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When should dev teams start investing in speed? originally appeared on Quora: the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world.

Answer by Angela Zhang, Software Engineer, on Quora:

As much as I’d love to say “you should invest in speed starting from day one!”, speed is just not the highest ROI thing to do when you are still looking for a product-market fit. The answer to this question really depends on the product you are building and the user base that you are building for. Some signs that you should probably start thinking about speed are:

Your users started complaining about speed. If you get bug reports that your site isn’t loading, that’s a pretty straightforward sign.
You are expanding your user base outside of urban centers in developed countries. Most internet users in the world do not have ultra fast internet connections and, as developers working in Silicon Valley, it’s difficult to build empathy for how users with slow internet connections experience your app.
You have a lot of users on mobile phones. in his talk at Google I/O 2016, Ilya Grigorik makes a very compelling point that speed and resilience matter a lot on mobile even if you think your users are all on 4G LTE connections. Even in urban centers, people are rarely on 4G internet all the time, and frequently lose cellular reception all together when they go into subways and elevators. On the other hand, in rural areas, people might only have 2G internet but tend to go offline less often. Build for speed if you want those users to have good experiences. For his full talk, see Building Fast & Resilient Web Applications.
You are paying a lot in server costs. Often times this is an indication that you are fetching too much data, or doing too much work that is either unnecessary or can be optimized.
If you have decided to invest in speed and are looking for a good place to start your performance work, take a look at this answer (shameless plug): Angela Zhang (張安琪)’s answer to What are simple ways to monitor and improve web performance?

Read more: When Should Web Development Teams Invest In Speed? 

When you realise that your business needs a website or mobile application, it’s time to hire one of the many web development companies around today. It may sound easy since a quick internet search will provide you with thousands of companies offering such services. But, wait a minute, is it really that easy? Can just any company do the work, and do it well? How do you know you will receive quality work? How much should you pay and how long will the development process take? These are questions, among many others, that need to be answered before you make your decision.

1. Know What You Want
Web development is more than having an address signifying your name and business. It is more than displaying the services you offer and leaving contact information for potential clients to get in touch. Web development involves building a unique interface that links the customer to your products and entices them to work with you. The corporate platform should provide a convenient and clear way for the customer to buy your goods or order your services. To understand exactly what you need, begin by evaluating your business process and structure. Consider the products on offer and your target clientele. With this in mind, order a web solution that simplifies the interaction with your clients. The end result should make it easier for you and your team to receive orders, process, send and track the progress of each request. This means a customer facing platform that is user-friendly and a backend solution that is functional for your business.

2. At What Cost?
Different developers will provide a wide range of price quotes for the exact same job. Many business make the mistake of simply choosing the lowest figure. However, the old adage that “cheap is expensive” also applies directly to software development. When you want to hire a web development team, focus less on the price and more on getting the features you desire. Crucial elements like a quality of the website or web product, the quantity or features and delivery timeline will be affected by a low bidding company. A company with expertise that has invested in appropriate tools will only commit time and resources where the returns are commensurate. Be prepared to pay the proper amount for a quality product. Seek quotations from different developers and compare their prices based on the features offered. Consider the quality of customer care, availability of support services and the standing or reputation of a developer in the industry. Never sacrifice quality because of money as it will quickly kill your e-commerce dreams.

Read more: 7 Things To Consider When Hiring A Web Development Company 

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Read more: Get in on the web development gold rush with this complete front end to back education