Pune has hundreds of software companies, from large IT firms to two-person studios. Their websites all promise quality, on-time delivery and great support, so the website is not where you find the difference. The difference shows up in how they answer a few direct questions.
These are the ten questions we would ask if we were hiring a team to build our own website, mobile app or ERP — with what a good answer sounds like.
1. Can I see live projects similar to mine?
Screenshots are easy to borrow. Ask for live links you can open, and ideally a client you can speak to. A company that has built a hospital system, a lab platform or an online store before has already met the problems your project will hit.
2. Who owns the code, design and data after launch?
The answer should be you, in writing, after final payment — including source code, design files, the database and admin access to hosting and domain. Be careful with agencies that keep the hosting or domain in their own name; switching vendors later becomes very hard.
3. Will I get an itemised quotation?
A single lump-sum number tells you nothing. A good quotation lists each module or page, what is included, and what is not. That is what lets you compare two vendors fairly and stops “that was not in scope” arguments halfway through.
4. What is the realistic timeline, and what does it depend on?
Rough benchmarks: a business website takes 2 to 4 weeks, a mobile app 6 to 12 weeks, and a full ERP or hospital system 3 to 6 months depending on modules. If a quote is far faster than that, ask what is being skipped. A good team also tells you what they need from you — content, approvals, test data — to hit the date.
5. How will I see progress during the project?
You should not wait three months for a big reveal. Look for weekly or fortnightly demos on a test link, a single point of contact, and a shared place where decisions are written down.
6. Who will actually build it?
Ask whether the people in the sales meeting are the people writing the code, or whether the work is passed to freelancers or another company. Hand-offs are where context gets lost.
7. How do you test before go-live?
Listen for specifics: testing on real phones, testing each user role, testing with real-sized data, and a written sign-off before launch. “We test everything” is not an answer.
8. What happens after launch?
Every system needs fixes, updates and security patches. Ask how long free support lasts, what an annual maintenance contract (AMC) covers, and how quickly urgent issues are answered. See what a typical maintenance and AMC plan includes.
9. Will it work well on mobile and be found on Google?
Most visitors in India arrive on a phone. Ask whether the site is designed mobile-first, how fast it loads on mobile data, and whether it launches with a separate page per service, proper titles, a sitemap and structured data. Fixing these after launch costs more than doing them at the start. Our website development page explains what we treat as the baseline.
10. Can it grow with my business?
Ask what happens when you have ten times the users, a second branch or a new product line. A system planned for growth adds modules; one that is not gets rebuilt. This matters most for ERP software and SaaS products.
Red flags to walk away from
- No live projects you can open, only mock-ups
- Domain, hosting or code kept in the agency’s name
- A price given before they understand what you need
- No written scope, or a scope with no “not included” section
- Pressure to sign quickly with a large advance and no milestones
- Nobody can explain technical choices in plain language
A simple way to compare two or three vendors
Send each shortlisted company the same one-page brief: what the business does, who will use the system, the five things it must do, and your target date. Compare the questions they ask back as much as the price — the team that asks the sharpest questions usually understands the problem best.
We are happy to be one of the companies you compare. Send us your brief and you will get a written plan with scope, price and timeline — free, whether or not you choose us. You can also browse our case studies first.