Category: Readers Choice

Every business needs a website, whether it’s an ecommerce venture, or an online brochure about your company, products and services. But unless you happen to have widespread knowledge of programming and website design, the chances are that you’re going to have to hire a web development team to design and build it for you.

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As a recent article in Entrepreneur points out, hiring a web developer is a critical issue, as they are responsible for creating the public online persona of your company, so you simply can’t afford to make any mistakes with your choice. Follow our tips, and you should be able to identify your perfect web development partners, guaranteeing an excellent return on your investment.

Set a budget

You need to decide on a website development budget before you approach developers. Prices can vary widely, from a couple of hundred pounds for a small online brochure, through to thousands of pounds for a large and complex ecommerce site. Define how much you can afford to set aside for web development, and don’t be tempted to overspend on features that you really don’t need.

Ask to see customer testimonials

A reputable company will be more than happy to show you examples of their work, backed up by verifiable customer testimonials. Take a good look through the company’s portfolio to make sure they create websites that look appealing and are easy and intuitive to use.

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Do they speak your language?

Web developers use a lot of acronyms and complex industry terms, but they should be able to communicate their thoughts and ideas without blinding you with technical details. If you don’t understand what they’re trying to tell you, then they might not be the right people to create your website. A good web development company will take the time to ensure that you understand exactly what you are purchasing, along with the benefits to your business.

Can you measure results?

Analysis of site traffic is key to measuring success, and any reputable web development agency will be happy to provide data showing how your business model can be improved through good and appropriate web design.

Is their SEO effective?

A great website with poor SEO will never deliver optimum results, so ask to see proof of the company’s track record. This is where a Belfast SEO company will be able to help get your website ranking in the search engine results.

We use rubber in a variety of ways so much so it’s easy to forget where it came from in the first place. It comes from the Para rubber tree originally and the great thing about the tree is it is excellent at reducing carbon from the atmosphere. Most of the world’s rubber is now manmade but it is nice to think that its first use when it was an organic material was to make something similar to a football for the ancient Olmec civilisation to play with.

Now we are more inclined to use it for Rubber Injection Moulding but that still doesn’t mean we can’t have fun with it. Fun was not on the mind of Henry Wockham when he brought back the Para tree seeds from South America. He was more concerned with profit and planted them in England and other parts of the British  Empire namely Sri Lanka, Singapore and Malaysia. This was to inadvertently set about the creation of man made rubber. When the invading Japanese stopped the import of rubber from the East, scientists had to find an alternative. As a result most of the world’s rubber is now synthetic, and not the organic type.

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So, when you are cruising down the motorway or jumping in muddy puddles just thank Mr Henry Wickam for helping harvest it and the good people of the Soviet Union who came up with the non organic stuff.