Things to discuss when “buying a website”.
June 01, 2021
Hiring a resource to build a website is a lot like buying a car. It can be a fairly costly endeavor and it will likely impact your daily life. However, neither purchases are something that occurs regularly. Both are something many consumers “fear” or at least are uneasy about. The hesitation is often driven by a lack of technical knowledge. There is a Catch-22 of sorts. You don’t know what you don’t know. You need a good developer in order to find a good developer. That is quite the pickle.
Aside from my thoughts on how I evaluate websites/developers, here are a series of topics to help guide you on your journey. Keep in mind that some folks will find these questions uncomfortable. However, a quality developer would happily answer these questions with ease. Feel free to call my bluff on this one – I am always up for a chat.
- What is your core competency?
- Do you maintain/support websites (ones you built or otherwise)?
- What is your quality standard?
- How long have you been in business?
- How many employees do you have? Are they W2 employees or 1099 contractors?
- Describe your typical client and ideal client.
- Is your process – custom, semi-custom, or off-the-shelf? What does that mean to you?
- What is your pricing policy?
These topics may or may not be obvious ones to cover. There is a method to the madness, and I will explore each below. The overall theme is this: find a quality business (that builds websites) and you are much more likely to end up with a really good product-service bundle (website).
What is your core competency?
In general, you are looking for website development/design (i.e. building websites) as the core competency. This may seem obvious, but there are some pitfalls to avoid here.
For one, there is a big difference between website development and software/application development. While software developers generally can build websites, I would avoid using software developers to build a website. I tend to see one of two problems here. Software developers tend to build websites to fill the gaps between large software development projects. I.e. they are not really interested in the project and just “get it out the door”. Alternatively, a software developer might build your website like software. This often leads to an overly complicated, expensive, and hard-to-maintain website. Sticking to a website developer is my recommendation.
Also, looking for specificity (i.e. hedgehog concept) as opposed to a “full service” agency has a lot of advantages. Many agencies build websites as a loss-leader, and only make money by selling additional, recurring services (paid advertising, SEO, etc). I can’t tell you the number of times I have been asked, “How do you make money building websites?”. The answer could be fairly complex, but the short answer is, “website development is my expertise”. I focus solely on being the best website developer I can be, and I avoid the distraction of superfluous product lines and complex business models. Not only has that approach worked well for me, but the firms I know that stick to website design/development tend to build much better sites than the “full service” agencies. I am not claiming a full-service agency can’t or won’t build a fantastic website, but I tend to see the specialists do better.
Do you maintain/support websites (ones you built or otherwise)?
I would strongly recommend a resource that offers support/maintenance but does not strongarm you into a long-term contract of some sort.
Lots of people like the idea of supporting their website themselves, and many do it. However, developers that support what they build, create better stuff because it is in their best interest. The developers that are not willing to offer maintenance or support often build complex, buggy, awkward, and poorly constructed websites. They make as much money as they can in a one-shot deal and move on. They don’t want the customer to return because they do not want to have to deal with the mess they made.
The other end of the spectrum can be just as bad or worse. There are countless firms who think they have lightning in a bottle because they force customers into long-term maintenance/support packages. They often offer hosting and even discount the website build in order to get the long-term contract in hand. These firms are not interested in providing a top-notch website that runs like a top. They are almost exclusively interested in recurring revenue that is locked into a contract. I meet these firms every day and I have yet to find one that was truly looking to provide a quality product-service bundle. It is always a recurring revenue play.
What I recommend is finding a resource that is a happy medium. Find a developer that stands behind their work, is willing to support your site as needed, but is not interested in locking you into a monthly package of some kind.
What is your quality standard?
This will be harder to find than you might expect, but you want the developer to have a quality standard they are willing to provide in advance, much like mine.
Many development firms would be hard-pressed to produce a copy of their quality standard. You see, most developers use the standard of “whatever the client approves”, which is a particularly low bar. Beyond this first group is the folks that have a quality standard, but it is watery and full of fluff. Alternatively, I have met more than my share of firms that have a standard but refuse to show it to anyone. They claim that it is proprietary or that “customers wouldn’t understand it”. That’s all malarkey.
