How do I find reliable web dev companies? [modified]
-
You don't and you can't. Reliable costs coin. The reason many large companies websites are successful is the large amount of money thrown at them until it just works. A talented web developer or web development company that would charge $30,000 for a decent website is drowned by the sea of people that would charge $500 to $1000. If you want it done right you would have to hire someone ... but then you would find you would be charging your customers 100+ an hour bill rate to support the guys salary and while you will get the quality you need/want your customers will go to Craig's list and get it done for $500. They won't like what they get but your reputation will be intact. As a side note, ever noticed how a company might spend $50,000 to $250,000 on radio or T.V. advertising but only want to spend $500 on web advertising? Stay out of web design unless it is your bread and butter (or you are going to make it your bread and butter) or you will end up getting hurt.
Need custom software developed? I do custom programming based primarily on MS tools with an emphasis on C# development and consulting. A man said to the universe: "Sir I exist!" "However," replied the universe, "The fact has not created in me A sense of obligation." --Stephen Crane
Ennis Ray Lynch, Jr. wrote:
Stay out of web design unless it is your bread and butter (or you are going to make it your bread and butter) or you will end up getting hurt.
Precisely why I don't do offer web site design services. As for the $500 web sites, it's much more common than you might imagine. That said, I'd like to draw a clear distinction between programming (what most of the folks here do) and web site design using Front Page, Dreamweaver, etc. The latter lets you easily set up templates & kick out quick and simple web sites that are essentially what HTML was designed for in the first place: text, images and links. If a company is optimized to kick out these little 4 or 5 page sites and get them done in just a few hours, they're still looking at a decent hourly rate and the customer gets what they can afford. And yeah, don't get me started on how companies spend advertising dollars... :rolleyes:
Christopher Duncan
www.PracticalUSA.com
Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes
Copywriting Services -
In my marketing consultation work it's not unusual to speak with small or startup businesses who don't yet have a web site (or need the one they have pretty much scrapped and rewritten so that it actually accomplishes something). From a business perspective these needs are often quite simple, frequently just a handful of pages like home, products/services, about us and contact. These days it seems like everyone and their kid sister is a web developer, and there are tons of companies who are based in the U.S. (my point being that currency conversion is not the reason for the pricing) who routinely do such simple sites for around $500 - $1000. I have zero desire to get into this business. What I would prefer is to build a relationship with a couple of solid, ethical, dependable web dev firms so that I can sit with my clients, determine their business needs, and then put them together with one of these companies. Don't want a cut of the money, just want my clients taken care of reliably. In my quest to make life easy for my clients, I also put my own reputation on the line. If I tell them, "You need x,y and z, call my friends at This Company and they'll take care of you for a price that's in your budget," then I'll be held accountable by the client for the experience they have with the developers. And shocking as it may be to you, a very large percentage of professed web dev companies are flaky as hell. Some of the most common complaints are that they don't deliver in a timely manner, don't return phone calls, too many passes to get it right, more interested in evangalizing their favorite technologies / toys than serving the customer, etc. Not the kind of people I want tied to my company's reputation. That said, when looking for companies to refer, I have no idea how to do the weeding. About all I know is that I don't want to work with devs who have a full time job and do this on the side, as it simply provides too many opportunities for reliability problems. I also want to work with companies in the U.S. just to keep communication as simple as possible. Beyond that, no clue. Of course, I could ask for references, but what kind of idiot would give me references who wouldn't speak in glowing terms? What criteria would you use to find the solid, dependable companies amidst a standing room only crowd of amateurs, flakes and even the occasional disreputable creature? I pride myself on knowing when to say "I don't know," and this is certainly one of those times.
Christop
Don't waste your time asking for references; ask for links, then judge by what you see. Call a few of the target companies and get their take on the developer reliability and quality.
