Use These 4 Easy Steps To Hire A Web Developer to Help Create a Sleek and Easy to Use Website

By Christine George, President of Marketing and Business Development at RE/MAX Leading Edge

One of the many questions I regularly get asked is, “How do I go about hiring the right firm to create my new website?”

Hiring a new web developer can be a daunting task for a real estate agent, team or any small business especially when technology is NOT your strong suit. We just went through the process here at RE/MAX Leading Edge and after vetting 5 organizations, we hired Blueroof360 to design and develop our new site. Here’s a 4-step guide to hiring the right web developer and the top 5 categories/questions to ask during your interview.

1. Be very clear about your goals. Whether it’s to drive traffic, increase leads, close more sales, build your brand image or drive overall awareness, being clear about what you want to accomplish will ensure you get the design and functionality you need.
2. Know your audience. Are you targeting another business or a consumer, baby boomers or millennials? Many might say, YES, all of them. In a sense, you ARE targeting all those audiences but ask yourself, “What is my primary target audience”, and then, “What is my secondary audience?” Knowing whom you want to attract will help you focus and ensure you’re targeting the audience that will provide the greatest return.
3. Understand your brand and your value proposition. Is your brand modern and sophisticated or young and playful? The design of your website should reflect the look, feel and tone of your brand. Visually, use images and colors that bring those feelings to the surface. The tone of your website copy should reflect the personality of your company and should clearly articulate why a business or consumer would want to work with you vs. your competition.
4. Finally, know what you like. What websites do you love and why do you love them? Are they easy to navigate, highly visual, do they provide a great mobile experience? Research websites both within your industry and outside of it. We looked at Apple, Zillow, Redfin and a number of independent real estate sites to get a sense of what good looked like for RE/MAX Leading Edge.

Blueroof360 asked us to fill out a very detailed questionnaire. This gave us the opportunity to clearly articulate our goals and our expectations.

Once you’ve determined these foundational pieces, find a handful of developers. You can survey colleagues and friends and gain recommendations from them. 1000 Watt also provides a wonderful guide to real estate technology via their 1000WattIndex. I recommend interviewing 3-5 organizations. This will give you a broad spectrum of candidates and a solid amount of data to make a well-informed decision.

Prepare to Interview Developers

The interview process is your opportunity to gain information and properly vet every candidate. Ensure you get a demo of both the front end and the back end. The back end is especially important if you’re planning on maintaining and updating content on your own.

1. Tell me about your company.

• How long have you been in business?
• How many customers do you have?
• What is the size of your average customer?
• How big is your largest customer?
• What is your organizational structure?
• Where are your developers located?
• If the company were to go out of business, who will maintain the site?

2. Tell me about your service and support.

• Who will be my main contact for updates and changes?
• What is the turn around time for problems/issues and what is the cost?
• Do you provide a SLA (Service Level Agreement)?

3. Tell me about your technology.

• Are you cloud based? If not, why not and where are your servers located?
• Who hosts the site?
• What type of platform is the site?
• How many visitors can the handle at the same time?
• What is the average speed of the site?
• If we delete content by mistake, is there a backup?

4. What are the upfront development costs and maintenance costs?

5. Can you provide references and customer sites?

Embarking on new technology is a big investment of money and time. Once you sign the contract, you’re committed. Take the time to check references, google them to check customer reviews, check glass door to see what their employees say about them, and look at the sites they’ve built.

Once You've Found "The One"

Here’s my last bit of advice; once you’ve chosen “the one”, ask them to put a project plan in place to include a detailed timeline with deliverables and due dates. Then, schedule a weekly conference call to ensure deadlines are being met and to make adjustments when you hit road blocks (because you will). Then, stay committed to and on top of the process. You’ll be happy you did. If you follow these steps and ask the right questions, you’ll end up with the website of your dreams!

Our website is LIVE!!! Check it out and let me know what you think!!!! www.leadingedgeagents.com