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FAQs

What is the Difference Between a Web Designer & A Web Developer?

It is important to understand the difference between a web design company and a web development company - it could be the difference between receiving a quality website within budget, or exceeding your budget by thousands of dollars.

Web design companies focus on the visual aspect of a website; they are generally not programmers nor are they trained in the best methods to deliver your site functionality.  Web development companies usually engage a graphic designer to provide a quality design, or work with your chosen designer, and are able to develop the functionality behind the web pages, which is integral in increasing the efficiency of your website.

What Should I Consider When Choosing a Web Provider?

The quality of a designer’s work can easily be determined by viewing their portfolio.  There are a large number of web design companies; find the one that you consider can produce the quality of design you are looking for.

Do they build STANDARDS BASED websites?
This is without doubt the most important question you should ask a potential web provider.  It will not only help differentiate a quality provider from one who 'can do it', it also will ensure that your website will continue to work in the future.  W3C is the main international standards organisation for the world wide web.  Given the variances among browsers, W3C has provided a list of 'rules' website should comply with to be standards compliant.  First and foremost, they should be styled with Cascading Stylesheets (CSS) for flexibility, expandability and standards compliance.  If your web provider builds their websites using Tables for formatting: BEWARE!  Our team are happy to help you to determine whether a provider builds their websites according to web standards.

Ask to see some of the sites they have built recently on the WWW.
Ask to view a web providers portfolio.  This is the first stage to ensure you like their designs, however viewing their portfolio is not enough.  Many designers place graphical images of websites they have built in their portfolio, however they neglect to provide links to the working websites.   In order to ensure a website not only looks good, but also works well in internet browsers, ask for some website URL's so that you can visit the websites live on the internet and ensure you are happy with the quality and standard being provided.  If possible, test the websites is more than one browser.  Some websites look great in Internet Explorer, but not in other broswers such as Firefox, which is rapidly becoming the words most popular browser choice.  Our team are happy to assit you to determine whether a web providers portfolio is of a quality standard.  This leads us on to our next point:

Are they qualified? To the have the necessary qualifications to satisfy you that they are competent and can deliver you what they promise in a timely manner. There are a number of ‘self taught cowboys’ out there and these need to be avoided.

Large vs. Small: just because a company is large, doesn’t mean you are getting a better deal. You could be paying money to service an administration and being treated like a number instead of receiving personal service and focussed assistance.

Get a second quote. To ensure you are getting an appropriate price, get a quote from at least two companies before deciding to purchase. If there is a large discrepency in the quotes - find out why!  Make sure you get everything itemised to you know what you are paying for and so you can make a true comparison. Be aware of any company who just presents you with a figure that they cannot tell you how it was comprised.  Cheaper is not necessarily better. There are a large number of providers out there who can offer cheap quotes, but who fail to deliver on time, budget or functionality.  These providers end up costing you a huge amount in maintenance and upkeep in the long run, particularly if they do not build websites to current web standards.

For a non-obligation independent assessment of whether you have been provided a reasonable quote, and what other things to look out for, contact our web consultants today.  We will review your quote FREE of charge and will provide you with a list of questions to ensure no areas are left uncovered.

Other Questions to Ask:

•    Ask to View a web providers website
•    View their portfolio
•    Do they create templated or custom designs?
•    Do they build websites in CSS or tables for formatting? (Beware of tables!)
•    Open Source Does not mean FREE – what are the hidden costs?
•    What is the turnaround time for website delivery?
•    What is the process involved from start to finish?
•    Are their websites written in common language: PHP or ASP?
•    Do they provide managed hosting of domains and sites so that all your web needs can be managed from one centralised point?

What is Webz Web Development Process?

View our web development process.

What is a Web Authoring and Integration Tool?

An application which enables all the solutions your website may require. Our software incorporates an integrated content management and eCommerce system as well as many other benefits for small New Zealand companies.  Read more..