100 Questions you should have Answers to before you start a Tech Startup Idea

by Ishita Lakra

If you are reading this post, that means you are planning on building a Startup or already have one. We all have startup ideas but we have to do the right things and experiment quickly and efficiently with less budget in order to make it work. If you are a startup founder building an Internet based Business, these list of answers will help you a lot. In fact, you might have already faced some of these yourself.

 

MOBILE APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT

  1. Should we build both website and a mobile app for our startup? In which case will a mobile app be convenient?

 

Answer: Deciding on a website of an app or both depends on what your product is/does. A website is important for expressing and showcasing what your startup is all about. Also, if your product is something related to e-commerce or bookings or something people could use on a daily basis, then yes a mobile application is equally important as well.

 

  1. Objective C, C++ or Swift – which one to be preferred for iOS programming?

Answer: Although Objective C and C++ have been used for development excessively, but Swift has been taking over the field recently. First, the Swift compiler is stable and feature complete enough to be used day-to-day without many issues. The type system is supportive and the compiler errors are getting better and better all the time. Those errors on average actually lead to faster debugging and faster development.

 

  1. What platform should we target- iOS or Android or both?

Answer: To know what you want, ask the following questions before building a mobile app – What do your majority users use, What are your tablet plans, What are your developers familiar with and Do you want to charge your users for the app?

 

  1. Should we support iPad version for iOS and tablet version for Android?

Answer: Is your app something that the users would like to use on iPads and Tablets? Mostly game apps tend to be supported on such platforms, but if your app does like cab bookings, then supporting it over such platforms would be pointless.

 

  1. Should I have a mobile application with all features same as the website?

Answer: For deciding on what all should be a part of your app, read this blog for assistance – http://www.rapidvaluesolutions.com/whitepapers/responsive-web-design.html

 

  1. Should we consider developing mobile apps in-house or should we outsource?

Answers: Both strategies work for startups. However, if you go for outsourcing, remember that communication is key. Make your end results and goals clear for your team to understand. Give specific tasks and modules. Management is important.

 

  1. Which is better: Native Mobile App or Hybrid Mobile app?

Answer: This is a crucial question. You can decide whether you need a Native or a hybrid App by answering a few simple questions as follows:

  1. What features you need in the App? Hybrid Apps can only support a limited features and to use advanced features, you might have to go with Native Android or Native iOS App.
  2. What platforms do you need the App for? If you need the App only for one platform viz, iOS / Android, it might me more feasible to get a native App rather than a hybrid Mobile App.
  3. What’s your budget? Building Native Apps for different platforms like Android native App, iOS native App, Windows native mobile App, Blackberry native app etc can be expensive. While,  hybrid mobile Apps are built for multiple platforms.

Although there is no right or wrong for this question, this blog article on Hybrid-vs-Native Mobile Apps will help you understand and decide better.

 

  1. What are the key considerations for enterprise mobile application development?

Answer: There are five key considerations here – Scalability, Performance, Security, App Training and App Distribution. To read more about them, follow this link – http://appitventures.com/5-key-considerations-when-developing-enterprise-apps/

 

  1. What are some common mistakes that android developers make that we could avoid?

Answer: Here’s an insightful blog written by Ivan Dimoski covering some mistakes made by android developers. https://www.toptal.com/android/top-10-most-common-android-development-mistakes

 

  1. What are some common mistakes that iOS developers make that we could avoid?

Answer: Here’s an insightful blog covering some mistakes made by iOS developers. https://www.toptal.com/ios/top-ios-development-mistakes

 

  1. How often should we update our app and its content?

Answer: If your app is content centric and seasonal, say your app is dedicated covering a certain team for the upcoming football season, then you naturally have to keep up with every season to provide value to your fanbase. When content is dynamic in an app there will always fresh content to keep users engaged, and in return, not as many large updates are needed besides bug fixes.  Every season you might consider doing some sort of overhaul to either add new features or modify the design in order to get your users excited about using the app again for your upcoming seasonal sport, event, etc. So you would have to push out updates every season with the new features you would want to add.

