What Is A Web Development Company?
Top web development companies have teams of experts work together to build a custom website, app, intranet or digital platform, launch it to the public, and maintain its performance. Websites are built through lines of software code
Some of the team members that work on website development projects include:
- Project Manager
- IT Specialists
- Frontend Developers
- Backend Developers
- Security Specialists
- App Developers
- QA Testers
- System Administrators
- And more!
Many web development agencies also offer web design services, enabling them to conceptualize and build a website from start to finish. Other web design team members can include:
- Digital Strategists
- SEO Specialists
- Information Architects
- UX/UI Designers
- And more!
What Is The Difference Between A Web Developer & A Web Designer?
Although web developers and web designers work together to create custom websites, they fulfill very different roles.
After an information architect determines the structure and layout of the website, a web designer adds colors, typography, imagery and more to each web page’s wireframe – or the blueprint of a web page. A web designer’s role is more similar to graphic design than it is to coding, as they add the aesthetic details to the wireframes as static images in programs such as photoshop.
Once the designs are approved, they are sent to web developers, who then write code to build each feature and functionality.
Frontend developers specialize in writing code in HTML and CSS. The code they write will be seen by your website visitors.
Frontend developers work alongside the backend developers.
Backend developers work in .NET, PHP opensource framework, or JAVA. They write code and connects the frontend to the database.
How Much Does A Web Developer Cost?
Web development is a pricey venture that your brand needs to create a specific budget for.
Costs involved with building a website include:
- Web design.
- Web development.
- Maintenance & support.
A web development company’s pricing structure also depends on factors such as:
- Using a dedicated web development agency
- Incorporating a pre-made website template.
- And more!
The cost of a professional website varies based on your brand's needs.
For example, a simple informational site will be easier to produce than a complicated eCommerce platform or in-depth service booking interface.
However, there are some general design and development costs you can expect when building a custom site.
- Custom small business web designs can cost anywhere from $10,000 and up.
- Medium-sized business websites can initially cost $25,000 and up.
- Enterprise web design and eCommerce websites can cost anywhere from $40,000 and up.
- Domains can cost a little as $10 or as high as a few thousand dollars. This depends on whether or not someone owns it and where you purchase it from. The good news? Web design firms can help!
- Expect to pay at least a few hundred dollars each year for hosting -- potentially much more if you want to host your site on a server with lots of features, functionalities and better management.
In addition to these costs, you'll have routine maintenance and management costs. You will also likely pay for upgrades and redesigns.
Overall, brands should expect to pay anywhere from $100-$175 per hour per person for web development agencies based in the United States.
However, web development companies that are outside the U.S. can charge as little as $55-$75 per hour per person.
How Do The Best Website Developers Charge Clients For Their Work?
Hourly
There are a number of ways an agency working on your website can charge for their services.
One way is hourly. This means that an agency will take on your project and charge your company for every hour they work.
This allows them to dedicated certain parts of the day to your project. And you can see the breakdown at the end of the day.
Results-Based
Another way the best web development firms charge for their services is based on the goals they hit and the results they achieve.
This means that they only get paid when they accomplish a task. This could be an increase in:
- Web traffic
- Conversions
- Brand visibility
- Interaction
- Sales
- And more!
Flat Fee
Web development agencies that charge a flat fee are often optimal for many brands.
That’s because the price is set in stone and won’t fluctuate. It also includes all the necessary services and systems that brand’s are looking for.
Maintenance
Maintenance fees are also common for top web development firms. That’s because once a website goes live, it isn’t done.
There are a number of threats to your data and your site. There are always new technologies emerging and design trends shifting.
Therefore, your website needs continued support to ensure it’s running at peak efficiency.
Maintenance includes:
- Bug fixing
- Software updates
- Security Integrations
- Testing
- And more.
How Do I Choose A Web Developer?
Determine The Services You Need
Before you can decide what web development agency to work with, you need to know what you want out of this partnership.
Decide what web development services you need. These include:
- Desktop web development
- Responsive design
- App development
- eCommerce development
- And more.