"A Journey of a Thousand Rest Stops Begins with a Single Movement"
-
In my marketing consultation work it's not unusual to speak with small or startup businesses who don't yet have a web site (or need the one they have pretty much scrapped and rewritten so that it actually accomplishes something). From a business perspective these needs are often quite simple, frequently just a handful of pages like home, products/services, about us and contact. These days it seems like everyone and their kid sister is a web developer, and there are tons of companies who are based in the U.S. (my point being that currency conversion is not the reason for the pricing) who routinely do such simple sites for around $500 - $1000. I have zero desire to get into this business. What I would prefer is to build a relationship with a couple of solid, ethical, dependable web dev firms so that I can sit with my clients, determine their business needs, and then put them together with one of these companies. Don't want a cut of the money, just want my clients taken care of reliably. In my quest to make life easy for my clients, I also put my own reputation on the line. If I tell them, "You need x,y and z, call my friends at This Company and they'll take care of you for a price that's in your budget," then I'll be held accountable by the client for the experience they have with the developers. And shocking as it may be to you, a very large percentage of professed web dev companies are flaky as hell. Some of the most common complaints are that they don't deliver in a timely manner, don't return phone calls, too many passes to get it right, more interested in evangalizing their favorite technologies / toys than serving the customer, etc. Not the kind of people I want tied to my company's reputation. That said, when looking for companies to refer, I have no idea how to do the weeding. About all I know is that I don't want to work with devs who have a full time job and do this on the side, as it simply provides too many opportunities for reliability problems. I also want to work with companies in the U.S. just to keep communication as simple as possible. Beyond that, no clue. Of course, I could ask for references, but what kind of idiot would give me references who wouldn't speak in glowing terms? What criteria would you use to find the solid, dependable companies amidst a standing room only crowd of amateurs, flakes and even the occasional disreputable creature? I pride myself on knowing when to say "I don't know," and this is certainly one of those times.
Christop
Given that you personally do not want to get involved, try this guy: http://css-tricks.com/ [css-tricks] His name is Chris Coyer. he has plenty of screen-casts on his site to show what he is capable of. I do not know him personally, but have learnt a lot from his tutorials.
-
In my marketing consultation work it's not unusual to speak with small or startup businesses who don't yet have a web site (or need the one they have pretty much scrapped and rewritten so that it actually accomplishes something). From a business perspective these needs are often quite simple, frequently just a handful of pages like home, products/services, about us and contact. These days it seems like everyone and their kid sister is a web developer, and there are tons of companies who are based in the U.S. (my point being that currency conversion is not the reason for the pricing) who routinely do such simple sites for around $500 - $1000. I have zero desire to get into this business. What I would prefer is to build a relationship with a couple of solid, ethical, dependable web dev firms so that I can sit with my clients, determine their business needs, and then put them together with one of these companies. Don't want a cut of the money, just want my clients taken care of reliably. In my quest to make life easy for my clients, I also put my own reputation on the line. If I tell them, "You need x,y and z, call my friends at This Company and they'll take care of you for a price that's in your budget," then I'll be held accountable by the client for the experience they have with the developers. And shocking as it may be to you, a very large percentage of professed web dev companies are flaky as hell. Some of the most common complaints are that they don't deliver in a timely manner, don't return phone calls, too many passes to get it right, more interested in evangalizing their favorite technologies / toys than serving the customer, etc. Not the kind of people I want tied to my company's reputation. That said, when looking for companies to refer, I have no idea how to do the weeding. About all I know is that I don't want to work with devs who have a full time job and do this on the side, as it simply provides too many opportunities for reliability problems. I also want to work with companies in the U.S. just to keep communication as simple as possible. Beyond that, no clue. Of course, I could ask for references, but what kind of idiot would give me references who wouldn't speak in glowing terms? What criteria would you use to find the solid, dependable companies amidst a standing room only crowd of amateurs, flakes and even the occasional disreputable creature? I pride myself on knowing when to say "I don't know," and this is certainly one of those times.
Christop
I'm kinda shocked that no one has offered up the obvious "hire me" response... Of course, if they're spending $500 on a custom design and markup, sheesh. A newly-minted-college-graduate-designer is asking for $35/hr. Being able to kick out a full design and implementation (that doesn't suck) in less than 15 hours is a tight, tight deadline, and I would be skeptical of anyone who could commit to it at that price point. All in all, it looks to me like it would vary from client to client as to how they are looking to market themselves, how far they are into the branding process, and how much they want to get out of their investment. I can throw together a template and put some content in a site in about 2 hours. It looks like it was thrown together in about 2 hours too. Alternatively, I can put together one helluva nice web application that does some nifty stuff, but that takes considerably longer and is considerably more expensive. I guess what I'm trying to say is: you get what you pay for. People don't price themselves that low because they love working at $7/hr. They price themselves that low because that's how they land hundreds of clients that they can piss off before going to the next business.