 

  1. From where can I get some material design ideas to help me with android development?

Answer: Here’s a collection of some material designs that we hope will benefit you. https://developer.android.com/design/index.html

 

  1. For better user experience, is it important to localize the mobile app for different languages?

Answer: If you’ve got a successful app on your hands in your home country, the chances are with the right mobile app localization, it could get exposure to foreign markets too. An impressive example would be Nintendo’s Pokémon Go game app.

 

DIGITAL MARKETING, BLOGGING AND SEO:

 

  1. How to spread the word out about our product?

Answer: To know about the various steps you could take to spread the word, here’s what to read – http://devgrow.com/12-ways-to-market-your-website-for-free/

 

  1. What the best Digital Marketing tools that we can use?

Answer: From social media marketing to website analytics, here’s a list of tools that you can use as per your digital marketing needs – http://sproutsocial.com/insights/digital-marketing-tools/

 

  1. Does sending out cold emails help? Is email marketing still effective?

Answer: No matter how many tools are there, emails still hold ground in marketing. Identify your potential clients and email them keeping in mind precision and professionalism. To not end up generating trash emails, it is better to take some assistance of email templates that you can easily find over the internet.

 

  1. What all social media platforms are beneficial for marketing?

Answer: The most effective and widespread platforms are Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube.

 

  1. How can I make sure my emails don’t end up in the spam folder?

Answer: Don’t use false or misleading header information or deceptive subject lines. Avoid using spam trigger words and phishing lines. Also, include a Text Version of your email if you are sending HTML emails. You could also use spam checkers before sending out the email.

 

  1. What is the best day and time to send my marketing emails?

Answer: According to Customer.io, Tuesdays’ emails have an overall open rate of about 18%, the highest open rate compared to the other weekday. Also, according to Campaign Monitor, 24% emails are opened between 6pm to 11pm.

 

  1. Does keeping a blog help the website/business?

Answer: Yes. In fact, consider keeping a blog mandatory. From product versions to your opinions, you can share valuable content with your users, so that they understand you and your business better.

 

  1. How do I make my content engaging?

Answer: Stop trying to sell. Engage with audience across channels and involve your community as well, reply to comments, give informative content and also try using videos and photos as an important tool.

 

  1. I tried Google AdWords but it was a waste of money. What would you suggest?

Answer: Here’s how you could make Adwords not a waste of money – http://www.audiencebloom.com/avoid-wasting-money-google-adwords/

 

  1. Should we be using Google+ for marketing?

Answer: Although Google+ seemed promising in the beginning, it is not an effective platform for social media marketing. Other platforms mentioned in the above questions are strong in terms of digital marketing.

 

  1. What is the difference between a blog or a forum?

Answer: A blog for your website is a place where you can generate valuable and relatable content for your readers and users. On the other hand, a forum is a platform where discussions as well as questionnaires can take place. Forums help customers ask their queries and concerns on the website.

 

  1. Should we offer advertisements on our website?

Answer: Yes, advertisements are a quick way of earning money on your website. However, Generating irrelevant advertisements on your website look like spam and undesirable to users. Therefore, choose carefully.

 

  1. Would Advertisements send out a negative image to users?
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Answer: Most people think that if they spend X dollars on their website and online marketing campaign, they will get Y amount of business. Spending more money on advertising does not necessarily mean more business. Effective advertising requires you to deliver the right message to the right people at the right time in the right way.

 

  1. Is WordPress an efficient medium for building our website?

Answer: Here’s a full fledged explanation of WordPress as a website building medium – http://www.wpbeginner.com/beginners-guide/wordpress-vs-html-whats-best-for-your-business-website/

 

  1. Do users really read website blogs?

Answer: Blogs are the best way of engaging people on your website. A blog gives users meaningful description of what you do and what your product does. Yes, users do read blogs. So, keep them updated and informative.

 

  1. What type of content should we provide on our website blog?

Answer: Write articles related to your product or services or your views on them. You could use infographics and videos to engage the users. Keep the content related to what you do and believe in – at all times. Do not trash talk.

