Best web developer in Kashmir: how to choose one
There is no official ranking of the best web developer in Kashmir. The lists you find in search are directory placements and opinion pieces, so the useful question is which developer is best for your business, and you can answer that yourself by checking six things.
I'm one of the developers you might be comparing, so I've put my own answers at the end, with links you can check. Hold me to the same standard as everyone else on your list.
Six things to check before you hire anyone
Live work you can open
Ask for the addresses of sites they built that are live today and open them on your own phone. Screenshots and designs prove nothing. Check each site belongs to a real business and still works.
Speed on mobile data
Most of your visitors will be on a phone. Run two or three of their client sites through PageSpeed Insights on the mobile test and compare the result with what they tell you.
Who owns the domain and hosting
Your domain should be registered in your business's name, and you should be able to log in to the hosting. If the developer holds both, leaving later can mean losing your address and your search history.
Your Google listing
For a local business, the Google Maps listing often brings in more calls than the website. Ask whether they set up and look after Google Business Profiles, and look at their own listing and reviews.
Help after launch
Ask who makes changes after the site goes live, how you ask for them and what they cost. A seasonal business needs prices and packages updated before each season, not weeks into it.
A clear price
Get a written quote that lists pages, features, platform, hosting and domain costs, renewals and what counts as extra. Compare quotes line by line, not just the total.
Questions to ask in the first conversation
- Can you send me five live sites you built, and the name of a client I can call?
- Who will actually write the code, and who do I talk to after launch?
- In whose name will the domain be registered, and will I get the logins?
- Which platform will you use, and could another developer take it over later?
- What will you do about my Google Business Profile?
- How will I know if the site is working? What will you measure?
- If you replace my current site, what happens to the pages Google already shows?
- What does the quote not include?
Warning signs
A promise of a first-page or number-one ranking. Google decides rankings, and nobody can promise one.
A domain registered in the developer's name with no plan to hand it over to you.
No live sites to show, only templates, designs or screenshots.
SEO sold as hundreds of links or directory submissions. Google treats paid and mass-produced links as spam.
An offer to add reviews to your profile, or to reward customers for reviews. Both break Google's rules and can get a listing suspended.
Dozens of near-identical town pages sold as an SEO plan, or no written quote at all.
My answers to the six checks
Judge these the same way you would judge anyone else's.
| Check | My answer | Where to check |
|---|---|---|
| Live work | My portfolio lists live client sites with their towns and a link to each, so you can open them on your own phone. | Portfolio |
| Mobile speed | Run any site in my portfolio through PageSpeed Insights yourself. On most of the client sites I measured, mobile performance is the weakest of the four Lighthouse scores. | PageSpeed Insights |
| Domain and hosting | I recommend registering the domain in your business's name and keeping the logins yourself. | Hosting and domains |
| Google listing | Setting up and looking after Google Business Profiles is one of my three main services. | My Google reviews |
| After launch | You message the person who built the site. Ongoing work is covered by maintenance. | Maintenance |
| Price | I don't publish fixed prices because projects differ, and I give you the price before any work starts. | Ask for a quote |
I've been doing web development since I was a kid. I'm based in Kalantra Payeen, Baramulla, Jammu & Kashmir 193108, and I work alone. If you want a team, an agency may suit you better. If you want the person who builds your site to be the person you talk to, read about my website development work or how I handle SEO.
Questions about choosing a developer
Is there an official list of the best web developers in Kashmir?
No. No government body, Google programme or trade association ranks web developers in Jammu & Kashmir. The lists you find in search are directory placements or opinion pieces, so use them as a starting point for your own checks.
Should I hire a freelancer or an agency?
With a freelancer you usually deal directly with the person doing the work. An agency can cover more skills at once and carries on if one person is away. For a small business website, the checks on this page matter more than the size of the team.
How can I check a developer's speed claims myself?
Open pagespeed.web.dev, paste in the address of a site they built and run the mobile test. Look at the performance score and whether the page passes Core Web Vitals. Test two or three of their sites, not just the one they send you first.
What should a website quote include?
The number and type of pages, what content you have to supply, which platform it uses, whose name the domain is registered in, hosting and renewal costs for the next few years, what support after launch covers, and what counts as extra work.
Want to run these checks on me?
Ask me for live sites, a written quote and anything else on this page. Put your questions in writing so you can compare the answers you get.