Introduction
This story, like many others, starts with a man sitting on a stationary bike. Let me explain. The audio for the TVs at my gym is broadcast over FM radio frequencies. I don’t own a portable FM tuner, and for some reason the only channel with closed captioning is HGTV. As a result I have been watching a lot of Holmes on Homes recently while riding the bike. This got me thinking that maybe we can apply a few of the lessons from Holmes on Homes to the web industry.
Really? I can hear you saying. What could Mike Holmes, a Canadian contractor who fixes houses that have been ruined by unscrupulous contractors, possibly have to do with my next website? Good question, fellow crime-stopper. Mike always says that the best way to avoid crooked contractors (or in our case crooked or incompetent web designers and developers) is to educate ourselves and to ask the right questions.
Personally, I think that this is great advice, but one problem with this idea was recently posed to me by a friend. He asked, “How exactly do I do this? How am I supposed to know what the right questions to ask are, let alone be able to evaluate the answers I get?” We kicked this question around for a few minutes, and then I had one of those well duh moments. I realized this question would be a good topic to write about.
So, how can I ask the right questions and evaluate the answers?
I’m getting there…over the four entries that make up this series I will go over some of the crucial questions you should ask before starting any web project, give you some concrete examples of the kinds of answers you should expect to hear, and expose some red flags you should be on the lookout for. But that’s not all…each entry will also have a handy checklist that you can download and use when starting a new project or evaluating a potential web firm. Here’s a preview of what lies ahead.
- Part 1 – What should I ask myself before starting a new web project?
- Part 2 – What should I ask about content management systems?
- Part 3 – What should I ask about shopping carts and eCommerce sites?
- Part 4 – What should I ask about social media and search engine marketing?
To wrap up, for now…
I believe that the more we can learn from and empower each other the better off we’ll all be. I hope this series will help you make better decisions about who you choose to work with and how you plan your future projects. A little knowledge can go a long way towards helping you avoid some of the common traps that are all too easy to fall into.
All the Best,
John
