Finding a good web development agency can be a tricky affair,]]> If you know what you require from your new website, and you know how to spot a dodgy web development agency, the next task is to find a reputable business who may be able to assist. There are many hundreds of web designers out there (including Bytewire!), so choosing the right agency for you can be tricky. Here are a couple of issues to consider on your quest.

Where to look

Finding a good web development agency can be a tricky affair, but the fundamentals are the same as when making any kind of business purchase.

• Try and get a referral from one of your trusted contacts – if they are happy to recommend the services of a particular business, you can be confident that they are trustworthy and capable.
• Visit a nearby business networking event to make contact with a local firm. If a representative is not present, one of the other attendees will almost certainly be able to put you in touch with someone suitable.
• Attend a local technology event where you can make contact with exhibitors and grill them on their services.
• A careful search on Google will also help turn up potential candidates for your project – if they appear near the top of your search results they must be doing something right!

Verify the company’s claims and financials

Once you have found a few potential businesses (about 5 should do it!), have a look through their company website, paying special attention to their previous projects. Comb through the websites they have created to get an understanding of the features they have previously implemented and whether they operate correctly.

Compare the screenshots on the web developer’s site with the actual website advertised – do they still look the same? Does the web designer’s company name appear anywhere to “prove” they really did undertake the work? Does the imagery and design appeal to you at all?

Don’t forget to check the financials of any company you are considering – a poor financial history may well be an indicator of future problems or wayward management, neither of which will help your business. You can search the design agency (and their clients) at http://www.duedil.com

Get some quotes

By now you should have created a requirements document which outlines exactly what you require from your new website. Send this out to the agencies you have identified as potential partners requesting a quote.

Feel free to arrange a meeting with any interested parties to get a feel for their team and working practices. If you are pressed for a budget at this point, you can decline to name a price although you must make it clear that you are serious, not looking for a sub-£300 service and wasting their time.

It also pays to ask for added-extras. It’s not cheeky and could prove to be the deciding factor when faced with similar quotes. Things like a free SEO report or a waiver on your first years web hosting fees are all relatively small costs in the grand scheme of your project, and may be an agreeable freebie. If you are going for a full-service (web design, development, hosting and online marketing), you could pitch for a discount; some agencies will agree a 5-10% reduction.

Make the call

Armed with the information supplied by the agencies approached, you need to ask yourself some questions to ensure you pick the right partner. Bytewire have compiled a 7 step checklist to assist clients choose a web development agency (even if it means they go elsewhere!):

1. Are you completely satisfied that the company has the skills required to undertake your project? Have you seen examples of similar projects which demonstrate their experience?
2. Can you honestly see your two businesses working together healthily?
3. Did the company and its employees present themselves appropriately? Were you impressed?
4. Does the proposal tendered by the agency match your project requirement documents? Have you fully discussed any discrepancies or differences?
5. Will the new website be delivered according to your own timescales? Can the agency complete the work in a timely manner?
6. Are you confident that you will receive the support you need after the website has been delivered?
7. Do you feel confident securing the services of any of the businesses who have made it through the last six steps? If not they too should be eliminated.

If you are lucky, there will be just one company left on your shortlist. Otherwise you need to discuss the details of the remaining proposals with your own team to try and reach a consensus. You should also not underestimate the value of your instincts in the decision process as they are often right when choosing a long-term business partner.

And if none of the shortlisted clients ticks all the boxes, start the process again. There’s nothing wrong with repeating the process until you get the right web development partner – it’s the only way you can guarantee you will get the website you need.

Need help? Give the Bytewire team a call on 01621 856628 to get an honest appraisal of your project requirements and how we might be able to help fulfill them!

Is your new website going to function as an extension of your current business? Is it going to be a storefront, or a way of generating sales]]> You may have recognised the need for a new business website, but do know what you actually need it to do? Here are some critical questions you need to answer before approaching a web development agency so you can be sure you get exactly what you need.

