customization meme

You want to start a classifieds website and you want to customize it, but you don’t want to be manipulated and dragged around by distrustful developers and scammers out there. So, what do you do? Keep reading to find out.

Okay so we’ve been at this for a while now and we come across many cases in whicg clients ask us to do a customization for their websites, then they compare prices with freelancers and pick the lowest price possible. It’s economic! I agree, but only for the time of the purchase because at the delivery time they would realize what a waste of money and time their decision had brought to them. Then they would contact us again for the same job. Sometimes the price might even be higher, yet the final product doesn’t match what the client wants and they get back to us again.

So we decided to share some ideas on what you should do when planning to customize your website and how to pick the team to do it for you.

Getting your requirements ready

Let’s say you asked me for a fruit, and I told you “Okay give me 5 USD first and I will give you a fruit” without knowing what kind of fruit you want. Don’t ever take a developer seriously if they give you their price without knowing what you want to build first.

Normally a decent developer would ask for “project requirements” before doing anything. Project requirements are standard documents that are essential to buliding your website the way you want it.

Your first steps would be to get familiar with what you want, invest some time into thinking about your project and write notes; especially when you have new ideas. Then when you fill your are ready, contact your developer.

Pick wisely

Let’s say you posted a job at Elance or freelancer to build a classifieds website, unsure of your budget however you provide details. An hour later you will receive around 45 proposals (if not even more); sent from developers from all around the world. Some genuinely read your proposal and reply, while others are not so genuine. So how do you pick the best option?

You should know some things before even starting to pick:

1- A classifieds website built from scratch would cost tens of thousands of dollars.

It is really impossible to get an affordable price for building a classifieds website without relying on some already existent script (e.g. Yclas). Because developing all of the necessary features and functions from scratch would cost a lot of time and money, and it may not even be up to your standards.

2- Any website developer would be able to build a website but a classifieds expert would deliver a better product.

A classifieds website building expert would know the ins and outs of a classifieds websites and what exactly a client would want. An expert would also give you properly placed pieces of advice that could have a huge impact on your website appeal.

3- A developer with already existent clients doesn’t mean that he’s good (they have to be happy)

Happy clients can help indicate what developer to choos. How would you know about that? Check reviews, testimonials and take a looklook at their showcase. Also, analyzing the look and feel of previous websites can suggest what your project could potentially look like.

4- On time delivery.

Having a deadline is necessary but it doesn’t guarantee that it will be met on time. We have had cases where we had hired freelancers without getting the job done at all! It is very frustrating, so how can you prevent that from happening? Deal with a reputable company/team, developers who fear for their reputation would definitely produce something satisfactory and in the designated time period. And even if you’re not so satisfied they would do their best to live up to their reputation and provide you with your preferred outcome.

5- Don’t get distracted with the price.

Pricing is a tricky issue. Some developers compete on low prices others on higher prices; it´s important to know that a high price doesn’t mean high quality and vice versa. In website development you really need to trust your intuition and how you feel about the developer, if you feel the price is honest or exaggarated.

At Yclas, we tend to be very transparent when it comes to communicating with our clients. We give fair pricing, deliver on time and with more than expected good quality. This is not only due to classifieds being our area of expertise but because we care about our reputation and our users.

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