From here, you then have to look into your prospective agencies and decide if they have the experience that matches what you need.
Examine Their Professional Portfolio
The next step in choosing the right web development agency is examining their portfolio.
You need to understand what kind of experience they have. And you need to know whether or not it matches what you’re looking for.
Look into their previous projects. Learn how they excel and where their services exceed the expected.
Their past successes and failures can give you a better idea as to how they will tackle your project and achieve results.
Learn Which CMS You Need To Use
Another key ingredient to the web development mix is the content management system (CMS). Certain web builders and CMS platform provide different pros and cons.
The different CMS platforms include:
- WordPress
- Sitecore
- Magento
- Ruby on Rails
- And more.
What works best for your brand is based on:
- Your goals
- CMS features
- Customization opportunities
- Cost
- And more.
Determine A Project Timeline
Web development projects take time. But your brand doesn’t have all the time in the world to get a website up and running.
You’re on a deadline. Therefore, it’s important that you schedule out a timeline that you and your agency partner are comfortable with.
This keeps both teams accountable and allows for more transparency and efficiency.
Decide Upon Your Budget & Their Potential ROI
The last thing to consider when choosing a top web development agency is budget.
You need to thoroughly outline how much you’re willing to pay and what your budget is to ensure you and your agency can work together.
Top development firms will work with your budget. But you also need to consider the varying costs involved with web development and plan accordingly.
When you do nail down a budget, you’ll realize just how many benefits a truly exceptional website can bring you.
Top ROI benefits for great web development work include:
- Increased web traffic
- Higher conversions
- Greater CTRs
- Boosted brand awareness
- More sales
- And more!
5 Questions To Ask A Web Design Company Before Hiring Them
1. Who Will Be Working On Our Website & What Is Their Experience?
It’s important that you take the time to learn about the web development team working on your project.
Learn about their past experience, their past successes and their abilities to achieve results.
You should also ask about the makeup of your team. It should include:
- Programmers
- Testers
- Developers
- Designers
- And more.
2. How Does Your Agency Discover Emerging Technologies & The Latest Trends?
Trends in the digital space are constantly changing. New technologies are also emerging, creating a more innovative space full of creativity and interactivity.
Ask your potential web development partner how they plan ahead for changes. Learn how they will create your website for prime adaptability and evolution.
Ask what tools they use to stay on top of the competitive market and what insights they can draw from current predictions.
This ensures your website is equipped to handle whatever the world throws at it.
3. Who Is Our Point Of Contact & How Often Can We Expect Meetings and Updates?
Every company should have a key point of contact that your team can interact with. This will usually be the project manager or team leader.
You want to know right from the start who this is to ensure fluid communication throughout the project.
28% of people cite poor communication as the number one cause of failed project delivery.
Make sure both teams are communicating to ensure project success. This could include:
- Regular meetings.
- Email updates.
- Frequent calls.
- And more.
4. What Is Your Pricing Structure – And Are There Any Additional Fees?
Make sure you ask about budget and costs when it’s time to sign on a web development company.
You need to make sure these costs are within your budget, and you can get the deliverables you’re looking for with what money you have to offer.
Ask how they price their services and if anything costs extra.
You don’t want to be blindsided at the end of a project by outlandish fees and costs you weren’t expecting.
5. How Will You Measure Results & How Often Will You Report On Them?
The whole point of creating a website is to drive some type of initiative or objective.
Some of the popular goals outlined by clients include increased:
- Website traffic.
- Conversions.
- Leads.
- Sales.
- Brand awareness.
- CTRs.
- And more.
Make sure you have your goals outlined so your agency partner can plan accordingly.
Similarly, you want to know about the tools and resources made available to these development firms. This will allow them to track your project and its results throughout the process.
This gives you an idea as to how the website is performing and if any tweaks need to be made for increased success.
5 Top-Performing Web Pages That Your Consumers Want To Visit (And Why!)
Every website is different -- but studies show that there are a few web pages that all consumers gravitate towards.
Luckily, the best web development companies ensure that every custom site has optimized pages that help foster conversions.
