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Web application development plays a very crucial role for web business accomplishment. If you don’t have a reliable and interactive website, then your business would not be considered a business. In the modern business era, it is basic that organizations assure their online presence for promoting their brand. Anybody who owns an online business would know how competitive the internet arena is and how challenging it is to advertise the business to get great conversions and better sales.

Finding the best web application development company can be an overwhelming task: the web technology is vast and the competition is fierce. Also, the price and quality differ considerably. So it is important to ask the right questions when making your choice for a professional company dealing with ecommerce web application development.

Here are eight questions that will help you make an informed decision when choosing a web application development company for your ecommerce business:

1. Will you provide a fixed price quote for development upfront?

This reason why question can be an advantage is that it holds the company to a price. Development projects are loaded with opportunities for cost blowouts. If things happen to go over a budget and the company did an inferior job of project scoping, a fixed-price quote signifies that you are not liable to pay for all the extra work they need to perform to fix things.

Opting for the lowest quote for a big project will often mean walking away with a project that has not been accomplished. If the scoping is not conducted accurately, you and the developer will be adversely affected. However, a detailed planning document outlining the challenges can alleviate everyone’s risk.

2. Do you offer a no commitment roadmap?

Does your business need funding? If so, this question is like a necessity that can complement the plan and pitch of any business. It is done as a low fixed upfront price with no lock-in for additional development. This is usually the case if the project does not go ahead for whatever reason.

The technology roadmap is the right term to use for the mobile web app development company as they show you how they will achieve the desired result. This document is also known by other names, such as Blueprint, Project Plan, Project Roadmap, Planning Doc, and more.

If you do a roadmap with a web app development company costing you $X, it is yours. But you can take it to some other agency and see if they can do it cheaper. Perhaps they can. A roadmap is a chargeable service. If the agency you are likely to hire does it for free, what do you think you are getting? Did they put time and effort into scoping your proposal?

3. What technology stack do you use?

A technology stack is the set of development tools used by a web application development company for completing your build. If you choose to work with a full-stack development agency, it means they take care of everything right from the front end to the back end, the database, and application logic, unless they are a WordPress or CMS design agency.

The three stacks web app development companies use include:

• LAMP
• LEMP
• CUSTOM

Most custom web application development companies offer full-stack to their customers. If you know a little about the tools that the web development agency will use, it gives you a feel for who they are and the quality of tailored web app development they will offer.

4. Do you offer a turn-key solution?

A turnkey solution consists of everything in the development process for a custom-made website, such as Planning, UX, UI, Branding, Design, Development, SEO, Copywriting, Maintenance, and Support.

There are several various aspects associated with a web business. It is a lot more than just the technical skills. It is important that you have support team as well as infrastructure acting as the core business just like with any brick and mortar business. Keep in mind that a turnkey solution includes everything like hosting, SSL certificates, maintenance, support, security updates, and audits.

5. Where are you located?

When you establish a great interpersonal relationship with your ecommerce web application development agency, it works to your advantage. Reputable agencies nowadays are not located in one place. Their teams are often spread out across the globe. In order to maintain responsiveness, make sure your main contact with the company must be available on a schedule similar to yours. This will usually signify they’re based on a few time zones.

Having direct access to someone on the developer side plays a very crucial role not only in designing but branding as well. Unlike clear-cut rules of coding, the design is softer. Considering this, the designer must have an empathy level with you. If there are obstacles to this empathy, you will have a hard time establishing a functional client-designer relationship.

As far as technical experts are concerned, it might not make a difference where they are located. But it is indeed a good sign if they are based in cities with technological advancements.

6. What project management software do you use?

If the mobile web app development agency you are likely to work with claims to do Agile development, then tracking time is of utmost importance for the success of the project. And if they do not track the time, it signifies you do not have an understanding of where your hard-earned money is being spent on development, nor do they understand the same. Not tracking time is undoubtedly a very naïve approach to running a web app development agency. Practically, it is important to track how much time is being spent. That way you will be able to elevate your business internally. It’s an immediate red flag if they do not or fail to do so.

You can always understand their sophistication level of internal business processes by asking them about the project management software they use.

7. How often will you provide status reports during the development process?

Poor communication and only a status on delivery update will be the last thing you want. If you get to speak with their previous clients, do ask them how regular they communicated with the web app development agency, and were the status updates useful?

For custom work, it is crucial to have updates on project status at regular intervals that need to be dealt with. That way you will come to know about the progress of your project. A leading ecommerce web application development company should tell you what changes to expect throughout the development lifecycle.

It is not an uncommon misconception in the web development that meetings are nothing but a waste of time. But an executed and well planned meeting can be very productive. It helps save cost if issues are dealt with regularly.

8. What maintenance and support costs are there after development?

A lot of first-time clients don’t include the ongoing maintenance and support costs in their procurement planning. Of course, it can be a shock to see it included in the pricing of your web app development agency. And if the costs are discussed after the project, it is a greater shock. There are multiple costs involved in keeping a website up and running, so it is good to ask it upfront. A website is a fixed entity. As long as you need it, it will cost you money for a number of vital things, such as domain names, SSL certificates, security, email, and hosting.

There is no denying the fact that web applications have become an unavoidably vital device for business. The purpose of ecommerce web application development is streamline things for businesses and customers. With each business having unique requirements, tailored web application development is of paramount importance. This helps in having a web app that seems better than the general ones.

If you are looking for web app development for your ecommerce business, contact appbiz360 – a reliable and renowned Dallas-based web app development company.