Choosing where you have your website built is a lot like choosing where you are going to have your car fixed. Both situations involve hiring work out to people when you may not have a specific idea of what needs to be done, how much it will cost, or what complications may arise during the job, and both situations involve the risk of getting totally gauged and cheated. However, just like there are steps that can be taken to find a mechanic that is honest and not out to get you, there are steps one can take to find a web development company that is honest and straightforward. There are also a number of things to look for in order to avoid the ones that ARE out to get you.

1. NEVER trust people who promise Search Engine rankings or claim to have special “insider deals” with the major search engines. The ONLY thing that the Search Engines are concerned with is giving their users the absolute best search results for the key word that was searched for. That’s why you can’t buy placement on Google in the first place. Anyone who claims to be able to guarantee rankings is lying to you.

2. Always retain the ability to contact your individual web designer personally. Many firms are based in America but outsource their design work to other countries where the quality may not be up to our standards.

3. Most of the time, web design firms will have a portfolio of sites which they have either created or worked on. Don’t just look at their screen shots. Go to the websites and contact the owners to get an accurate report of their experiences with the company you’re investigating. Sometimes, illegitimate web designers will put up sites that they actually had nothing to do with in their portfolio. Do your due diligence.

4. A good web design company with a lot of experience behind it usually has a good idea of how long most of the more mundane aspects of a web site take to develop. When discussing the cost of your website, keep in mind that a good web design firm will be totally transparent. They will outline their billing procedures for you and provide an accurate idea of how long things will take. If their time estimates are drastically different than others have given you, there’s either a breakdown in communication, or they’re underestimating how long a certain aspect of your website will take to create on purpose.

5. Make sure that the web design company you’re looking at will purchase your domain name under your name and with your money! If you choose to leave them at any time, for any reason, you must make sure that you have control over your domain name, otherwise they can force you to buy it from them or pay a hefty transfer fee. The same goes for hosting. Before agreeing to having them host your website, make sure they will not charge you a fee for changing the hosting if you are not satisfied with the hosting you have.