Spinfield: Web marketing trends today, tomorrow, and beyond…

Your Web site is the central point of your online marketing  efforts.  Make sure the Web development company you hire is up to the task.  IdeaStar encourages its customers to ask the following questions to avoid a very expensive failure.

• What work can you show me and references can you give that apply to my project? Be sure to check the references.

• Who owns the final version of your Web site, domain name, graphics files, and code, and what are your rights to them?

• What type of ongoing maintenance and hosting requirements are there, if any?

• Are you familiar with best practices for search engine optimization and how to apply them?

• What type of online marketing support can you provide?

• What are your clients’ return on investment for your previous projects?

• What experience do you have with companies like mine?

• This is my current project outline, is there anything else that should/might be included?

• What is your process for creating a Web site, online application, and/or marketing/analytics?

• What programming languages do you use, and how would they benefit my project?

• What is the pay structure and how much will the project cost?

• What is your availability and a timeline for my project?

• Do you have a content management system which can be installed to avoid costly and cumbersome updates in the future?

• What talents/capabilities do you and your staff bring to the project?

• How long have you been in business? (An important question many people forget to ask.)

• Are your Web sites handicapped accessible?

• What browsers will your Web project work in?

• Will the pages print well?

• How will any Web project appear on hand-held units like Blackberries and Palm Pilots?

That’s a long list.  Are there any questions you would like to add? Make sure you get satisfactory answers before you sign a contract with a Web development company.

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