How to Choose a Web Developer? 12 Criteria to Evaluate

Why is the choice so difficult?

There are hundreds of web developers and agencies in Estonia. Prices vary from €300 to €30,000 for the "same" project. How do you make the right choice?

12 Criteria

1. Live sites in portfolio – Are projects from the last 12 months still online and fast?
2. Client reviews – Check Google, Facebook, and LinkedIn (not just their own website).
3. Technical competence – WordPress, React, SEO, performance.
4. Design and UX – Do the projects look modern and user-friendly?
5. Mobile optimisation – Test their portfolio on a mobile device.
6. Loading speed – PageSpeed Insights score above 80.
7. SEO practices – Meta tags, semantic HTML, sitemaps.
8. Maintenance and support – What happens after the launch?
9. Communication – Do they respond quickly and clearly?
10. Pricing structure – Fixed price vs hourly rate, transparency.
11. Legal – Contract, GDPR compliance, data ownership.
12. Location – A local developer understands the Estonian market better.

Red Flags

• Promises to "do everything" for an extremely low price.
• Does not show a portfolio.
• Does not mention maintenance.
• Uses pirated themes or plugins.
• Does not grant you administrator access.
• "Turnaround time" under 2 weeks for a complex project.

Questions to Ask

• Who owns the website and the code after completion?
• Can I update the content myself?
• What happens if the site goes down?
• How quickly do you fix critical errors?
• Do you offer SEO optimisation?
• Do you perform backups?

Local vs International

International developers (e.g., Ukraine, India) are 30–60% cheaper, but: - Time zones slow down communication. - Language barriers lead to misunderstandings. - Lack of local Estonian market knowledge. - Future maintenance can be complicated.

A local developer is slightly more expensive, but the investment pays off.

Summary

Choosing a web developer is a long-term relationship – you will likely work together for 3–5 years. Invest time in finding the right partner. Ask us for a free assessment of your project.