-
In my marketing consultation work it's not unusual to speak with small or startup businesses who don't yet have a web site (or need the one they have pretty much scrapped and rewritten so that it actually accomplishes something). From a business perspective these needs are often quite simple, frequently just a handful of pages like home, products/services, about us and contact. These days it seems like everyone and their kid sister is a web developer, and there are tons of companies who are based in the U.S. (my point being that currency conversion is not the reason for the pricing) who routinely do such simple sites for around $500 - $1000. I have zero desire to get into this business. What I would prefer is to build a relationship with a couple of solid, ethical, dependable web dev firms so that I can sit with my clients, determine their business needs, and then put them together with one of these companies. Don't want a cut of the money, just want my clients taken care of reliably. In my quest to make life easy for my clients, I also put my own reputation on the line. If I tell them, "You need x,y and z, call my friends at This Company and they'll take care of you for a price that's in your budget," then I'll be held accountable by the client for the experience they have with the developers. And shocking as it may be to you, a very large percentage of professed web dev companies are flaky as hell. Some of the most common complaints are that they don't deliver in a timely manner, don't return phone calls, too many passes to get it right, more interested in evangalizing their favorite technologies / toys than serving the customer, etc. Not the kind of people I want tied to my company's reputation. That said, when looking for companies to refer, I have no idea how to do the weeding. About all I know is that I don't want to work with devs who have a full time job and do this on the side, as it simply provides too many opportunities for reliability problems. I also want to work with companies in the U.S. just to keep communication as simple as possible. Beyond that, no clue. Of course, I could ask for references, but what kind of idiot would give me references who wouldn't speak in glowing terms? What criteria would you use to find the solid, dependable companies amidst a standing room only crowd of amateurs, flakes and even the occasional disreputable creature? I pride myself on knowing when to say "I don't know," and this is certainly one of those times.
Christop
you can try elance.com
It is Good to be Important but! it is more Important to be Good
-
In my marketing consultation work it's not unusual to speak with small or startup businesses who don't yet have a web site (or need the one they have pretty much scrapped and rewritten so that it actually accomplishes something). From a business perspective these needs are often quite simple, frequently just a handful of pages like home, products/services, about us and contact. These days it seems like everyone and their kid sister is a web developer, and there are tons of companies who are based in the U.S. (my point being that currency conversion is not the reason for the pricing) who routinely do such simple sites for around $500 - $1000. I have zero desire to get into this business. What I would prefer is to build a relationship with a couple of solid, ethical, dependable web dev firms so that I can sit with my clients, determine their business needs, and then put them together with one of these companies. Don't want a cut of the money, just want my clients taken care of reliably. In my quest to make life easy for my clients, I also put my own reputation on the line. If I tell them, "You need x,y and z, call my friends at This Company and they'll take care of you for a price that's in your budget," then I'll be held accountable by the client for the experience they have with the developers. And shocking as it may be to you, a very large percentage of professed web dev companies are flaky as hell. Some of the most common complaints are that they don't deliver in a timely manner, don't return phone calls, too many passes to get it right, more interested in evangalizing their favorite technologies / toys than serving the customer, etc. Not the kind of people I want tied to my company's reputation. That said, when looking for companies to refer, I have no idea how to do the weeding. About all I know is that I don't want to work with devs who have a full time job and do this on the side, as it simply provides too many opportunities for reliability problems. I also want to work with companies in the U.S. just to keep communication as simple as possible. Beyond that, no clue. Of course, I could ask for references, but what kind of idiot would give me references who wouldn't speak in glowing terms? What criteria would you use to find the solid, dependable companies amidst a standing room only crowd of amateurs, flakes and even the occasional disreputable creature? I pride myself on knowing when to say "I don't know," and this is certainly one of those times.