 

  1. How can we see if optimization is working for the different kinds of content on our blog/website?  

Answer: This Hubspot article covers how to optimize your blog posts for the keywords you care about, along with a few other optimization tactics you should keep in mind – https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/seo-friendly-blog-post-checklist-ht#sm.0001k7t2du12p5ey3pl947zloi7q8

 

  1. We are beginners on WordPress. What can you tell us about WordPress mistakes we could avoid?

Answer: Here’s a beginner’s guide y WordPress for you to avoid mistakes of any kind – http://www.wpbeginner.com/beginners-guide/25-most-common-wordpress-mistakes-to-avoid/ . Hope this helps you developing on WordPress.

 

  1. For digital marketing, is it necessary to post original content?

Answer: Yes, original content always matter. It shows how much effort you’re putting into expressing your product/service to your users. However, if you do ant to share articles/infographics from other websites, you can do so WITH proper rights given to the person/blog involved.

 

  1. How to avoid spamming potential users?

Answer: Generate content that is relevant and matters to both you and your users. For example, if you have a travel blog/website, writing or sharing articles related to machine learning would not be fruitful for you or for your users.

 

  1. How to write effective emails to clients/customers?

Answer: When it comes to writing emails, it is important to not seem desperate or trying to sell. Follow this list of Do’s and Don’t’s for better emailing techniques – http://enventyspartners.com/blog/email-dos-and-donts-for-startups

 

  1. What the some effective Do’s and Don’t’s for web content?

Answer: Web Content matters as much as anything else on the website. For better engagement of your users, it is better to act smartly and write smartly as well. For further assistance, read about the Do’s and Don’t’s here – https://expresswriters.com/dos-and-donts-of-content-writing/

 

  1. Which platform would be best for creating a blog for our startup?

Answer: Though WordPress is the most widely used for blogging, you can also try other platforms as per your convenience and needs such as Blogger, Tumblr, Wix, Drupal, Medium etc.

 

  1. How to do social media marketing effectively without seeming desperate?

Answer: The biggest concern today with digital marketing is to avoid looking desperate or sellers. Therefore, to put your word out to the right people at the right platforms is important. Have a read of this article and understand better what matters and what doesn’t – http://www.imadigitalmarketer.com/blog/how-to-make-your-content-viral-without-looking-desperate

 

  1. These days, has it become necessary to use analytics in startups?

Answer: Though nothing is necessary when it comes to startups, but analytics is gaining popularity among startups because the unpredictability and the risk are something every startup wants to work on. Fortunately, they can find some comfort in startup analytics. They’re logical, rational and highly informative about their users, activities, stats etc.

 

  1. What the some effective Don’t’s for Marketing strategy?

Answer: Don’t tell customers how great you are. Don’t fall into the marketing-speak trap. Don’t waste your time networking with strangers. Don’t waste your time following up. Don’t dumb it down for social media. And most importantly, don’t put all your faith in passion.

 

  1. Is it important to purchase a CMS strategy for our website?

Answer: Using a content management system (CMS) to power your site could be one of the best investments you make in your website – and your business. And you do need to invest – your website is one of your main tools for communicating with your customers and you want to make sure they love it.

 

  1. How to select the correct CMS for our website?

Answer: Selecting and investing in the right CMS for your website is important to not waste time and money. Here are the steps you could follow in order to select the best cms for you – http://www.cmswire.com/cms/web-cms/7-rules-for-selecting-the-right-content-management-system-023026.php

 

  1. Is SEO a necessity for success of websites/blogs?

Answer: When you apply good SEO practices and you use these for a long period of time, you will keep receiving traffic from the search engines. Such traffic is a lot cheaper since you only basically pay for the work that is done by the search engine optimization professional, if you decide to hire one. As soon as you stop investing or you simply reduce your budget, traffic will keep coming in, oftentimes for months after the work was stopped. So yes, SEO has given positive results throughout. Read this for further assistance – http://positionly.com/blog/post/50989209804/magnetic-landing-page-5-steps-to-conversion-rate

 

  1. How to engage more users for our startup?

Answer: Whether it’s through cold emails, reaching out to influencers, hosting an event where you meet users, giving away swag, or building your all-star team, you need to give your startup a nudge. It may take longer than you’d like, and it will involve plenty of hard work and motivation, but it’s one of the best methods to gain traction for startups.

 

  1. How effective is Twitter when it comes to growing audience?

Answer: Over the years, Twitter has gained immensive popularity and approval from celebrities, startup founders, politicians etc all across the world. The reason is it’s efficiency and ease of use. So why not? Twitter will help you gain traction and audience.

