How to Choose a WordPress Ongoing Development Agency

Only someone that hasn’t run a business website seriously still considers that the work is done when the website is finished. Most of the time, that’s actually when the complex work starts.

Always there is something that needs to be done.  You have to add new pages, update the old ones, add new products or remove the ones out of stock, change prices if you are into eCommerce, add functionalities requested by your customers, integrate marketing and CRM capabilities, fix bugs and website mistakes, or buggy plugins, etc. 

We recommend you hire a WordPress ongoing development agency that will take care of this, giving you the peace of mind and time to run a business.

Not yet convinced? Check our previous article about the top reasons you need WordPress ongoing support plans or our guide on choosing the perfect WordPress maintenance agency for your business.

Of course, you can always hire internal specialists or look for part-time developers, but this will cost you way too much compared to a WordPress agency.

There are tens of thousands of website design and development agencies.

Which is the right one for your business? 

Choosing the right agency with the proper framework and approach can be straightforward. 

In this article, I’m going to show you how to choose the perfect WordPress agency that will be able to take care of your ongoing development requirements.

1. Define your requirements

The first step is to decide what you want a WordPress ongoing development agency for. This shouldn’t be something challenging to do.

Surprisingly, many businesses don’t do this well. Some don’t know exactly why they want an agency or how the developers will achieve their desired result. Then they end up getting frustrated when things don’t go their way.

If your goals are simple, explaining what you want from an agency would be easier.

2. Value matters; price doesn’t.

One of the most exhausting phases in selecting a WordPress ongoing development agency is how much you want to spend on your efforts.

But remember that you want an agency that adds value to your business. You might have a limited budget, of course, but try to think of the value your business might get from working with an agency with a multidisciplinary team with good developing standards that deliver quality work on time.

3. Do your homework

The best place to start drawing up your list of potential development agency partners is by surveying your network.

Make sure you ask qualified persons with direct working experience with the agency. Don’t be shy to ask for references and introductions to agencies.

In addition to referrals, you can do your independent online research of agencies’ work. Several places I recommend are Clutch.co,  GoodFirms, and Codeable.

If you have a few shortlisted companies you want to move forward with, you should get all the information about them. 

You can do that by checking their websites, reading reviews about them, and browsing through their social media accounts.  

Also, you should schedule meetings with agency representatives and ask them relevant questions. 

4. Interview agencies like you would employees

I recommend approaching hiring a development agency like you would hiring an employee. You may only need to speak with one or two agencies if you have a highly qualified referral. If you don’t have a highly qualified referral, I recommend having early interviews with 3-6 agencies and narrowing the list down to 2-3, whom you should meet multiple times and ask to submit quotes.

We’ve written an article about the top 14 questions you should ask your future development agency, or you may regret later.

5. Analyze the case studies

It would help if you asked the agency owner to provide relevant case studies for similar work. You should carefully analyze the case studies and ask relevant questions about how various things have been achieved.

If the agency doesn’t have any relevant case study, you should ask the agency if they have the necessary resources to take care of your project and are confident they can deliver it.

6. Time for a reference check!

Lastly, but most importantly, ask your agencies for references. Any agency that can’t provide references probably should be ruled out. 

Just ask: “Can you please put me in touch with a few clients who are similar to us in needs and budget and who can speak about their experience working with your agency?”

7. Start small

Once you have decided to go with an agency, give them a minor assignment so you can evaluate their performance and see whether it would suit your overall needs or not. 

For example, you can ask them to audit your website or make a couple of minor changes. An audit will provide insights into your website’s performance and what can be improved. It would also show you what the agency has to offer.

8. Ask them to meet you

Before you finally choose an ongoing development agency, it is recommended that you meet them physically.  Meet them by visiting their offices. This meeting will let you know a lot of things about them, including how they operate, how big their organization is, and whether you will be able to work with them or not. 

If meeting in person is impossible because of the restrictions, time, or distance constraints, I recommend having an online one.

This is a crucial step because if you don’t trust the people you would be working with, there’s no point in choosing them for your ongoing projects.

9. Analyze their quote

The line items in the quote proposal you receive must be as granular as possible. I recommend quotes where a line item (for a feature) doesn’t go above $1000. 

Make sure you don’t end up with a catch-all quote that will most likely translate to nasty surprises down the road because they haven’t analyzed your request very well.

Further reading: WordPress Maintenance Cost: How much You Should Pay in 2022

Conclusion on choosing the Best WordPress Ongoing Development Agency

As you can see, searching for a WordPress development team is no walk in the park, but these nine steps can help you out. If you follow it, you can easily decide which agency best care for your ongoing development needs. I recommend you check further our article about the 14 Key Questions To Ask When Searching For Ongoing WordPress Development Services.