Sun Tzu’s 5 steps to approach a web development agency

Are you confused as to how to approach a web development company?

These five point’s outline the best way to impress a web development company and show you really mean business which will make the agency want to help you achieve success.

1. Have a business plan
2. Do your research
3. Don’t expect a quick cheap solution
4. Have a clear set of goal’s
5. Prepare content in advance

1. Have a business plan

By presenting a business plan in the meeting (doesn’t have to be too lengthy) you are giving the designers and developers a blueprint as to how your business operates, plus something for them to refer back to just to make sure they are on the right track. For a designer to develop a website without knowing what your company is about is much like developing a website blind folded with one arm tied behind their back.

- Sun Tzu “The art of war is of vital importance to the State. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin”

2. Do your research

Before meeting with a company do some research about them find out about their past clientele this will give you an idea of who to prioritise or drop for the potential list. In addtion this will help you decide who you would like to work with.

Next do some research about the requirements and monthly outside costs involved with owning a website, such as Domain registration and hosting. Other research topics could include what type of a site you would be looking for I.e. static or dynamic site, do you want to edit content yourself or not, what other feature’s do you require.

The next part of the research stage is to ascertain the target market. Who are you going to be speaking to and how can you easily and effectively get your message across. By knowing these various facts you can have the web development company customise a solution to suit your needs that can meet the targets set out.

-Sun Tzu “know yourself and your enemy and you can face 100 battles and not fear the outcome.”

3. Don’t expect a quick cheap solution

If you want a professional site done properly you will have to be patient and if you want a professional site expect to pay for it. When getting a site done don’t cut corners and go for the cheapest solution you will have more problems in the long run and possibly have to redo the whole process again a year later, rather spend that extra money and get it done right the first time. Just in terms of search engine ranking it will be better to get a site done properly as the code on the back end will be “cleaner” improving the search engine ranking.

-Sun Tzu “Whoever is first in the field and awaits the coming of the enemy, will be fresh for the fight; whoever is second in the field and has to hasten to battle will arrive exhausted.”

4. Have a clear set of goals

Be specific with your goals and what you want the website to achieve. There are a number of goals you may want the site to achieve it will save time if you have a clear list of goals in mind much like the following.

• Brand Awareness
• E- commerce
• Provide Market Information
• Facilitate services between clients
• Or market the business

With these goals in place an agency will know which aspects of the site to devote more time to thus giving your potential visitors a better browsing experience and ultimately you get more business.

-Sun Tzu “The general who wins the battle makes many calculations in his temple before the battle is fought”

5. Prepare content in advance

The biggest problem agencies and freelancers face when developing a website is the content supplied. To make this process run smoothly prepare all the content you need in advance, so when you are asked to provide content you can do so in a timely manner. The reasons for this are:

• Speeds up development time
• Allows you time to make sure you get the right message across. If you unsure of your skills with the English language hire a copywriter.
• Makes certain that if there are spelling mistakes they are caught before going live.

-Sun Tzu “In peace prepare for war, in war prepare for peace.”

To summarise

When looking for a web development company, all you need to do is follow the list above and the process will move smoothly towards achieving the design and site you want that will be a business tool rather than a huge difficult project that you won’t be happy with. Take your time when choosing whom you want to work with finding the right agency to suit you and your requirements. The relationship with the web agency should rather be about synergy than get in get out.

Related Posts

• 7 steps to starting a successful Website
• 9 Great Web Development Applications and Frameworks
• HOW TO: Add the power of Google Analytics to your Website (Beginner)

Leave a comment