Common questions #1

I want to start writing a series of articles about some common technical-related questions my audience has. This way I can also find out what topics I should cover more in separate publications.

Should I hire a developer to build a website?

No, unless you have uncommon requirements and a big budget. The answer could be different in 2010, but the current ecosystem of website creation tools has developed a lot: one can build a simple (or not quite) website for free or for a little money.

For more custom logic, you are going to spend more time and probably money on such tools. However, it depends on the level of customness.

As a reference for such tools, you may take a look at Cardd, Unicorn Platform or Webflow (this one is more complex).

What if I need more complicated logic?

Still, you may try Webflow-like tools (Bubble, for example): they’re called low-code and no-code. Try “best no-code tools for XYZ” in a search engine to see the actual results for your use case.

Some of such instruments provide a possibility to create flows, connect them to APIs and do intricate manipulations. For example, if you want to receive an email if a visitor on your website inputs “solar” in a contact form. Or, you don’t have a website but want to convert a CSV into PDF when a user sends a file to your Telegram bot. Or, any other action anywhere. I may recommend n8n for creating various flows/actions. Or, Zapier.

Why you don’t recommend hiring a developer?

In most of the cases you need a prototype, or, to automate something quickly and see how it works, how your users/customers like it. And for that, you want to create (and iterate) a solution fast. And cheaper. So, why hire a developer to write a low-level computer language if there are tools that can do the job fast and cheap, if not for free?

Hire a developer if you know why and for what exactly. Fair reasons for that may be:

1. You already have a solution but you want to scale it. And, within the current infrastructure/tools, it’s difficult or not possible.
2. You already have a solution but it’s expensive to maintain and create new features. So, you found out how to make it cheaper, and for this job you need an engineer.

How can I optimize my website’s performance?

Visit PageSpeed Insights, input your website address, get the report. It will tell you the exact issues you have, so you may begin solving them with a help of a developer, or, by following some simple steps by yourself. For example:

1. Optimize images. Reduce their size.
2. Serve fonts locally (on your website’s server), don’t load them from CDNs too far away from your users.
3. Make sure your server handles incoming requests fast. E.g., when you type your website address, does it take long to load it for your users?
4. Make sure your website doesn’t make slow network requests to other servers. A common example may be sending analytics data or loading a chat widget.

What technologies should I use to build an app?

In most of the cases, the best technology is the one that you (or an engineer) know the best. Needless to say, it should be suitable for a job. So, the technologies you should use don’t matter. It does matter how you use them!

What database should I choose?

It doesn’t matter because any popular database will handle your data. If your use case is quite unpopular, you need a deep exploration of the databases on the market.

What cloud provider should I choose?

Pick a few that are established in the market. Then, choose one that you find the simplest to use. My personal favorite so far is DigitalOcean for non-enterprize projects.

Why do I need a website for my new business?

People usually go to search engines to find what they’re looking for. If you don’t have a website to represent your services, your target audience won’t find you. Thus, they will spend money on those businesses that demonstrated they exist online.

A website shouldn’t be a lot of pages and complicated logic inside such as chat widgets or multiple forms. Even a single page is enough if it can attract a customer by displaying what your business does, why, for who.

You may create a simple landing page for free, buy a domain of your choice, bind the page and the domain, add your website to search engines, and be ready to accept new visitors.