In a world where most companies have a cutting edge website or mobile app, having a sleek online presence in a must. But developing websites, apps, and other software services to all function seamlessly together is no small task. If you want to boost your online presence in any way, you’re in the market for good custom web development services.
Here’s the next question: how can you find a team that fits what you want? At the core, it’s about finding a service that understands your individual business needs and can meet them.
Let’s look at how to find the best custom web development services.
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Design vs. Development
First, we should discuss the difference between web design and development. Once upon a time, web design and web development were two completely separate things. Designers conceptualized how things would look and developers did all the coding to make things function properly.
Today, there is overlap between the two jobs. In fact, many companies are completely capable of conceptualizing and developing websites and apps without any need for outside help. It’s easy to find a single company that can take you from research to launch.
A good web developer will always have good design in mind. One great example is the mobile app DayPoint, which was created to help users track how they spend their day.
While the developer did all the back-end coding to develop the app, they also kept design in mind throughout the whole process. Rich graphics libraries were built into the core of the mobile app so that vibrant interfaces could help users easily understand how they were spending their time.
Knowing Your Own Needs
Before approaching any web development service, it’s crucial to figure out what you need out of a website. Are you focused more on visual experience or functionality? How will your customers benefit from the launch of your new website or mobile app?
If you don’t have an internal analyst for your company’s marketing or development, there are plenty of simple ways to analyze your company. You can easily perform a basic SWOT analysis on your business yourself.
This means you identify your business’s current:
- Strengths
- What sets your business apart from other companies within your field?
- What specific advantages do you or your company bring to the table?
- Weaknesses
- Where can your business improve?
- What do you need to better compete with other companies?
- Opportunities
- Are there untapped markets that you can reach?
- Does your company have potential ways to innovate in your field?
- Threats
- Are other companies innovating in ways that might set you back?
- Is your company struggling to keep up with evolving tech?
Performing an analysis of your business is a great step towards knowing what you need out of a web development team.
Which Web Services Do You Need?
Once you’ve identified clear goals for your business, it’s time to figure out how custom web development will help you reach them. Do you want to relaunch your website with a new flare? Does your mobile app need to support a growing number of customers? Are internal inventory tracking issues highlighting your need for better company software?
Working with a web development team can be a great way to make the improvements identified in your SWOT analysis. If you only have a website for your customers, creating a mobile app they can use on the go could be an opportunity to improve their overall experience.
Creating a Website
While cookie-cutter web hosting services like Squarespace and Wix can work, many businesses need something more customized.
While a template-based web service can save you money, it’s not something that can be done overnight. Time and energy are integral to the design of any website. Plus if you want to do anything beyond the basics, you’ll either need to know how to code, or hire someone who does.
Services like Squarespace allow you to add custom code, but their support team is useless if any of that code needs troubleshooting.
Custom web development services are essential in taking your website to the next level. A good team can build a site for you from the ground up, keeping all your needs in mind, and without any of the hassle. By taking the design burden off of you, there’s more time to focus on your business.
App Development
If your users need to access services on the go, you’ll definitely need to look at app development on top of the usual web development. Nearly half of all small businesses already have a mobile app for customers. Apps aren’t just for multinationals, either—they are becoming a more and more regular part of even the smallest businesses. Don’t shy away from app development.
As apps become more commonplace for businesses, your company will stand out by not offering one to customers—and not in a good way.
It’s also important to keep your app up to date. If you’ve had an app in circulation for a number of years, it’s probably time to consider an update. If a picture is worth 1,000 words, then an outdated user interface speaks volumes to customers about your company.
Even with the greatest product or service in the world, web-based services are still essential to connecting your business to customers. If that connection is outdated, unappealing, or clunky, it can’t do its job of inviting new business.
A talented app development team can create the best experience for your customers so they enjoy interacting with your business.
Your Instinct Is Everything
No one knows your business better than you. This means no one else can determine which web development service will best fit your needs. Take some time to look at the different software out there so you can bring fresh ideas to your developer.
Your instincts play a huge role here—maybe a custom web development service looks perfect on paper, but something just doesn’t feel right. That’s an incredibly important factor when choosing which team to work with. A design team is ultimately supposed to help take stress off of you, not add more.
Prices, timelines, and knowledge are all important factors when determining who will build your website. However, nothing is more important than your ability to trust the developer. Make sure you can communicate with this person and entrust them with your vision.
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