How to Choose a Web Developer for Your Financial Advisor Website
Designing and developing a financial advisor website is not a trivial matter. It’s the foundation of your online marketing so it should be able to showcase your brand in the best light possible.
Choosing a web developer for your website can be a confusing and frustrating process. The market is flooded with web designers and developers which makes choosing rather difficult, especially if you don’t really know what you want.
Setting up a new website takes weeks or even months depending on the complexity of the project, which means it can be rather expensive. So it’s crucial that you pick the right web design agency from the very beginning. Otherwise, you might end up having to scrap the project and start from square one again.
With all this in mind, here are a couple of basic steps that should help you make the right decision.
Look for a Solid Portfolio
This goes without saying, but the first thing you should check when narrowing down your options is their portfolio. You’ll end up finding dozens, if not hundreds, of different web developers just by searching online and through referrals, and you can’t possibly interview or consult with all of them.
It’s best to not only ask them for their standard portfolio, but also look into some of their latest work. If you don’t like their style and design choices from the get go, you’ll likely never be satisfied with the final product that you’ll get if you hire them. It doesn’t really matter if they have decades of experience or are just starting out, their portfolio and work samples should back up their credentials and be enough proof of their capabilities.
Interview Many Candidates
You can’t just go out and pick the first developer that you come across. Creating a website isn’t going to be cheap, so you need to put some effort into finding the right person or team.
Treat the selection process as if you’re looking for a new employee or staff member. Just because someone comes highly recommended, doesn’t mean they’ll be a good fit for your business.
Talking to many different candidates also lets you better understand what it takes to create a great website. Take the time to ask questions and understand the technologies that they use. You’ll be able to dig deeper into the work and thought processes involved in web design and web development, which helps you make a more informed decision in the end.
Check for Compatibility
No matter how good someone’s work is, you should consider how compatible your personalities are. You should treat your web developer as a partner rather than an employee if you want to get the best out of them. They’re not just there to take orders, they’re there to offer solutions.
If you and your developer’s personalities are not a good match, you’re not going to have a great time working with them and the work is going to suffer. In addition, your developer is going to have to provide long-term support for your website, so it’s better if you choose someone you can work with for many years to come.
Switching to a different developer isn’t easy. The new developer will have to relearn and reverse engineer your previous developer’s code which is costly and will often introduce more problems.
Look for Lots of Experience in a Similar Industry
One of the most important factors to consider when choosing a web developer is their previous work experience in the financial services industry. Not all websites are the same. For example, designing a financial advisor website is different from designing an e-commerce site or a portfolio website.
Someone who has lots of experience in the financial space has a better understanding of what your website visitors and clients are looking for. They’ll have better intuition when it comes to design cues and language that your target audience prefers. Most of the time, this also means they can finish the project much quicker than someone who’s new to the industry.
Consider a Full-Service Agency
If you’re just starting out and are still learning the ropes of running a business, you’ll have a much easier time if you pick a full-service web design agency. They can take care of your web design and development, hosting, copywriting, branding, SEO and digital marketing all in one go. It’s better if you have a team behind you that’s already well developed rather than trying to build your own team and find individuals who can fill these individual roles.