Here again, I recognize the catch 22 of needing a good developer to find a good developer. However, a good developer will have a quality standard they happily show you, and they will be willing to answer any questions regarding that standard. Truth be told, my quality standard has been brushed off by other developers as “extreme” or “impossible to deliver”. The reality – it is all pretty basic stuff, that I can explain to a novice. Implementing that standard takes no extra time or effort, so long as you build with it in mind. I promise, I’m not the only developer that works this way and you can find one of those quality-focused developers.
How long have you been in business?
The “right” answer depends on your needs, budget, and so forth. Oftentimes, the longer they have been in business the better.
There is a massive difference between being a good developer and a good business owner. Anyone in business knows how hard it is to keep the doors open. We all come across “serial entrepreneurs” that are fantastic at founding businesses but never seem able to keep one going. I personally avoid working with startups whole-hog because they rarely have their act together (shots fired!). The point is, the longer the candidate has been in business, the more likely it is that the project will go well. Certainly, there are exceptions to this rule, but time in business is a great barometer.
Something else to consider here, “how long have you been in business?” is a much better question than “how many projects have you completed?”. Years in business is much more concrete, whereas a number of projects is very subjective. Some folks turn and burn, pumping out a ton of small inexpensive sites. Others focus on gigantic builds and might only produce a few projects a year. The nitty-gritty of how they stayed in business is far less important than how long they have managed to do it.
My advice is to find a resource that has been in business for at least 5 years. The 5-year mark is widely considered where a business goes from survival to stability. There is nothing wrong with engaging with someone just starting out, but understand what you are bargaining for.
How many employees do you have? Are they W2 employees or 1099 contractors?
Full stop, no particular answer is best. Businesses structure themselves in countless ways and they find what works for them. The important thing here is honesty and transparency.
It is very important to determine whether a resource has employees, has contractors, has a mix of both, or is a one-person wonder. If a candidate claims to have employees, press them for details. You need to understand if the workforce is W2, 1099, or a mix of both, because each type of worker is dramatically different.
Many business owners assume agencies use W2 employees because they themselves do. The truth is far from this. Many firms like to, for some reason, give the impression they have W2 employees when in fact they do not. This is a bit silly because neither approach is better than the other. As a potential buyer, however, the distinction is really important, so you know what you are bargaining for.
I’ll say it again, no particular approach here is better than another per se. The key is to find a resource that is transparent and honest about how they get their work done. I see confusion in this regard go wrong all the time. I stress this a lot because bargaining for a team of W2 employees and ending up with a team of 1099 contractors often leads to unhappy customers.
Describe your typical and ideal client.
You are looking for two things here. 1. Do they have a good answer for this? 2. Are you a good fit for them?
Many businesses simply sell to anyone that comes in the door and this is a tremendous mistake. As hard as it might be to hear, you really want a provider that thoroughly qualifies potential clients. When a resource is able to, off the cuff, describe their typical and ideal client, it is more likely they have done the work to qualify customers.
The next step is a logical extension of the first. Discuss with the potential provider whether or not you are a good fit for them. This is a step I see a lot of potential clients attempt, but they go about it in a slightly incorrect way. I often hear, “have you ever worked with a ~insert business type/industry~ before?”. While feels important to the client, it is less effective than getting to the heart of the business’ typical and ideal client. Here’s why.
There is a tremendous difference between a restaurant that seats 300 and a food truck. The same goes for a sole proprietor litigator and a legal firm that has 50 people on staff. While some developers specialize in one particular industry, the type of business/industry is normally irrelevant. Your business’ age, size, complexity, annual revenue, etc are far more important considerations. While it can be hard for potential clients to hear, what you do is not as important in this case. How you do what you do is far more critical.
When you find a resource that has an ideal and typical client, it will be more robust than “restaurants” or “lawyers”. You should hear a pretty detailed description of business size/age, business models, typical revenue, product line complexity (or simplicity) and so forth. When you find someone who can speak intelligently about their typical/ideal clients, and you fit the description, you are miles ahead.
Is your process – custom, semi-custom, or off-the-shelf? What does that mean to you?
