Many of us have had this experience – you want to find a web developer who is great at what they do, so you hire them. They claim that they are amazing, but then they end up doing a lackluster job. So, what should you do when your web developer leaves you in the dust like this?
Here are a few stories where this has actually happened, as well as a possible solution to these problems.
1. The web developer did not save their work.
Sometimes, when we work two or three hours in a row (or even more!), we can forget the basics. Whether that is forgoing eating or using the restroom… or, even worse with web development, forgetting to save the hard work!
Maynas Chua, the CEO and founder of the company R.Bz, had a bad experience forgetting to save that he “press[es] Ctrl + S so often it becomes a habit.”
2. The web developer does not communicate.
Communication is key with any business transaction, especially when trying to pick a great web developer. Perhaps the client provides unclear, vague, or contradictory instructions.
This happened once with Edmond Lau, who is the co-founder at Co Leadership, as well as author of The Effective Engineer. When he was hiring a web developer, they told him that something would take a few hours that, in reality, actually took multiple weeks to fix!
3. The web developer does not have a good track record.
We all need to start out somewhere, and it is very good to take a chance on new talent. But, sometimes that can come to bite you in the behind. Make sure that you check a web developer’s testimonials and reviews before hiring them – if there are bad reviews and a low amount of stars, perhaps look elsewhere.
Mallory Mevill, a writer for the website DevSquad.com, agrees. In her article “How to Recognize a Bad Software Developer,” she says, “Bad developers don’t take ownership of their code; they don’t actively seek to grow their abilities, they’re not curious about new horizons, and they’re unwilling to recognize and learn from their mistakes.” If you are noticing this in the web developer that you are thinking about hiring, perhaps think again and choose another person.
4. The web developer has a slow turn-around time.
It takes a long time to build a good website, and this is not something that you would want to rush! In the article by Toni Matthews-El and Cassie Bottorff called “How Long Does It Take To Build A Website?” a good website takes “10-14 weeks from ideation to completion.” This includes planning, content creation, website design, and testing and review.
So, knowing this, if it takes significantly longer than 14 weeks to create your website, maybe reconsider hiring this person. If a developer claims they can build your website in five weeks, you may want to look elsewhere as well!
However, at Opie Productions, we will make sure that none of this happens to you. We always save our work, and if you ever ask to see what we are working on, we will provide it to you. And, we are in constant communication with our clients, sending out updates at least once a week.
We also have a great track record with very happy clients. You can look at some of our great reviews posted. Finally, we take care of each of our clients and will provide you with accurate, realistic turn-around times.
