How Do You Pick a Website Developer?

You're the marketing manager or CEO of SmallCo - a retailer of sporting goods, the office manager of a small to mid sized law or accounting firm or the sales manager for a B2B manufacturer. You know your website needs rebuilt and you've got a $15k-$25k to redo the design and adder richer functionality to the site. What do you really want from a website developer and what proxies do you use to try to select the right firm to use?

When it comes right down to it, you're looking for a firm that can help you to achieve your objectives on time and within budget. The question is how do you determine from a bunch of proposals which firm to select?

• Experience - If they've build sites similar to the one you want to solve similar problems, they are more likely to be able to solve your problems successfully.
• Testimonials - Social proof that they've helped people like you. All other things being equal, the more like you the people giving the testimonials and the similar to your concerns their comments, the more likely you are to find the testimonials compelling. Interestingly, testimonials from someone substantially different may actually hurt. CTO of BigCo saying they're great at spending whatever time it takes to solve complex load balancing issues may make them seem a less good fit for a SmallCo that wants a focus on marketing and creativity.
• Advice - Do they know their subject? Can they teach you something relevant to your concerns that'll help your project to be more successful? Expertise is highly valued by most decision makers - hence the value of email newsletters, writing articles and other techniques that position a professional as an expert in their field.
• Chemistry - Working with someone on a web application is going to take a fair bit of time and a good bit of trust and give and take. You always want to pick someone you get on well with because if you don't enjoy working with them upfront, you're certainly not going to enjoy the process of getting your site built.

What do you think are some of the other criteria for selecting a firm? Geographical location? Size of company? How do you position your firm when bidding on a project?