What to look for in a firm
Drew Harris
We want you to have the best possible web solution for your business. For some, it makes sense to go with QuantumDelta, for others it may not. This page will provide you with a guide to help you determine the best fit for your company. Whatever your needs and whomever you choose, it is extremely important to check references. Check with some of the firm's existing or previous clients and have a series of questions ready. A great question to ask is, "What is your worst experience with the firm, and how did they handle it?" All firms will have instances where they have a poor experience with a client. The difference between a solid firm and a poor one is how they handle these poor experiences. The question is, did they make it right?
Web Design
To choose a great web designer, first and foremost they must be able to understand your company image. They must be able to put their own image aside and communicate your image visually. Ask to see samples of the designers work and check for some variety in the work. If a designer can show you a good variety of different looks it shows you that they are flexible and not locked in to one style or stuck in a rut. A good web designer can make a wide variety of visually appealing designs that are user friendly. It is important in web design to create designs that are easy for a visitor to follow. If you are not looking out for this, there is a chance you could choose a designer that could deliver a great look for your site but lose your audience with an interface that is not intuitive. If the designer has to explain how to navigate the site to you, it is likely not a well done design. If you can't figure out how to navigate your site without instruction, your site visitors will really be lost. Click here to learn more about QuantumDelta web design.
Web Development
It is important to have a web developer that speaks your language. We're not talking programming language, but someone with whom you can easily communicate. A web developer that can write great code but not communicate with you will be useless unless you have an interpreter that can speak both geek and plain English. Ideally, you'll need someone who can speak plain English so that they can understand and write great code that does what you need it to do. There is a popular study that says that 99% of all software development projects fail. Most of these projects fail not because the code doesn't work, but because the resulting application does not do what the client (that's you in this case) had intended for it to do. Be careful to clearly communicate what you anticipate your application doing to your developer before the project begins. QuantumDelta offers a Request for Proposal form to help you with this process. Sometimes it might be best to find a good project manager to help you scope out your project and keep it on track. For most projects, QuantumDelta will develop a DDS (Detailed Design Specification) for your project that will provide a blue print for developing a successful solution.
Project Manager
A good project manager will have plenty of success stories that can easily be translated to your project. They need to be able to communicate with you and your web team to keep things on track and keep you informed of progress. Organization and communication are key attributes to successful project management. There are firms that do only project management; just be careful that you choose a firm that has success in web project management. The web industry has many facets that make it very unique. Web project managers have to be able to work with you as the client, web designers, web developers, third party service providers, as well as hosting companies. Choosing a project manager that is not totally qualified could be fatal to your project. All QuantumDelta does is web projects and we have a long list of success stories. We are ready to help you get started with a web site or RFP.
Application Service Provider
An Application Service Provider (ASP) can provide you with a service that can take care of specific application needs within your organization. For instance, you may need Sales Force Automation, or Contact Management, or Calendaring. An Application Service Provider can provide these services for a monthly fee and usually you are charged per month, per user. An ASP can be ideal when you have one or two very specific needs. However, if your needs are greater and customized, you may need a web developer. When searching for an Application Service Provider it is important to ensure that their applications specifically meet your business need. If an application meets only parts of your needs, you are likely to be only partly satisfied. QuantumDelta provides ASP services coupled with custom design and development to provide you with a total solution.
Hosting Provider
It is important to be sure that your hosting provider is a solid and reputable company. Cheaper is not always better. Think about the risks for your company if your hosting company loses your data due to server failure. What is their backup regularity? What is their uptime? What is their hosting platform and architecture? Do they have redundant power, redundant backups, and redundant Internet connectivity? What is their policy on upgrading their data connection, servers, software, etc.? To learn more about QuantumDelta hosting, click here.
Internal to your own company
One option is to do all or part of your project yourself... internal to your own company. Be sure that you have qualified people within your organization to take care of you. It might make sense to do part or parts of what you need within your own company. If you are considering this path, it might be wise to make this transition slowly. Take only one additional part over at a time rather than trying to take it all on yourself all at once. Project management might be the ideal place to start.