Is my website expected to turn a profit?

Is your new website going to function as an extension of your current business? Is it going to be a storefront, or a way of generating sales leads? Ultimately, what do I want it to do? Deciding whether your website will provide a revenue stream is critical to ensure that every effort is focused towards that goal.

You will also need to be clear as to how your site will generate that profit. If you are creating an ecommerce site, the answer is clear. If not, you need to try and calculate a financial value for each lead generated or similar metric by which you can measure “success”.

Here at Bytewire we go even further, encouraging potential client to consider how much profit they expect their website to generate annually and how that figure is arrived at. Does that projected earning make your business more profitable? If not, are your projected website earnings to low?

The more detailed you can get when planning your website needs, the more likely you are to get the website required to meet them. You will also scare away web developers who are unable to deliver on concrete requirements, saving you plenty of trouble in future.

How will the website benefit my customers?

Truth time – your website exists to benefit your customers first, any rewards for your business are secondary. So when planning a new web development you need to seriously consider what advantages it will offer your clients.

If you already have a website, try and find out whether there is anything existing customer particularly like or dislike about it. The dislikes provide opportunities to improve your offering encouraging clients to keep coming back.

But if you are looking to have your first ever website built, define how it will supplement (or even supplant) your existing channels. Will it save your customers a trip to your bricks-and-mortar store? Will it make shopping quicker and easier? What will it do for them

What are my plans for the website?

When shopping around for a new business website, you have clearly identified something about your existing site which disappoints you. This may be the design and layout, or a function you believe would help improve your customer’s experience. Whatever the issues are, make a note for discussion with potential web development partners.

You should also be answering longer-term questions, such as “how much of my business will be coming from online sources in the next five years?” and “what are my ongoing online marketing plans”. When delivered, your website is like a snapshot in time and will require additional marketing efforts to ensure it remains relevant and productive in the wider scheme of your business.

Write it all down

Brainstorm your website ideas. Get input from your employees, customers and suppliers. Jot them all down along with the answers to the above starting points and then formulate a requirements document that can be presented to companies you are considering for web development services.

Not only will this document help clarify in your own mind exactly what is required from a new website, but it will also help provide a clear statement of intent when discussing plans with developers.

Finished your requirements document? Or maybe need help creating one? Why not give Bytewire a call today on 01621 856628 to see how our flexible development plans can help you get the site and service you need.

There’s even a good chance your business has in the past gone into the website build process blind,]]> It’s an unfortunate fact, but many businesses have had negative experiences with web developers. The global nature of the web and the ease with which an online company can be created with only a modicum of ability means that there are literally hundreds of companies fighting for your business. Hundreds of companies with limited skillsets using bargain basement pricing to hook your business.

There’s even a good chance your business has in the past gone into the website build process blind, relying on a self-proclaimed expert to guide you through the process for a couple of hundred pounds. But then delivery times slipped, nothing functioned quite as promised and the visual appearance was a little off. Your developer underestimated the work required, undercharged for their time and materials and as the project wore on, they generally underperformed.

Admittedly you got a website, but one which failed to generate business or create customers. You ended up with a donkey and a dislike of developers. And now you need to repair your website, get some new functions added or even start again from scratch and the last thing you want to do is deal with another web code geek.

Which we totally understand.

Once you really dig into what a web development company can do, weeding out the back-room hobbyists and the pocket-money programmers, there will only be a handful of genuinely capable teams left. Narrow your selection based on geographical location and your pool of potential partners who are capable of completing a major project becomes even smaller. We know what other companies have done to the good name of web development and so Bytewire aims to be one of these local, skilled, professional and genuine businesses who you can trust.

What you really want is a website designed to attract visitors and make sales. One which is delivered on time, on budget and works from day one. A site that plays nicely with Google searches and gets your brand name out there. One which comes with some cast iron guarantees of success and a ton of help and support to make sure it all works just right.

