An ecommerce website is not only about sales or letting people purchase without hassles. For any business to thrive and grow in a competitive market like Singapore’s, building reputation and living up to the demands are some of the key objectives.
You need to communicate all your needs and goals clearly so that the ecommerce website design company you’re possibly going to hire can know what they’re expected to deliver. After letting them know what you want, you should hear what they have to say in response. Following are the points you can bring up in the process.
Branding and Goals
Your branding perspective includes everything from your target audience to the business mission, and it is important that the ecommerce web development company you’re meeting is well aware of both your short and long-term visions.
Technological Adoption
As an entrepreneur, some tech skills are a plus but not mandatory. A reliable ecommerce web design company has the sincerity to offer effective consultancy as to custom development or adoption of a CMS, third party integrations, and other technical implementations.
Remember that certain technologies can be useful to a lot of businesses in Singapore, but yours may require something else, and this is where the web development company should be able to help you figure out the best choice.
Skills and Technology
Once you’ve made a decision; you can ask the potential ecommerce web design company whether or not they have the required skills and access to technologies. Being able to use the most sophisticated tools and tech stacks is a significant factor to look for in any website development company.
Budget
It is easy to jump into a conclusion by seeing that all your requirements can be fulfilled with the budget you have in mind. However, you should have an in-depth conversation based on the current market situations and practical insights.
Don’t forget to ask for free quotes from several web development companies and compare among them. You may have to increase your budget a little, but don’t compromise on the quality, security, and stability of the ecommerce solution you’re going to have.
Communication and Client Support
Whether your ecommerce business is going to be the next big thing in Singapore or it is only a local company to serve a limited number of customers, you want nothing less than a feature-rich, user-friendly, responsive, fast-loading, and SEO-optimised website.
Communication between you and the ecommerce web design agency plays a crucial role in this regard. Try to know how they’ll communicate with you. Will they assign a knowledgeable professional to contact and a dedicated team to offer support while your website or application will be built and tested before the final delivery.
If you already have checked the above factors with a potential ecommerce web design agency, it is time you asked them questions to get some real information about their exposure as a reputable company in Singapore.
Team of Developers and Designers
Knowing each team member is not necessary, but you can at least ask about their skills, characteristics, qualifications, and experience to understand if they are really the guys who can handle your project efficiently.
Relevant Industry Experience
Not all ecommerce web development companies have experience serving clients from all known industries in Singapore. Even a very good web design agency may not have previous experience building a website for a business like yours.
But the ones with no understanding of how your particular ecommerce business is going to run shouldn’t be on your list of ideal candidates. An agency with considerable familiarity with different industries and demographics can still help you get the right ecommerce solution.
Portfolio
A good web design agency is always willing to showcase their work and the projects wherein they demonstrated their excellence. With thorough observations, you can tell if they are able to deliver the same for your ecommerce business. So, you should have no problems assessing the depth of their professionalism by looking at their best work.
Referral/ Reviews
Some entrepreneurs may want to skip this part, but it is just as important as any of the above factors. If you have a trusted partner or acquaintance who hired the web development agency (you’re meeting with) before, you shouldn’t miss the chance to ask how it went. An honest and practical review can save you the trouble of talking with a dozen other agencies in Singapore.
Work Process
Every ecommerce website design company in Singapore has their own way to proceed and complete a project, but it all comes down to the following questions.
- How soon will the company start the development?
- How long will they take to complete?
- Are they ready to help with the design and prepare the branding assets as you need?
- How many revisions can you ask?
- What will be the delivery schedule that serves both you and them well?
- Will they provide training documentation so that you can handle small changes/ updates in future?
- Are they able to provide consistent maintenance support after the completion?
- How will they approach if your ecommerce website needs to be scalable? Do they have any plan right from the beginning?
- How do they charge if you ask for support after the development?
- Do they have the provision to offer marketing and outreach support?
- How fast can they come forward and take steps in the event of any security breach/ issue?
You can prepare a checklist or a set of questions and ask them to answer with fact-based details. Review their answers attentively and be sure to ask if you need explanations.
After following all of the above steps, you can expect to decide if the potential ecommerce website design company is the right one for your business.
Wishing to make it easier for yourself and meet a trusted web development company for your ecommerce business? Let’s have a chat and see how we can help you achieve your goals.