 

  1. Any ideas on how we can define a set of keywords that we can use for SEO?

Answer: Define keywords on the basis of your website/product/app. Select words that can be used as adjectives and nouns to your product. Do not overflow with words. Use a basic list and keep using it regularly to build audience.

 

  1. How do we get our website listed on Google?

Answer: Here is how Google can help you with this – https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/6259634?hl=en

 

  1. Are there any effective email tools for making emailing easier?

Answer: Litmus, Mail Chimp, Reach Mail, Amazon Mail Services, Mad mimi, mailjet, Aweber, Flashissue and GetResponse are some famous emailing tools that startups use. You can explore these or maybe try other ones as well.

 

MANAGEMENT:

 

  1. We have a good idea for a tech startup. What all skills should the team have? What is the ideal team size?

Answer: Apart from the founder(s), your startup needs developers for website and mobile apps, designers, content writers, marketers and the financial experts. And to manage them all, a project manager is also a plus hand.

  1. What visualisation tools can make our product easy to use?

Answer: Here’s a collection of some impressive visualisation tools for you to explore and use – https://thenextweb.com/dd/2015/04/21/the-14-best-data-visualization-tools/#.tnw_Kv5ul1Qe

 

  1. How should our product/app work in offline scenarios?

Answer: That depends on what your product/app does. If it is, for example, a photo editing app, it should work as efficiently in offline mode too. On the other hand, if your app is a shopping app, you need to decide what it should/should not do in offline scenarios.

 

  1. Is Agile methodology the best one to be followed?

Answer: Agile model believes that every project needs to be handled differently and the existing methods need to be tailored to best suit the project requirements. In agile the tasks are divided to time boxes to deliver specific features for a release. Agile uses adaptive approach where there is no detailed planning and there is clarity on future tasks only in respect of what features need to be developed. The product is tested very frequently, through the release iterations, minimizing the risk of any major failures in future.

 

  1. What are the most useful project management tools for startups?
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Answer: Codebase, Jira, Basecamp, Goplan, Blossom etc are some popular project management tools used by startups these days.

 

  1. What all tools can be used for communication among team members?

Answer: Flowdock, Hipchat, Podio, Quip, Slack, Sqwibble and Yammer are some common tools used for communication.

 

  1. Should I invest in photographers for my website?

Answer: Though images are an important aspect of websites, it is not necessary to spend a huge amount of your money of them. Sometimes simplicity works better. It all depends on what you want to showcase on your website – and why.

 

  1. Who are a startup’s target customers?

Answer: Your target customers are the potential users who will find your product beneficial and will use it for their needs. Target customers for every startup could be different – it depends on what you’re building and whether they require it or not.

 

  1. What qualities of design do startups consider most important?

Answer: Good design is innovative, makes a product useful, aesthetic, makes a product understandable, unobtrusive, honest, long-lasting, thorough, environmentally friendly and indulges in as little design as possible.

 

  1. How important is product designs to the users?

Answer: Yes, product designs are important for user to an extent. However, easy of use and understandability is far more important that designing too much. So try to keep both the factors in parallel as much as possible.

 

  1. To whom should we send out the initial trial for reviews?

Answer: The initial beta should be sent out to people who you think will be responsive. A group of tech as well as non-tech people should be asked for the trial in order to get a balanced view, rather than a tech based review.

 

  1. When to successfully stop testing?

Answer: Here is how you should approach testing – http://www.softwaretestinghelp.com/when-to-stop-testing-exit-criteria-in-software-testing/

 

  1. Should we be using Hubspot?

Answer: HubSpot offers a full stack of products for marketing, sales, and customer relationship. It is widely used and approved among startups. It provides flexible pricing and is fit for all company sizes. Though, Hubspot has other competitors in the market too, it still has great value among startups.

 

  1. I am a non-tech founder of a tech startup. How should I go about hiring the team and beginning the task?

Answer: If you are a non-tech founder, the first thing you could do this get a requirement specification and functional specification documents prepared by an expert and get them reviewed once or twice a month. Further, building a good and strong tech team is important. You can outsource or get employees as per your needs.