Christop
I think I would start first talking to your existing clients and see who they would refer. I imagine that there must be a few of them that have decent websites, and it wouldn't hurt to ask who did the work. After that, it comes down to developing a relationship with the web design company. While it would be nice to o just find that perfect match, and know you can just "trust them" and not have to get involved, I don't think that is practical. First off, they may have good business practices and such, but it could be different than what your clients are used to. If your clients are used to dealing with you in a specific manner then having to deal with this web design company in a different manner can be somewhat jarring to the client. That be said, I would suggest the following once you found a candidate: 1. Start with a review, and maybe a redesign of your own web site (what, you don't have one? ;) ). See how you feel about them as a professional company with yourself as a guinea pig, so to speak. If you don't like what they do for yourself, it would be hard to recommend them to anyone else. 2. Next, I would try having them do some work for a 1 or 2 clients, but keep yourself firmly in the manager's chair. All design decisions would have to go through you. They can meet with the client as necessary, but you should follow up with your client to be sure that they are satisfied with the results. 3. Once you are satisfied that the web design company is capable and professional, kick off the training wheels and let them do a few more projects with some of your more "understanding" clients. Make sure that your client knows that if they are not happy with how the web design company is working with them that they can call you at any time and that you will fix it. I don't think there is any simple "just use these guys" solution. You are putting your professional reputation on the line to your clients, and as such you have to be totally satisfied with the work and the processes used by the web design company. You have to get to know them, and develop that business relationship with them, even if you don't actually work directly with them. In turn, they must also be willing to adapt their own business practices to some degree, so that you and your clients are comfortable with them. After all, you will be referring work to them, they should in turn allow for some flexibility in their practices to make you happy. It's all a matter of trust, and that doesn't happen overnight...
-
Personally, I'd look at their work checking out how it looks, as well as checking the source and see if they actually thought things through or just slapped a bunch of scripts together as the minimum.
I can imagine the sinking feeling one would have after ordering my book, only to find a laughably ridiculous theory with demented logic once the book arrives - Mark McCutcheon
If you are somewhat proficient, looking at the source code is a big tell tell. Now, if its tip top, it might not be a $500-$100 job. In my experience, Its usually a a 3-4K once all is said and done. This is for a properly coded, valid, modern, semantic, optimized, well designed site. What are you after, top quality, or maybe more on the responsive end. The complaints of the too many tries to get it right is often the result of poor communication when gathering requirements. Whether is giving wrong answers to the devs (common) or the devs asking the wrong questions (this is also common among amateur developers)
-
In my marketing consultation work it's not unusual to speak with small or startup businesses who don't yet have a web site (or need the one they have pretty much scrapped and rewritten so that it actually accomplishes something). From a business perspective these needs are often quite simple, frequently just a handful of pages like home, products/services, about us and contact. These days it seems like everyone and their kid sister is a web developer, and there are tons of companies who are based in the U.S. (my point being that currency conversion is not the reason for the pricing) who routinely do such simple sites for around $500 - $1000. I have zero desire to get into this business. What I would prefer is to build a relationship with a couple of solid, ethical, dependable web dev firms so that I can sit with my clients, determine their business needs, and then put them together with one of these companies. Don't want a cut of the money, just want my clients taken care of reliably. In my quest to make life easy for my clients, I also put my own reputation on the line. If I tell them, "You need x,y and z, call my friends at This Company and they'll take care of you for a price that's in your budget," then I'll be held accountable by the client for the experience they have with the developers. And shocking as it may be to you, a very large percentage of professed web dev companies are flaky as hell. Some of the most common complaints are that they don't deliver in a timely manner, don't return phone calls, too many passes to get it right, more interested in evangalizing their favorite technologies / toys than serving the customer, etc. Not the kind of people I want tied to my company's reputation. That said, when looking for companies to refer, I have no idea how to do the weeding. About all I know is that I don't want to work with devs who have a full time job and do this on the side, as it simply provides too many opportunities for reliability problems. I also want to work with companies in the U.S. just to keep communication as simple as possible. Beyond that, no clue. Of course, I could ask for references, but what kind of idiot would give me references who wouldn't speak in glowing terms? What criteria would you use to find the solid, dependable companies amidst a standing room only crowd of amateurs, flakes and even the occasional disreputable creature? I pride myself on knowing when to say "I don't know," and this is certainly one of those times.
Christop
Hey Christopher, Trust me when I say, this is something you just have to feel your way through. I'm sure you could get a few good recommendations, but even if you find the best programmer in the world, there's always communication issues and you need to be able to relate to the person. i.e. learn how they work and what's the best way to communicate with your needs to them; this takes time. I have multiple web designers I work with and each of them "take instructions" differently, some only understand the task if I give them instructions face to face, others I simply do mock-up diagrams with notes attached and this works, others a phone conversation is enough. My point is after you get your recommendations, you'll still have to feel your way through what works for communication medium between them. But look for people that understand this struggle already. I know you mentioned you're looking for US partners; I'm in Canada, but if you're interested in talking about this more shoot me off an email: dbrowne [at] candevservices.com and check out my website www.candevservices.com and let me know if you're interested in a more detailed conversation. Yes it’s a bit of shameless marketing, but believe me when I say, I know how hard it is to find good designers/developers. I’m sure I could help you out.
