely to be
around in the future for ongoing
maintenance and any updates to
your website.

3. #2: In Addition To Website Design,
What Other Services Do You O!er?
! Many prominent web design
firms are branching out and
o!ering other services besides
web development and design.
! SEO, Search Engine Marketing,
Web Content Writing, Social
Media Marketing, Blog
Promotion, and Google AdWords
Management are services o!ered
by many Melbourne web design
companies.

4. #3: What Are Your Web Design And Web
Development Payment Terms?
! For anything from a small non"
profit site to full corporate
branding, most logo design and
ecommerce Melbourne web design
companies will charge an upfront
deposit and stage payments based
on agreed milestones and
deliverables.
! Be wary of any web design
firm that asks for payment in
full before starting the project.

5. #4: What Is The Average Timeline For
Completing A Web Design Project?
! Ask what the web design firm
considers to be a typical turn"around
time for projects similar in size to your
own.
! This should give you a fairly clear idea
if the website designer/developer has
time tracking and project
management systems in place.
! If you have a hard deadline to meet,
tell the design company up front so
they can plan accordingly.

6. #5: Can You Help Me With Website
Content Copy Writing?
! SEO copywriting can make or break
your website. Your website design may
draw the reader in and focus their
attention, but the words themselves
do the selling.
! If the content is optimised correctly,
your website can show up on the front
pages of the search engines for your
chosen search terms.
! Ask to see content samples of websites
within your industry.

7. #6: What Programming Languages And
Operating Systems Do You Use?
! Ideally, a Melbourne website
developer should o!er both the
open source PHP/MySQL and
ASP.NET programming
languages.
! They should make a technical
recommendation of the platform
that will best meet your needs
and budget.

8. #7: Do You Provide Any Training Once
My Website Is Launched?
! If your website project includes
customised systems or software,
it can be extremely helpful if
your web design company
provides you with training
documents for future reference.
! If your system is very detailed, it
might even be optimal to arrange
for a training program or
ongoing customer support.

9. #8: Are You Knowledgeable In SEO? Is
This Included In Your Quote?
! Search Engine Optimisation #SEO$ is
a science in itself; an experienced
internet marketing company should
be able to o!er you a variety of
options including organic, PPC, and
social media marketing.
! Depending on your business
requirements, you should consider
hiring a web design company that
can create a custom online campaign
to help you achieve maximum
results.

10. #9: What Is The Charge For Website
Updates After Website Completion?
! Be aware of the charging
structure for updates to your
website. Consider how often you
will require updates and ask the
web design firm how they handle
future updates and maintenance.
! If you have frequent or large
updates to your website,
consider a Content Management
System or have the supplier
manage small updates.

11. #10: Will You Comment My Website’s
Source Code?
! Commenting code is part of good
website development. If code is
commented well, you won’t spend a
lot of time if the unthinkable
happens and you’re forced to find
another website supplier either part
way through the project or for its
maintenance.

12. Get Started!
! After interviewing several
companies and asking
these 10 questions, you
should be able to select a
web design and web
development company
that is knowledgeable and
easy to work with.
Courtesy of Design Junction
www.DesignJunction.com.au