 

  1. Outsourcing hasn’t worked well for my startup till now. Why is that?

Answer: Some startups tend to perform outsourcing on project basis. However, setting fixed end results is important. Therefore, assigning the freelancers specific tasks is better than hiring them on project basis. Moreover, communication and team building is highly important for outsourced teams.

 

  1. How important is Customer Support? And what tools could help us ensure it?

Answer: Customer Support System are an integral part of every website to ensure delivery of services to end-users and also to maintain good relationships with your customers. Therefore, to ensure quality customer support, here are some tools that you can use efficiently – Online communities, Forums, Automatic Callbacks, SMS text support, Live chat, Surveys and Customer Portal.

 

UI & UX DESIGNING AND GRAPHIC DESIGNING:

 

  1. Any tips on naming our website/product?

Answer: No need to complicate a name. Here are some tips from GoDaddy to help you name your website creatively – https://www.godaddy.com/garage/smallbusiness/launch/10-tips-for-choosing-the-perfect-domain-name/

 

  1. Are UI Designers and UX Designers the same?

Answer: “UI” stands for “User interface”. That means the actual buttons, text, and pixels that appear on the screen. So the UI designer would be responsible for everything about how a web site or application appears in the interface – this would include visuals (e.g. “Are the buttons pink or blue?” “Do they have gradients or are they flat?”) as well as overall architecture of the page (e.g. “We should put the Sign Up button at the top of the screen because it’s the most important thing”). “UX” stands for “User experience”. This is a much broader and higher-level discipline than UI, because it includes not just the interface, but also all the systems and interactions that support it. For example, the UX designer should care about what happens when a frustrated user calls the help desk as well as how pixels appear on the screen.

 

  1. What role does Graphic Designers play for Startups?

Answer: Graphic designers work with graphical images, whether they be illustrations, typography, or images, and on a variety of media including print and web. Graphic design is typically rendered in 2D – printed on a physical surface or displayed on a screen. Therefore, they help in creating content for your website without writing any words. Graphics play an important role for every website, social media marketing and offline marketing as well.

 

  1. If we cannot afford graphic designers at the moment, which all tools can we use for creating designs?

Answer: Vectr, Inkspace, Canva, Pixlr, Gimp, Studiopaint, Blender and Infogr.am are some among the most convenient graphic designing tools for all.

 

  1. Any ideas/advices on logo designs?

Answer: Here are some tips from Mashable for you to design the logo you want – http://mashable.com/2014/04/30/logo-design-tips/#dtgUxPux5Sqw

 

  1. We are a very small company with a limited budget. Will outsourcing graphic designers be more beneficial to us?

Answer: The best part about outsourcing graphic designers is you can get work done with pace and ease and within budget. If you feel you do not require a full time graphic designer for your product, then yes outsourcing is the best option for you. Make sure you communicate your goals and objectives efficiently for them to provide you with what you want in a design.

 

WEB DEVELOPMENT:

 

  1. Is it a good idea to only make a mobile app, without giving preference to any website for the startup?

Answer: Choosing between the two is more of a business decision and needs to be made smartly. Here’s some advice from Entrepreneur India on what you should choose and why – https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/235981

 

  1. Is building a website expensive? What can startups with low budget do?

Answer: Here’s a guide from people who have experienced the same thing as you – how much should a website cost? Read along and this is definitely help you – http://www.websitebuilderexpert.com/cost-to-build-a-website/

 

  1. What all languages would our team need to know to build a website?

Answer: That depends on the stack/platform you use for building your website.

 

  1. Which technology stacks are most efficient for tech startups?

Answer: Here’s a collection of stacks most popularly used by startups these days – http://techstacks.io

Further, you can read answers written by developers – https://www.quora.com/What-technology-stacks-are-used-the-most-in-tech-startups-Why

 

  1. People say PHP is getting outdated. Should we switch to Python instead?

Answer: Both programming languages support a number of commonly used programming paradigms. PHP supports object-oriented, functional, procedural, imperative, and reflective programming styles. Python supports object-oriented, aspect-oriented, structured, and functional programming styles. Also, it supports design by contract and logic programming paradigms through extensions. The syntax of PHP is identical to C. Python is designed from the beginning as a highly readable language. As PHP was initially designed for web development, it comes with a number of web development features. But Python was designed as a general-purpose programming language. The developers have to use add-on modules to easily write web applications in Python.

