Deciding on a great web developer to create the website you want is a critical decision in the business world. There are tons of options out there, but only a handful that are right for your company. Many of them have their own unique proficiencies, and your mission is to find the one with the right blend of skills for your website. So what are five things you should look for? Read on!

Experience

Some web development firms have been around for a few months, and others for years. Older web development firms have the advantage of plenty of experience, having best practices in place, and years of knowledge of the internet industry. This can be highly valuable, but at the same time do they have the right TYPE of experience? Do they know the industry YOU are operating in and what your needs and wants are? Can they deliver on these? You may find that the older firms you look at don’t, but the younger ones do. That’s why it’s important to do your research. Ask to see a portfolio, and take a look at their website to see what they are capable of.

Great Customer Service

An important aspect of the web development process is customer service. Once you have your website completed, you will invariably have more questions. The web development firm you choose should be one that will stick around to help you as you acclimate yourself to the content management system and features at your disposal. Some firms will even offer ongoing support packages that can be very beneficial if your team doesn’t have a lot of technical experience.

Pricing

The price of custom developed websites can fluctuate greatly. Some may cost $500, while ones with more complicated features like e-commerce can cost thousands of dollars. Establish your budget and features needed before beginning your search. This will help you to narrow down the pool of potential developers. Also, ask for an estimate before finalizing any sort of deal. Many development firms will do this for free.

Communication Skills

Much like customer service, great communication skills are crucial during web development. The firm you choose needs to be on hand at all times to respond to all concerns and questions you may have. It is wise to choose a developer that is close in proximity to your business. Choosing a development firm that is headquarters half way across the world can create timing problems if not handled correctly.

Turnaround Time

Time is money. And this is especially true when it comes to web development. Developing a website is a lengthy process that will invariably need revisions, meetings, and troubleshooting. Having a developer that can establish a clear timeline and meet your deadlines is very important. Make sure to ask potential candidates for their expected turnaround times for deliverables, and compare these with your needs.

Social media is becoming more and more important in business. It allows you to engage your target audience directly, as well as serving as a valuable SEO and lead generation tool. Site Evaluator analyzes your use of social media using a variety of metrics. Here’s three ways on how to improve both your social media, and overall site score.

Place social media links/buttons on your website pages

This has quickly become a must-have on any website. If you are using social networks to reach out to consumers you absolutely need to have buttons linking to your accounts on every page. Make it easy for users to see how to connect with you. Oftentimes, social media is the place where people get to see a different, more personable side of the company. If this means more sales leads, you need to make sure to link to these accounts every chance you get.

Actively engage your target audience on social networks to improve Klout score

Engaging your audience does mean sharing content you have generated with your networks. It does not mean force feeding them your content. Don’t spam your followers, and be sure your content is actually interesting to them. If they start sharing or re-tweeting your posts you are in good shape. Also, take any opportunity you get to share their content, as long as it is relevant to your business. People love attention on social media. Klout is a service that measure how people interact with your posts and you with theirs. The more back and forth there is, the higher your influence score will be.

Actively share your website and any content you have on your website with links pointing back to your site

Inbound links from social media networks are becoming increasingly important. This is a huge part of inbound marketing. Make sure these links are connected to great content that will help retain user traffic. Once you have a good content generation system in place, people will take notice, and actively search for your content on social networks. Great content means more followers, which means more traffic, and that means more sales opportunities.

Ever heard of the saying ‘No need to reinvent the wheel?’ That statement holds true when it comes to websites as well. Think of your current design as a car. Refreshing your website is simply changing the design, while keeping the major structural elements in place still. Kind of like upgrading to a new set of wheels once the old ones are worn down. Rebuilding your website is like realizing you think wheels are too backward for you, and deciding to develop a set of jet engines instead. Now that that elaborate comparison is out of the way, let’s take a look at why a refresh can be a better idea than a rebuild.

