How to choose an IT company or web developer
The most common IT horror story is not a hack. It is a business that discovers its domain, website or email accounts are registered to a developer who has stopped answering the phone. Here is what to check, and what to insist on, before you hire.
Own your domain and accounts
Your domain name, such as a .co.za, should be registered in your business's name, with you as the registrant, and you should hold the login for the registrar, hosting, email and any website platform. Your developer can have access too, but the accounts should be yours. Ask for this in writing before work starts.
POPIA: they handle your customers' data
If an IT company or developer handles personal information for you, such as your customer database, email or website forms, POPIA treats them as an operator and requires a written agreement that obliges them to keep that information secure. A professional provider will have one ready.
Questions worth asking
- Backups: how often, where are they kept, and have they been tested?
- Who owns the code and design when the project is paid for?
- Support: response times, what is included, and what costs extra.
- Handover: if you part ways, what do you get, and how quickly?
Agree it in writing
Scope, milestones, payment linked to delivery, ownership, support terms and a handover clause. Check the company on the CIPC register, and for a supplier you will rely on long-term, run the checks in how to check a supplier before you sign.
Common questions
Who should own my website domain?
Your business. The domain should be registered with your business as the registrant, and you should hold the logins for the registrar, hosting and email, even if your developer also has access.
Does my IT provider need a POPIA agreement?
If they process personal information on your behalf, POPIA treats them as an operator and requires a written agreement obliging them to keep it secure.
Who owns the code a developer writes for me?
Whatever the contract says, so agree it in writing before work starts. Ask for ownership to transfer to you on payment, with a handover of all code and accounts.