 

  1. On what basis should we select a particular database platform?

Answer: For selecting the most appropriate Database system, here are some considerations you should focus on – https://datahq.co.uk/knowledge-centre/blog/top-10-considerations-when-choosing-a-database-management-system

 

  1. Is it better to start from scratch or is it better to use Frameworks?

Answer: Most developers who are experts would use frameworks to begin and then improvise on that further. However, if you’re a beginner, you should start from scratch in order to have a good learning experience on the language you’re using.

 

  1. Are FAQs sections mandatory for websites and apps?

Answer: FAQs or Frequently Asked Questions are a helpful tool for the visitors of your website. They can read answer to questions already posted or ask a new one based on their queries. For better customer relationships, having a FAQ section on your website is an add-on.

 

  1. Should audios and videos be a part of our website?

Answer: Since convenience matters to everyone, audios and videos add better engagement to your website. Sometimes, users might prefer looking at an informative video than to read about it. So, depending on what you want to showcase in your video, adding such elements to your site will boost positive response.

 

  1. Should different sections of our website require different designs, layouts and coloring?
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Answer: Colors have deep, subconscious significance — emotional, psychological, cultural — and can play a huge role in how your designs are perceived. But besides considering the moods colors can portray in your design (the summery energy of aqua, coral, and yellow; the elegant sophistication of black and gold), you should make sure your use of color in general is well thought out. Barring a specific, intentional purpose, you want to avoid colors that clash badly or using too many colors all at once. When in doubt, using a color palette tool or even reading up on basic color theory (and color schemes like complementary, split-complementary, analogous, and triadic) can be helpful.

 

  1. Is LAMP better or MEAN stack for web development?

Answer: LAMP includes the Linux operating system, PHP application software, MySQL database and the Apache Web server. It’s flexible, easy to develop applications with, easy to deploy, customizable, secure, and comes with a huge support community. LAMP’s open source nature is also one of its greatest benefits. MEAN includes the MongoDB database, the AngularJS front-end framework, Express.js (a Web framework for Node.js; the leading JSON-powered NoSQL database that offers more flexibility than a relational SQL database), and a base platform of the Node.js runtime, rather than an operating system like Linux or Windows. Which you prefer depends on what languages you want to work on or already are familiar with. Know more here – http://www.mantralabsglobal.com/blogs/lamp-vs-mean-stack-business-and-developer-perspective/

 

  1. Which domain extension should I use – .org, .net, .com etc?

Answer: Here’s a complete guide on extensions for your website – https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/choose-right-website-domain-name-extension-var#sm.0000nf3z1k12a4fsuwjkf5r36fi5v

 

  1. Should we consider servers or Cloud?

Answer: Though both have essential roles to play, what you want depends on what you have and how much you want to invest. Know the differences here – https://www.rackspace.com/en-in/cloud/cloud-computing/cloud-vs-dedicated

 

  1. Is site architecture related to user engagement?

Answer: “Site architecture, or the way a website is laid out plus the way its pages are interconnected with each other, is highly underrated yet very important for both the creators and end-users of a site. For instance website owners oftentimes are confused that despite the web traffic coming into the site, user engagement is not that high. While a lot of factors may contribute to this, one of the main reasons probably is poor website structure.  Search engines, on the other hand, look at structure and how it plays a huge role on how a website performs in the SERPs. This has a lot to do with the “link juice” and links (both internal and external)”. Read the full article here – https://ahrefs.com/blog/good-site-architecture-important/

 

  1. Should we consider developing the website in-house or should we outsource?

Answer: Both strategies work for startups. You can hire freelancers to work on specific modules and stacks. However, if you go for outsourcing, remember that communication is key. Make your end results and goals clear for your team to understand. Give specific tasks and modules. Management is important.

 

  1. Our product idea is good, but how do we improve our site quality without spending an unreasonable amount of money?

Answer: Inc wrote an article advising on how your site quality matters and what you can do to imporve it – http://www.inc.com/guides/2010/09/5-ways-to-improve-quality.html

 

  1. What all softwares can we use that do not require a drastic budget?

Answer: Visual Studio, Adobe JetBrains IDE, Google apps for Business etc are some softwares that are efficient, highly used and most certainly do not require a huge amount of money.

