You need a website, but you don’t know how to construct one yourself. You’ve asked friends who have websites for help, but you don’t like any of the ideas they’ve given you. When you search for “website development” on the Internet, you get 1,000,000 results. How to find a website developer without making a mistake when hiring a contractor. How do you tell the difference between a good contractor and a “jobber”?

Signs of a dishonest contractor when find a website developer

1. Work deadlines that are often missed

The contractor’s failure to meet deadlines is not a grounds to end the contract right now. You need to know why the project is late and how the developer is handling it. Don’t worry if your boss tells you about this ahead of time, gives you a clear reason, and suggests a way to fix it. But the developer may start to ignore you in work chats, take a long time to respond, make excuses, or unfairly blame you for his troubles.

You should think about if you can trust a corporation that employs these kinds of tactics and breaks the laws of contract execution by the developer in this scenario.

If the development team is set up correctly, there is virtually always a chance to notify people ahead of time about deadlines that are being pushed back. So, don’t be afraid to ask contractors for assurances and liability.

In this case, what to do:

Find out why the deadline has passed. Call the developer and ask why the job is taking so long. Next time, ask them to let you know ahead of time about the new deadline and to stay in touch with you.
Add clauses to the contract that say what the deadlines are and what happens if someone breaks them.
If deadlines are routinely missed, utilize chats to remind developers of their duties, deadlines, and work agreements. Also, ask them how far along the project is.

2. The project’s costs keep going up

There are three main reasons why the project’s cost can change:

The software product is still being worked on, and new areas and functionalities need to be added.
The customer makes things clearer or alters the requirements for the developer during the development process, which raises the budget.
The contractor either made a mistake or on purpose stated the wrong budget. They might have lowered it on purpose to get around competitors, or they might have made a mistake because they didn’t know how to analyze the website calculation properly.

In this case, you should:

Ask the developer to explain why they are raising the price for the project in a logical way.
Before you give the work your final permission, ask other contractors how much they think it will cost.
If you can’t come to an agreement and other developers offer a lower price, you might want to think about finding another website developer and switching teams before you waste time and money.

3. They give you employment on a residual basis

While the work is being planned and approved, the developers may give you great service. But once you sign the contract, the contractor stops being interested in you and doesn’t respond to chats as much. They also don’t offer suggestions for how to make things better as often. You start to think that the developer isn’t giving your project the attention it needs.

What you should do in this case:

Remind the contractor about you by telling him that you want prompt answers in chat and reports on the job done, or that you want to meet often to talk about the project.

4. The developer doesn’t show off intermediate demos very often

Another common issue is that the contractor can’t show what they’ve done so far. Promises to finish the project tomorrow or merely delivers screenshots of it. This usually means that the development isn’t happening at all or is moving much more slowly than intended.

The team might have trouble getting the resources they need because developers might be busy, sick, or out of work, or they might not have thought through all the options and the project for a long period. This could cause delays or code that isn’t very good and won’t be supported in the future.

What to do now:

Ask the developer why the next presentation has been put off. If the contractor doesn’t answer, try to look at formal legal agreements. If this happens again, consider about whether you should keep working together.
Set up a timetable of presentations with the developer. They should happen after each step of work so that you may test the product ahead of time, make improvements, and talk about fresh ideas. There is a better chance that you will be happy with the result.

5. The project manager doesn’t let developers into the chat

If anyone from the contractor’s side joins to the chat but not programmers, you should think about why the contractor won’t let developers join. The contractor can hire someone else to do the project without telling you first. Or the declared senior might not perform any work at all, and an intern might do it all.

What will happen because of the project? If contractors are working on the project, deadlines might often be pushed back because of a lot of different ways to talk to one other. Or if an inexperienced developer writes the code, there will be problems with which code style.

In this case, you should:

If you care about who produces the code and works on your project, ask the manager about the developers’ qualifications. A good contractor would comprehend your request and set up a meeting. A bad contractor will probably come up with excuses not to accomplish this.

A honest contractor

Will give a heads-up about the new dates, explain why they were pushed back, and suggest ways to fix the problem.
Makes a good case for raising the budget. The product will only get better because of this.
He is always accessible to talk at the time we agreed on. You think the crew cares about the project.
Will give a presentation on the project on schedule.
It is possible to watch and understand all stages of development.
You know who is working on your product.

A dishonest contractor

You find out about the missed deadlines at the last minute and can’t figure out why it happened.
The funding for development keeps going up, but the product stays the same. The contractor can’t say where the money went.
The contractor calls you less and less and spends less and less time on your goods. You are the only one who starts conversations in chats and on the phone.
You have tried several times to get a presentation of the job, but have always failed. You can’t tell what stage the development is in.
The contractor can’t address your inquiries concerning the developers’ qualifications and doesn’t let you talk to them.

How can you avoid having troubles with the developer in the future?

Just because you’ve worked with an unprofessional development business doesn’t mean there aren’t any good ones out there. Don’t find a website developer based on just one thing, such pricing, location, or flashy ads.

Make that the contract with the developer includes criteria, fines, and conditions for liability. Also, keep in mind that you and the contractor are business partners. Even if you have known these people for a long time and they are your friends or family. No matter what, it’s very necessary to follow all legal and accounting rules exactly, such making judgments, checking work, and looking at reports.
Before you start working with the contractor, make sure you both agree on how and when you will talk to one other. How often do you want to see reports? When do you want to obtain responses to your questions? And what messengers will you use to talk to people and see presentations? In some cases, someone thinks that waiting two hours for a response is bad work on the part of the contractor. In other cases, it’s just how things work because they have a lot to do. These problems should be talked about before the contract is signed.
In addition to the principal contractor, keep in touch with backup developers. An airbag like this will help the team keep track of their real budget and timeframes, and it will lower the risks if the contractor they choose doesn’t do a good job.

What can you do to avoid difficulties caused by your own carelessness?

You find a website developer and got a good-looking version of the site at first. The contractor receives payment for his services, and you are satisfied with everything. After a while, you decide to optimize a website and contact another studio.

And this is where it all starts… The optimizers wanted to get into the website control panel. You don’t know what it is, you’ve never seen it, and you don’t know where to obtain it. You should get in touch with the business that made the site.

You try to get in touch with them, but they won’t let you in because your site is hosted on their server, which they can’t let you access. Everything is actually easier. The people who made the website knew that you were going to other sites, and they didn’t want to lose a customer. There is also technical support, and optimization takes a long time. And you can make money doing all of this.

What should I do? Go to court? The contract also said that the site would be built and launched. Everything was done. And beautifully done.

What do you have now? The developer owns the domain name and has access to the website because it is on his server. And you can’t do anything! Unless you have a good programmer who can make things hard for the developer. This is an undeclared war, and you don’t have the time or energy to fight in it.
You might have to find a website developer again and order a new site.

What can you do to stay out of this very bad situation?

You should only put the website on the server you picked. You need to have full access. One of the website developer’s jobs is to explain to the consumer what the administrator does on the site. You can also offer paid consultations for a while after the end of your work together.

If you want the developer to help you with technical issues on the website (which is the ideal option because the developer understands everything about the site), make a separate contract for technical assistance. Change the access if you stop working together.

Get a domain name for yourself. Even if you don’t know anything about it. You need to be able to get to the control panel. You will let someone else work on the website if they need to.
Change your password and login to finish the job. This is not a problem; the hosting provider’s consultations are free.

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Bohdan Prytulyak( CEO )

Founder and head of the PBB Design web studio since 2005

How to Chose a Website Developer Without Making a Mistake