Better ROI

How expensive is a refresh? It will vary from designer to designer, but at the end of the day it will always be substantially cheaper than a rebuild. That’s because the changes are mostly aesthetic, while a rebuild will require changing the architecture of the site, and is much more expensive in time & money. The results of a well done refresh can look like a complete rebuild though. Customers’ perceptions are what matters at the end of the day, and website refreshes offer significant results at a lower price point.

Go live quickly

How much time does it take to grab some new wheels? Maybe an hour or two at most. How much time does it take to develop and install some jet engines for a car? Maybe a decade. If you need a new look for your site quickly, then a refresh is the way to go. A rebuild takes a lot of time and effort to successfully do, and the turnaround time can vary greatly depending on obstacles and delays.

Still lots of customization options

A refresh can look like a rebuild as long as you hire the right designer. All you need is a solid structure in place already, and any good designer will be able to work his/her magic. It’s amazing what some new colors, layout, graphics, and font can do. And remember, depending on your website platform, you can still add tons of custom functionality with a bit of development work.

We are in the last third of 2013, and web design is still evolving at an incredible pace. If you don’t believe me, go use the Internet time machine and see for yourself! Websites are constantly changing to adapt to changing norms and new trends. Check out these three web design trends that you need to know about!

A Minimalist Approach and Lots of White Space

The idea of having white space has been around for a while, however it has morphed recently.  White space is used to draw attention to your primary content, but a lot of people have the misconception that this space HAS to be white. It doesn’t. As long as it contrasts well with your font color scheme you will be ok. Black or 'empty space' is the new white space for a lot of companies. Also, white space goes hand in hand with a minimalist approach. Lots of big companies have championed this, most notably Apple and Google. Minimalism makes your website look clean, crisp and uncluttered. Basically the opposite of a Japanese subway train during rush hour.

Huge Photography Backgrounds

This has been an up and coming trend that seems to be staying here for the long run. It tends to be more popular among creative/artsy type businesses like marketing, fashion, and other design firms. Here are some examples. Much like Communism, this style of design is not for everyone. You need to make sure your content meshes well with the background. On the other hand, if you are using a lot of landing pages, this can be an awesome option!

Infinite Scrolling

Infinite scrolling is a truly unique feature that is becoming very popular on social media sites like Pinterest and Twitter. It is used best for sites with dynamic content and constantly changing information. It doesn’t work well for blog sites that need to have individual pages for navigation. Another cool feature of infinite scrolling is that it does a nice job of eliminating page loads, which can create a more seamless user experience. Here are some examples to check out!

Social media has been all the rage lately. Celebrities, politicians, and even grandparents are getting in on the game. While social media is great for connecting with old pals, it is even better for connecting with customers. Here's why:

Consumers use social media to make purchasing decisions

I remember my parents scouring through Consumer Digest magazines when making a decision on what to buy. Ten years later, and they are choosing to take to social media to get recommendations from friends. Facebook and Twitter have become a hub for product purchasing advice and information. People will search for companies to see what people are saying about them, or their products. Twitter is slowly becoming an e-Bay of sorts. Lots of users are posting projects or jobs they need done and ask other users to bid on them. So far this has been mostly limited to web design/development, but it is becoming more widespread. A social media presence will make the consumer buying process much more simple, and they will be thankful for that.

An active social media presence bolsters search rankings

Social media is becoming more and more important when it comes to SEO. Creating engaging content on your website, and then linking to it from social media posts is an incredible marketing tool. Link building is still important in search engine rankings, and combining that with dynamic content can improve rankings by leaps and bounds. More social media activity means more website traffic.

Social media allows you to selectively target decision makers in other businesses

Cold calling is usually not very fun. Blindly cold calling without having a clear individual target can be even more frustrating. I have good news for all those cold callers out there! You don't have to do it anymore. Social media has demonstrated that it can help raise awareness, and nurture potential customers throughout the buying process. It allows you to identify key decision makers like the CEO, CMO, CTO etc, and reach out to them individually. You can avoid having to go through all the traditional hoops to reach the person you want to talk to. Combine that with advanced online marketing analytic tools like ActOn and you will realize social media has truly revolutionized online business.