Face it, buying a website can be a little scary. We understand. Most websites today are sophisticated, multi-dimensional projects with scores of unknowns at the outset. Who will write the content? Where will the images come from? Will this web company be in business next month? We’ve seen a thousand reasons that projects fail, run way over budget, and deliver months (or years) late – if ever. Starting your website buying process with these two questions will help get your project off to a great start.

Starting Off : Trust

Buying a website is a complicated transaction. Like every complex transaction, the most important thing to establish is trust with your web developer. Here are two important questions to ask yourself about your web firm before signing on the dotted line:

Question 1: Are they realistic with their pricing and timing estimates?

First, accept the fact that most projects are late and over budget due to the client (you). A good web company will acknowledge this, plan for it, and price for it. Unfortunately, what appears to be the lowest price developer often becomes the most expensive as the project moves ahead. Web firms understand that you are likely to choose the lowest price, and that you’re going to shop the price around. Don’t get caught by that trap. Again, you should be able to trust your web firm to account for the inevitable and given reasonable estimates.

Question 2: Does your web firm share your vision for the project?

There’s nothing worse than butting heads with your web company because they think they know what’s best for your business. Certainly there should be a healthy exchange of ideas, and many web firms have experience that you can leverage to create a better site, but you shouldn’t feel “at odds” with your web developer.

Finally, Trust, Trust and More Trust