Dwain Browne www.candevservices.com
-
In my marketing consultation work it's not unusual to speak with small or startup businesses who don't yet have a web site (or need the one they have pretty much scrapped and rewritten so that it actually accomplishes something). From a business perspective these needs are often quite simple, frequently just a handful of pages like home, products/services, about us and contact. These days it seems like everyone and their kid sister is a web developer, and there are tons of companies who are based in the U.S. (my point being that currency conversion is not the reason for the pricing) who routinely do such simple sites for around $500 - $1000. I have zero desire to get into this business. What I would prefer is to build a relationship with a couple of solid, ethical, dependable web dev firms so that I can sit with my clients, determine their business needs, and then put them together with one of these companies. Don't want a cut of the money, just want my clients taken care of reliably. In my quest to make life easy for my clients, I also put my own reputation on the line. If I tell them, "You need x,y and z, call my friends at This Company and they'll take care of you for a price that's in your budget," then I'll be held accountable by the client for the experience they have with the developers. And shocking as it may be to you, a very large percentage of professed web dev companies are flaky as hell. Some of the most common complaints are that they don't deliver in a timely manner, don't return phone calls, too many passes to get it right, more interested in evangalizing their favorite technologies / toys than serving the customer, etc. Not the kind of people I want tied to my company's reputation. That said, when looking for companies to refer, I have no idea how to do the weeding. About all I know is that I don't want to work with devs who have a full time job and do this on the side, as it simply provides too many opportunities for reliability problems. I also want to work with companies in the U.S. just to keep communication as simple as possible. Beyond that, no clue. Of course, I could ask for references, but what kind of idiot would give me references who wouldn't speak in glowing terms? What criteria would you use to find the solid, dependable companies amidst a standing room only crowd of amateurs, flakes and even the occasional disreputable creature? I pride myself on knowing when to say "I don't know," and this is certainly one of those times.
Christop
-
In my marketing consultation work it's not unusual to speak with small or startup businesses who don't yet have a web site (or need the one they have pretty much scrapped and rewritten so that it actually accomplishes something). From a business perspective these needs are often quite simple, frequently just a handful of pages like home, products/services, about us and contact. These days it seems like everyone and their kid sister is a web developer, and there are tons of companies who are based in the U.S. (my point being that currency conversion is not the reason for the pricing) who routinely do such simple sites for around $500 - $1000. I have zero desire to get into this business. What I would prefer is to build a relationship with a couple of solid, ethical, dependable web dev firms so that I can sit with my clients, determine their business needs, and then put them together with one of these companies. Don't want a cut of the money, just want my clients taken care of reliably. In my quest to make life easy for my clients, I also put my own reputation on the line. If I tell them, "You need x,y and z, call my friends at This Company and they'll take care of you for a price that's in your budget," then I'll be held accountable by the client for the experience they have with the developers. And shocking as it may be to you, a very large percentage of professed web dev companies are flaky as hell. Some of the most common complaints are that they don't deliver in a timely manner, don't return phone calls, too many passes to get it right, more interested in evangalizing their favorite technologies / toys than serving the customer, etc. Not the kind of people I want tied to my company's reputation. That said, when looking for companies to refer, I have no idea how to do the weeding. About all I know is that I don't want to work with devs who have a full time job and do this on the side, as it simply provides too many opportunities for reliability problems. I also want to work with companies in the U.S. just to keep communication as simple as possible. Beyond that, no clue. Of course, I could ask for references, but what kind of idiot would give me references who wouldn't speak in glowing terms? What criteria would you use to find the solid, dependable companies amidst a standing room only crowd of amateurs, flakes and even the occasional disreputable creature? I pride myself on knowing when to say "I don't know," and this is certainly one of those times.