 

  1. Should we use Bootstrap or apply our own CSS codes?

Answer: There is no harm in going for Bootstrap. Bootstrap provides less files for those who are accustomed to CSS  preprocessing but if you don’t know it or don’t want to use it, you can  have plain CSS files as well. All you need to do is download the files  from Bootstrap’s website,  unzip them and include them in the head of your HTML files. This gives  you the access to the entire framework and you can start using the predefined bootstrap classes with our markup. Bootstrap gives the developers the flexibility to develop. It is a CSS  framework with predefined classes for layout using its grid system,  various CSS components and Javascript functions. These are all included  and the developer has the flexibility and freedom of using only those  classes that are needed in the markup.

 

  1. If we do not want to invest a lot of time on Frontend development, which frameworks/technologies could we use to pace things up?

Answer: Frameworks are a convenient way for front-end, since you do not have to code from scratch. Here are some framework technologies you can easily use – Bootstrap, Semantic UI, Foundation, Pure, Skeleton, Milligram and Susy.

 

  1. Which Databases are most convenient for startups?

Answer: Here’s an exploration of AngelList data showing different databases and languages used by startups – https://codingvc.com/which-technologies-do-startups-use-an-exploration-of-angellist-data

 

  1. When NOT to use a framework?

Answer: We don’t think there is a metric for finding this out. You should preefr using a framework when it simplifies problem solving. If using a framework helps you solve a problem within less number of code lines, you should use it. Further, you can use a framework if it gives you better abstractions, closer to the problem domain, making the code easier to understand and maintain.

 

  1. Should our website be colorful or should we stick to basic two colors scheme? What do users prefer?

Answer: A little color doesn’t hurt anybody. Here’s a full guide on how/why to use colors on your website – http://www.websitebuilderexpert.com/how-to-choose-color-for-your-website/

 

  1. How to select the right font and size?

Answer: Designers like to set their body copy at the very least at 12px. Most, however, chose a larger size like 14px, which is even better for readability. Font-sizing is really quite easy to decide on for body copy, but it’s the titles that start to get complicated. How big should your titles be? It depends. A title should only be as big as it needs to be. This means that you should try out different sizes until you find one that is just big enough to draw the attention you want to it, but no bigger, unless huge text is what you’re going for, in which case go right on ahead.

 

  1. Should the homepage have more content, graphics,images or should it be minimal?

Answer: Your Homepage should screen what you or your product does with precision. Stick to a few elements and showcase them to introduce your product and your website well enough. Too many elements make the website confusing and do not seem approving. Google’s research discovered that simple websites — those with low visual complexity and high prototypicality — were much more appealing than complicated websites.

 

  1. Is there a way of avoiding choosing the wrong platform?

Answer: There is no such thing as the wrong platform. What matters is what platform you and your team are familiar with and can work on without complexity. Choose the platform that you have knowledge and experience in to avoid any regrets.

 

  1. What are some common mistakes that web developers make that we could avoid?

Answer: Mistakes are bound to happen, be it any business. However, here’s a list of some common web developers mistakes that you can avoid – https://www.sitepoint.com/10-common-mistakes-web-developers-make/

 

  1. Give us suggestions on how to optimise and improvise on our website that is based on WordPress?

Answer: Here are 7 ways in which you can effectively optimise your WordPress Website – https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/251504

 

  1. Should we go for content or design first?

Answer: Design and content are both equally important aspects of a website. Which one should you prioritise first, have a quick read here – https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/272543

 

  1. 98. How should we spread the word out to people about our website?

Answer: To know about the various steps you could take to spread the word, here’s what to read – http://devgrow.com/12-ways-to-market-your-website-for-free/

 

  1. When to successfully stop testing modules of our website?

Answer: Be it product testing, module testing, system testing, it all depends on the end result. As mentioned before, here is how you should approach testing – http://www.softwaretestinghelp.com/when-to-stop-testing-exit-criteria-in-software-testing/

 

  1. I still have other questions related to tech startups. Whom should I contact?

You can write to us or comment on the blog and we’ll be glad to help you.