But you also want to deal with people capable of speaking plain English and who won’t retreat into a protective wall of tech-speak jargon. You want a web developer who can help you understand what it is you are actually trying to achieve and who will tell you like it is, not just what they think you want to hear, and who can put a definite price on your project without resorting to sneaky hidden charges.

And most of all, you want someone who hangs around after the invoice is paid. A team who can stick through initial teething problems and work with you into the future to make sure your site keeps being visited, generating leads and selling products.

If you are nodding along, it sounds as though what you really, really want is someone like Bytewire (not to blow our own trumpet).

Bytewire believe in cultivating long term relationships to provide our customers with the support they need to get their online business up and running, and to help keep it that way. When you get in contact with us, you can rest assured that we won’t hassle you, pressing for a sale or pushing you towards an unsuitable product or technology.

Our business stands and falls on satisfied customers, which is why we go to great lengths to speak plain English, make costs clear and even formulate innovative pricing structures that share the risks associated with creating a popular and successful website. We take you through each step clearly explaining the options and making recommendations based on your company needs and our extensive experience. We’ll even hold your hand if you want.

There are hundreds of Content Management Systems available, all of which have their own niches. Some of the most popular CMS platforms are completely license free, helping to reduce website running costs over the long]]> If you spend any time at all hanging around with web developers, eventually you will hear mysterious acronyms like CMS start cropping up in conversation. A CMS, or Content Management System, can be used to provide a publishing platform for your company website.

The big CMS players

There are hundreds of Content Management Systems available, all of which have their own niches. Some of the most popular CMS platforms are completely license free, helping to reduce website running costs over the long term.

For any small business looking to get online, WordPress or Joomla offer a powerful set of tools to create and publish content with relative ease. The “open” nature of their respective frameworks mean that there are thousands of plugins available to further increase functionality, or with the assistance of a skilled developer (like Bytewire!), the whole system can be tweaked to your own specific needs.

There are other licensed content platforms available from major software vendors such as Microsoft’s own Sharepoint portal server. These systems tend to be best suited to very large organisations mainly because of the high cost of purchase and implementation. Many of the functions offered by such platforms are also irrelevant for ecommerce websites.

Why do I need a CMS?

So what? Why should a CMS interest you?

• Using a CMS makes the creation and publication of web pages very, very simple. As a result almost any member of your team can add or amend information on your website within minutes.
• Using an established CMS platform allows you to take your data wherever you want. If you decide to change web host or secure the services of a new design agency, a CMS will allow you to export all your data ready for moving.
• Without a CMS you will need to manage all of your webpages manually. For anything more than five or ten webpages, this becomes extremely difficult and time consuming.

Ultimately a good CMS saves time and effort, freeing staff to concentrate on keeping your business productive. If time is money, simple arithmetic shows that the use of a CMS is essential.

What now?

Installing and configuring a content management system is not for the faint hearted. The best course of action is to contact an experienced web development agency who will be able to not only install a suitable system, but tweak it to your specific needs, thereby ensuring a faster return on investment.

Why not give Bytewire a call today on 01621 856628 and one of our experienced development team will be able to discuss your specific requirements and how we can help meet them. Alternatively explore our content management system services in more depth Here

Two or three decades ago, major businesses operated through an “old boys” network, with “who you knew” being of greater importance than “what you knew”. Job promotions, tenders and contracts were all awarded based on which school you attended or who your parents were.

Terrible right? However the practice continues]]> Have you heard about “social media”? The phrase appears to be everywhere these days, and whatever you think the business value (or lack thereof) to be, you cannot afford to ignore social.

Two or three decades ago, major businesses operated through an “old boys” network, with “who you knew” being of greater importance than “what you knew”. Job promotions, tenders and contracts were all awarded based on which school you attended or who your parents were.

Terrible right? However the practice continues to some lesser extent even today – who hasn’t chosen to partner with another company or purchase a service because they know the people involved? Social media is further accelerating this trend as people create their own social networks which then form the basis of many of their business dealings. In this context, few would argue that business relationships are a negative thing.

