Your website is far more than your company’s presence in the digital space. Businesses provide several service offerings online. Besides providing up-to-date information, your website is where consumers pay online, schedule appointments, file claims, do live chat, and register for services.
Apart from all these, your website should be enabled with layers of the latest security protocols, as a best practice and by law. All these things are true with companies who want to develop Drupal-based websites.
Companies often hire Drupal development agencies when they don’t have the required resources in-house. Even if you have the needed resources, hiring a Drupal agency helps you create feature-rich websites or apps from scratch or implement custom features to the existing ones.
When Do I Need To Hire A Drupal Agency?
Circumstances that require you to hire a Drupal developer are; When you offer mostly marketing and maintenance services, without specialized developers in-house and receiving an order that involves Drupal development, hiring a Drupal agency can help you do the job.
However, you need to pay attention before hiring a Drupal agency to avoid disappointing the customer and lose the project. The best answer in such a situation is to partner with an agency with vast experience in Drupal. But, how to do that? This blog will help you know how to find and hire a Drupal agency that suits your needs.
What To Look For When Hiring A Drupal Development Agency?
Most Drupal development agencies look similar and offer almost the same services. Drupal agencies differentiate themselves from the others by claiming to have more expertise and insight in providing various benefits.
Some have expertise in delivering multi-platform web development, some are profound in app development, and web design, UX/UI design, digital strategy, etc. avoid hiring an agency that claims to be good at a lot of different things as it does not make them the right choice for you.
Your Drupal development agency should pose a handful of other disconnected capabilities apart from the Drupal 8 project. They should not be just able to provide some good-quality Drupal 8 services; they should have skills like UX/UI design, digital marketing strategy, branding, content marketing, SEO strategy, and IT management.
Also Read: 10+ Qualifications That An Expert Drupal Development Company Should Have
Some Of The Best Tips To Hire A Drupal Agency:
Hire With Purpose
Know what you want to develop or create using Drupal. The scope of your Drupal project is essential, and you need to make it clear from day one. Your Drupal agency needs to know precisely what you want from them, what website features you need, what you have initially, and how you’ll measure success at the time of delivery.
Proximity
Make sure there is at least one hour of overlap between the working hours of your in-house and agency teams. Lack of overlap might need you to do additional planning and explicit written communication with your agency to ensure predictable project progress.
At AddWeb Solution, we manage to deliver successful projects with clients, and our project managers have to take the asynchronicity of communication into account. We sometimes adapt working hours to schedule a status call with a client from the other side of the globe.
Keep The Budget Handy
Indeed, a small company can’t deliver a massive project due to the lack of processes and experience to manage a bigger team and track progress in a longer timeframe. On the other hand, a big Drupal agency might not fit into a smaller budget.
Have a budget handy, as many agencies would ask you about it. Having a budget is not about telling the exact amount you are willing to pay. You need to give a substantial amount, and knowing an overall acceptable cost helps you decide if the match is correct.
A good drupal agency is preferred by many potential clients and will ask you the budget so that you don’t have to waste your time if there is a misalignment of expectations regarding the project’s budget.
Also Read: 10 Tips For Drupal Experts To Build An Amazing Drupal Website
Browse The Company’s Website
Spend some time investigating and browsing the Drupal agency’s website. Their website may tell a lot about their personality and reach. Hiring a Drupal development company whose website is slow, lacks maintenance, and non-mobile-responsive might not be the best option. Their website is enough to give you red flags even before contacting them.
Always Create Mobile-responsiveness
The best website development agency for your Drupal 8 project should have an in-depth understanding of both standard and modular mobile responsive features in Drupal 8.
Do you know that almost eight out of ten website visitors bounce back from websites that do not load correctly on their device? Therefore, mobile responsiveness is the “crucial expertise in this area for the success of your website.
Expertise In Highly Technical Services Related To Your Project
The Drupal development agency you choose must have the ability to do everything you need for your project, complete with your competitors, and serve your customers in the best way possible.
Most of the Drupal projects need some niche service provision from the website development agency. Your organization’s needs, unique business objectives, and the standard best practices of your industry will determine what specific product and service integrations your Drupal project requires.
Consequently, the Drupal development agency for your project should already know how to implement the essential functions for your industry/market niche like payment gateway integration, interactive map development and GIS integration with the website, and more.
Results-Oriented & User-Centered Development Practices
Working with a results-oriented Drupal development agency is vital for achieving your business objectives through your website. Well-developed websites that generate leads, convert leads, create a positive brand reputation, and increase customer loyalty should intentionally move visitors through the site. It will need expertise in several different services, including web design, UX design, and digital strategy, to create such websites.
Knowledge Of The Drupal API
Drupal offers a hook system for any component of how Drupal works to be overridden. Make sure your Drupal development agency understands this system. Masters of this hook system can do amazing things for your website. Do not hire an expert PHP developer to build something in Drupal. An expert PHP programmer can quickly become a Drupal developer, but they need in-depth Drupal tools and features.
Secure Code
Drupal is a very secure platform when kept up-to-date and implemented correctly. The CMS even has its Security Team that responds to issues discovered by the Drupal community and keeps developers busy applying code updates.
However, as soon as you introduce a custom module to build large websites, ensure that the agency you hire is well versed in best practices for writing secure code in Drupal. Ask your prospective agency to ensure that their developers are aware of the custom development in Drupal and follow the best rules for web application security in the right direction.
References
Some of the best agencies in the business still have not worked with Drupal clients. You should check with the previous clients and know about their experience of working with the Drupal agency. Chances are you might get benefit from the experience of their past clients. If their website is not showcasing the portfolio, you can ask the Drupal agency upfront to name the clients they have worked with.
Conclusion
It is worth discussing all of the possibilities with the Drupal development agency before hiring the one for your project. It is important to choose the agency with appropriate competencies and the one that is open-minded and customer-oriented.
Let’s Talk Solution
AddWeb Solution can be the right choice for a Drupal agency if you are looking to hire an agency with in-depth expertise in Drupal. With a global footprint and proven track record, we have served 100+ clients in the past few months, and the number is only increasing. Have an idea? Call us, and let’s discuss!
Frequently Asked Questions
Choosing the right agency is like finding the perfect partner for your website journey. They’ll understand your needs and help create a site that reflects your vision.
Think of it as a restaurant menu. Check if the agency has experience with the kind of website you want. A diverse portfolio is like having many delicious options to choose from.
It’s like having a good conversation. A reliable agency will ask questions, listen to your ideas, and offer solutions that align with your business goals.
Experience is like a superhero cape. An agency with experience has likely faced various challenges and knows how to handle them, ensuring a smoother development process for your website.
Certifications and partnerships are like badges of honor. Agencies with Drupal certifications and partnerships are like trusted guides who know their way around the Drupal world.
Support is like having a friend who’s there when you need them. Ensure the agency offers ongoing support and maintenance plans to keep your website running smoothly post-launch.
References are like reviews for a movie. Hearing from previous clients is like watching the trailer before committing. It helps you know what to expect and builds confidence in your choice.