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The Best Web Design Platforms For Different Types Of Sites
Informational
Informational websites act as a resource for a visitor, informing them about companies and services without necessitating a purchase or specific action.
Wordpress is, without a doubt, the most common and reliable platform for creating an informational website. The company will also help you purchase a custom URL and features templates for every price range and function.
Meanwhile, Drupal boasts an open source content management system, making it an affordable and flexible option for companies that don’t want to be tied to one web development agency forever. They’ve powered a number of informational websites, including WhiteHouse.gov.
The University of Oxford originally looked to Drupal to simply “refresh” their website design.
However, upon learning about the many features and benefits of the latest Drupal 7 Platform, did a larger overhaul on their digital presence.
Their academic site now features more content from the university, allowing them to employ content marketing to capture potential students.
E-Commerce
E-commerce websites allow businesses to sell products and goods online.
Global e-commerce sales are expected to reach $4.5 trillion by 2021, meaning a site that supports simple search and seamless checkout is worth your while.
If you have a small inventory, Shopify is the perfect platform to facilitate online sales.
However, if you have a larger e-commerce site, the e-commerce mega power platform Magento offers plenty of customization features that can help brands tailor the shopping experience to both visitors and brand standards.
CRM management company Salesforce also has an e-commerce platform that focuses on community building, making an online shopping experience that’s engaging for users.
If you already utilize one of Salesforce’s many other platforms, integrating their social e-commerce is a great idea.
UK-based retailer OSPREY LONDON recently switched to Magento Commerce Cloud in hopes of doubling online sales.
Instead, they saw a 300% increase in e-commerce revenue and now tout a whopping $16.8 million in overall sales.
Blog & Magazine
Blogs and magazines could be standalone sites (like The New Yorker) or add-ons to an informational or e-commerce sites (like Warby Parker).
But they all exist for one reason -- to entertain and inform visitors through content.
With the ever-increasing prevalence of content marketing, a focus on blog, magazine and magazine websites is growing.
We already know that WordPress is a common website platform, but their host of features (such as Google Analytics support and monetization through ads) make it worth mentioning twice.
WordPress can integrate into your existing site to help you implement content marketing without a total redesign.
A number of well-known brands use WordPress to fuel their content -- including the entertainment magazine Variety.
Their customized design doesn’t just feature articles -- it also has a credits database and prominent search. Its focus on digital has paid off, too -- the publication has consistently grown since 2012.
Social Media
While Facebook, Instagram and a handful of other websites dominate the social networking industry, there are plenty of other community-building websites that engage visitors and cultivate dialogue without an app or a character limit.
Due to its flexibility, Drupal is an excellent web design platform to enlist if you’re hoping to create a more interactive website design.
However, if you have a specific vision or particular web design features that you’d like to include, the Symfony open source framework can create the social media site of your dreams.
In fact, Laravel, Drupal, and Magento (along with others) all utilize aspects of Symfony, further boosting its credibility.
Facebook Instant Articles used Symfony components CssSelector and Yaml to create a separate interactive platform that allows companies to directly publish content to Facebook.
This new subset of the social media site has capture brands such as Rodale Inc. and Gray Television, allowing them to grow readership through automated networking.
Custom
Have a specific vision for your web design? A custom website design is probably for you.
Although there are plenty of platforms that can help you create your dream web design, Laravel is one of the best.
The platform hosts several systems that feature tons of integrations (Sublime and Javascript, for starters), plus tutorial videos to help developers use the open source framework to create custom sites.
The catch? You’ll need someone who understands code.
The modern, responsive website design for the movie The Disaster Artist used Laravel to design a creative website that adds an air of sophistication to the true story of a film that lacks it: The Room.
The result was a site that reflects the award-winning film through an infinite scroll, compelling techno music, and creative animations.
Your website is a major part of your overall brand identity. It’s how your audience interacts with you.
It is also how the world and the market as a whole views your business.
You need to work with a web developer that innately understands your business and can integrate key functionalities for efficient and streamlined operations.
Find more top web development firms in the agency listings table at the top of the page.