A relationship, personal or business, exists to provide help, support and the opportunity for growth. Although external factors, such as the state of the economy, may require a relationship to be placed on hold temporarily, when circumstances change again, the connection can be re-established immediately.

Maintaining a business relationship undoubtedly takes time and effort, often with no apparent reward. However by keeping in contact with customers and suppliers you business will retain a place in the memories of key decision makers. This may then result in the award of a job or contract in future, or your details being passed to a new contact. Personal referrals are worth their weight in gold, with a far greater chance of conversion than any other marketing effort.

Here at Bytewire we believe in much more than simply selling website and development services. We understand the longer term benefits of establishing a proper relationship with our clients because in doing so, we know we can then meet (and exceed!) their expectations.

We offer our clients a long-term relationship which goes far beyond the delivery of a website. Instead we continue to provide advice and support to ensure that their online efforts continue to generate a return long into the future.

So if you would like to work with a company who is more interested in your continuing success than making a quick buck, why not call Bytewire today on 01621 856628. Like the Irish say, there’s no such thing as strangers, just friends you’ve not yet met.

The advent of the Internet has leveled the playing field for online businesses as multi-national conglomerates jostle for market share with sole traders and businesses of any size in-between. This “democratisation” (a big word for opening]]> Business owners long ago realised that in a competitive marketplace, significant effort is required to make their products and services stand out from the offerings of their competitors. Printed adverts in newspapers were followed by adverts on the wireless (radio!) and then commercials on TV.

The advent of the Internet has leveled the playing field for online businesses as multi-national conglomerates jostle for market share with sole traders and businesses of any size in-between. This “democratisation” (a big word for opening the competition to any business anywhere) comes at cost though – it is essential to consider how to make your business stand out from the thousands of other traders targeting the same pool of customers.

The total online market value in the UK was recently estimated at £58.8 billion per year. As internet connectivity becomes even more pervasive this is expected to reach £123 billion by 2020. But to get a slice of the action, people need to be able to first find your business amongst all the other websites clamouring for attention. And those who are saying nothing about their site will forever underachieve.

Internet marketing matrix

Internet marketing has two key goals: to attract new visitors to a website, and to convert visitors into customers. There are a number of ways to attract attention from web users, which is suitable for your business depends on your specific needs.

Some web development agencies give businesses the impression that all they need is a pretty website. Once the new website is operational, the visitors and customers will follow as sure as eggs is eggs. This all sounds great, but the reality is that a functional website is simply the start of the process in creating a successful online business.

Here at Bytewire we focus on the long term success of your company website. Sure we can create a site which is beautiful to look at and works like a dream, but we also recognise that this is not enough to make it a success. By partnering with Bytewire we can help ensure your website not only generates a return on investment, but also advise on internet marketing techniques to help ensure your site doesn’t get lost in the noise.

By partnering with Bytewire, you can rest assured that we will always provide help and advice to keep your website successful. We focus on building successful, long term relationships with our clients because maintaining a successful website is a long term undertaking.

Give us a call today on 01621 856 628 to discuss the future of your website and internet marketing efforts – our team are always happy to help!

The role will be based out of our office in Maldon, Essex and you will be tasked to build & complete a project, engaging in planning and design with our other developers.

The project involves the following areas of note:

Full]]> We’re looking for a Zend Framework (preferably Zend Certified) to come and work with us on a project we are undertaking here at Bytewire HQ. This role is temporary, but for immediate start!

The role will be based out of our office in Maldon, Essex and you will be tasked to build & complete a project, engaging in planning and design with our other developers.

The project involves the following areas of note:

• Payment processing (PayPoint)
• ZendFramework (PHP)
• HTTPS (strong knowledge of request security)
• HTML5, CSS3

Full job description here »

If your a confident Zend Framework Developer then we’d love to have you drop us an email at hello@bytewire.co.uk