What to Know Before Approaching a Developer
Before you contact a website developer, it’s helpful to have a clear idea of your goals. Here are some key points to consider:
- Define Your Purpose: Are you selling products, showcasing services, or building a blog? Knowing your goal helps the developer understand your needs.
- Know Your Budget: Websites can vary widely in cost. Have a rough budget in mind to guide the conversation.
- Prepare Content: Developers will need text, images, and branding materials (like logos) to build your site. Gathering these ahead of time speeds up the process.
- Understand Timelines: A typical small business website project takes 4-12 weeks, depending on complexity. Discuss timelines upfront.
What to Expect in a Website Project
A website project usually follows these stages:
- Discovery: The developer learns about your business and goals.
- Design: You’ll review mockups or wireframes of your site’s look and feel.
- Development: The site is coded and built, including any features like contact forms or e-commerce.
- Testing: The developer tests the site for functionality, responsiveness, and bugs.
- Launch: Your site goes live! You’ll also get training on how to manage it, if applicable.