If you’ve ever been in the market for house, you’ve probably been warned that you shouldn’t make any decisions in haste. Realtors and seasoned homeowners are quick to tell you that while you can always move, it’s never a simple process. A move is expensive, time-consuming and you can never predict whether it will be a seller’s market, if you do want to list your new home in just a few years. The same can be said of website development.
Far too often, we speak to attorneys that have dismal websites but they fail to take steps to improve it because they feel stuck. They’ve spent too much setting it up the first time around and the thought of additional investment on something that doesn’t work is simply unimaginable. Others fear that that transfer of dozens, or even hundreds, of site pages is impossible and SEO rank may be lost. For these reasons, and about 99 others, it is critically important that you pick the right website developer the first time around.
For many practices, the first thing they ask about is the cost. And as with most other things in life, when it comes to website development, you get what you pay for and the cheapest option is rarely the best. Instead of focusing on the cost, consider the daunting process you will have to endure should you have to move your website a few years down the road. Instead of making your selection based on the project price-tag, evaluate the following ten questions:
- Are there any minimum commitment periods?
- Can you update your site on your own or do you need to pay the developer?
- Is there any kind of accountability? What happens if you don’t get the results you had hoped for?
- Do you own the site? What about the domain name?
- Do you get any kind of ongoing support from the developer?
- What is the average ROI for the developer’s clients?
- Does the company have experience in the legal field?
- How long have they been in business?
- Where is your site hosted? What are the security specs?
- What is the company’s client retention rate?
While the upfront cost of working with a reputable provider may be higher, the long-term return on investment is considerably higher. At Amicus Creative Media, we think that all attorneys, regardless of firm size or budget, deserve a really phenomenal website. We offer multiple packages and flexible payment plans to ensure our development fee is never a hurdle for firms that want to create an incredible web presence.