There is no correct answer, but one is probably more aligned with your goals than the others. If you have a robust and complex set of product-service bundles, you probably need a more custom solution. If you are a new business or use a really simple business model, off-the-shelf often fits the bill while delivering tons of value. Don’t be turned on or off by one particular approach. You just need to get an idea of what you are bargaining for.
One thing to consider, folks often tout “fully-custom” work when in fact they are much more off-the-shelf than they might like to admit. They might be telling you the work is fully-custom because they think that is what you want to hear. If you are not looking for custom, let them know. You might crack open a wonderful discussion.
Once the developer has defined their process as custom, semi-custom, or off-the-shelf, have them sprinkle in some extra details. One person’s “custom” is another’s “off-the shelf but slightly modified”. As they talk about their process, try to get an idea of how custom (or not) it really is. It can be good to ask if there is an associated cost for anything, as that can indicate if someone is buying off-the-shelf solitons. Questions that can help revolve around limitations can shed light. Those that do custom work will rarely have limits on what they can do. Off-the-shelf builders might speak in terms of “finding something”.
Here again I will stress, there are lots of different approaches and they can be valid for any number of projects. The key is to find a healthy balance between what you need and how the potential resource delivers things. Don’t let your ego get in the way and opt for custom when off-the-shelf will do just fine. Don’t settle for off-the-shelf when your business needs to be highlighted in a unique way.
One last caveat – if the developer offers truly custom work, make sure they are using industry-standard approaches. Sometimes custom is great, but sometimes it means a thing nobody else will touch. Identifying which kettle of fish you are bargaining for is tough. I can help tremendously here, so please feel to reach out for help.
What is your pricing policy?
There is no correct answer, but you are looking for them to have a well-thought-out answer and one that makes sense. The logic here is two-fold. Businesses that have a well-defined pricing policy are better businesses. Secondly, convoluted (frankly deceptive) pricing policies are rampant in the digital marketing world and you want to avoid them, or at least understand what you are bargaining for/getting tangled up in.
Keep in mind, “what is your pricing policy?” is vastly different than, “what will this cost?”. Most folks will be able to, at some point, give you a cost. What you are looking to understand is how they arrived at that cost. The why is incredibly important here. Some examples include:
· Most firms of our size and quality level charge $150 per hour, so we do too. This is market-based pricing.
· In order to be profitable, we need to charge $150 per hour. This is cost-plus pricing.
· The cost is determined by a percentage of the increase in sales. This is outcome-based pricing.
· You will name your own price, because that is fair. This is value-based pricing.
There are countless pricing policies, and most businesses use a blend. The exact answer regarding their pricing policy does not really matter. The key is that it is simple, direct, and that it makes sense. Really take the time to consider if their answer is acceptable. A business’s pricing policy tells you endless amounts about how it runs and operates.
One final thought here, many people in the digital marketing space use a monthly fee approach. I urge you to take caution here. More importantly, understand that “$x per month” is a cost, and not a pricing policy. Before accepting this kind of cost, get a firm understanding of the pricing policy behind “$x per month”. An example would be, “we need to charge $x per month, per client, in order to be profitable”. While I loathe cost-plus pricing policy, this would be technically an “acceptable” answer.
Conclusion
Please keep in mind, this is not intended as a complete list of topics to cover. There will be, of course, things to cover that are unique to your particular situation. These 8 topics are ones that I would not want to skip.
Some of this may feel a bit out of left-field or intrusive but I advocate these topics for several reasons. For one, I have seen countless deals go wrong and because these topics were not raised during the resource vetting process. There are endless stumbling blocks that can be avoided if these topics are covered early. Much like a mechanic knows what questions to ask about a car, I know what kind of questions you should ask when looking for a new website.
Perhaps more importantly, this approach is about the high-level vetting of the business. Those that have taken the time to figure out how to run their business well, have usually figured out how to deliver a quality product-service bundle. Furthermore, this is about building a relationship grounded in trust. When you find a potential resource that is open and honest with you, you can do the same in return. Most of these questions, and more, should be asked of you, as you are qualified as a client. When you find yourself comfortably exchanging these details about your businesses, you have found an excellent resource that will serve you well for years to come.