Christop
Hello, This is a very interesting question that if you think about it, really applies to any sector of work. I would say to go about it the same general way you would hire an electrician, choose a doctor, select a web hosting company, etc. There is a set of research steps involved (that you seem to have already gone through), but there is the moment that you must simply take an educated "plunge" (for lack of a better word) and make your decision. You seem very cautious and diligent, so perhaps you have a small personal project, or something similar, that you can "try out" on a company or individual you like on the surface? As a web developer and designer myself, I know how valuable and telling the first real impression can be. Then you can begin to push forward with your larger client projects, or instead choose another company/individual if you didn't like the initial trial results. There are also other signs you might look for in a web company that you can trust, such as: free consultations, number of included revisions, etc. These are costless pieces of information that you can use in the weeding process. :-D
Web. Print. Fine Art. oooshola.com
-
In my marketing consultation work it's not unusual to speak with small or startup businesses who don't yet have a web site (or need the one they have pretty much scrapped and rewritten so that it actually accomplishes something). From a business perspective these needs are often quite simple, frequently just a handful of pages like home, products/services, about us and contact. These days it seems like everyone and their kid sister is a web developer, and there are tons of companies who are based in the U.S. (my point being that currency conversion is not the reason for the pricing) who routinely do such simple sites for around $500 - $1000. I have zero desire to get into this business. What I would prefer is to build a relationship with a couple of solid, ethical, dependable web dev firms so that I can sit with my clients, determine their business needs, and then put them together with one of these companies. Don't want a cut of the money, just want my clients taken care of reliably. In my quest to make life easy for my clients, I also put my own reputation on the line. If I tell them, "You need x,y and z, call my friends at This Company and they'll take care of you for a price that's in your budget," then I'll be held accountable by the client for the experience they have with the developers. And shocking as it may be to you, a very large percentage of professed web dev companies are flaky as hell. Some of the most common complaints are that they don't deliver in a timely manner, don't return phone calls, too many passes to get it right, more interested in evangalizing their favorite technologies / toys than serving the customer, etc. Not the kind of people I want tied to my company's reputation. That said, when looking for companies to refer, I have no idea how to do the weeding. About all I know is that I don't want to work with devs who have a full time job and do this on the side, as it simply provides too many opportunities for reliability problems. I also want to work with companies in the U.S. just to keep communication as simple as possible. Beyond that, no clue. Of course, I could ask for references, but what kind of idiot would give me references who wouldn't speak in glowing terms? What criteria would you use to find the solid, dependable companies amidst a standing room only crowd of amateurs, flakes and even the occasional disreputable creature? I pride myself on knowing when to say "I don't know," and this is certainly one of those times.
Christop
Yep, it's a crapshoot. You try out some companies and hopefully one of them fits your needs. Might want to explain to your customer that you are exploring new partners and if there is ANY problem whatsoever they are to let you know immediately. This might offset any bad feelings if any issues arrise. You can attempt to skew your odds by talking to some of your peers to see what companies have worked out for them in the past. And, you're right about references. No one in their right mind is going to list a reference that is not going to give them a glowing recommendation. Or, you could try us: http://www.rchltd.com
-
In my marketing consultation work it's not unusual to speak with small or startup businesses who don't yet have a web site (or need the one they have pretty much scrapped and rewritten so that it actually accomplishes something). From a business perspective these needs are often quite simple, frequently just a handful of pages like home, products/services, about us and contact. These days it seems like everyone and their kid sister is a web developer, and there are tons of companies who are based in the U.S. (my point being that currency conversion is not the reason for the pricing) who routinely do such simple sites for around $500 - $1000. I have zero desire to get into this business. What I would prefer is to build a relationship with a couple of solid, ethical, dependable web dev firms so that I can sit with my clients, determine their business needs, and then put them together with one of these companies. Don't want a cut of the money, just want my clients taken care of reliably. In my quest to make life easy for my clients, I also put my own reputation on the line. If I tell them, "You need x,y and z, call my friends at This Company and they'll take care of you for a price that's in your budget," then I'll be held accountable by the client for the experience they have with the developers. And shocking as it may be to you, a very large percentage of professed web dev companies are flaky as hell. Some of the most common complaints are that they don't deliver in a timely manner, don't return phone calls, too many passes to get it right, more interested in evangalizing their favorite technologies / toys than serving the customer, etc. Not the kind of people I want tied to my company's reputation. That said, when looking for companies to refer, I have no idea how to do the weeding. About all I know is that I don't want to work with devs who have a full time job and do this on the side, as it simply provides too many opportunities for reliability problems. I also want to work with companies in the U.S. just to keep communication as simple as possible. Beyond that, no clue. Of course, I could ask for references, but what kind of idiot would give me references who wouldn't speak in glowing terms? What criteria would you use to find the solid, dependable companies amidst a standing room only crowd of amateurs, flakes and even the occasional disreputable creature? I pride myself on knowing when to say "I don't know," and this is certainly one of those times.
Christop