With a population of just over 2 million, Latvia has been qualified as a high-income country by the World Bank. It had come a long way since the year 1991, far from the shadow of the Soviet Union, to create a place for itself in global affairs – economic, political, cultural, or academic. 

Many people identify Latvia as a country with one of the fastest internet speeds in the world, more than the United Kingdom or France even! However, the high-tech atmosphere in Latvia is much broader and exciting than that. In a short period of time, Latvia has managed to build a ground for the development of ecosystems that support the growth of high-tech and deep-tech industries and infrastructures.

Why you should work with Latvian IT companies

Like the country itself, Latvian IT companies are in a continuous transformation and develop their capabilities at high speed. Organizing fairs and events, working with international companies, and exporting their services to almost all European countries, Latvian IT companies managed to increase their competitiveness and number of clients with more than 70% in 2019, compared to the previous year. 

World Bank data suggests that in 2018, the high technology exports as a percentage share of total manufacture exports of Latvia were at 19.3%.  According to another statistic - the Global Innovation Index 2019, Latvia ranks at 34 in the world. Just to mention, that in 2015, the same index placed Latvia in the 81st position. 

What to be aware of when working with Latvian IT companies

There are not too many things that are challenging for Latvian IT companies, and probably, like in all three Baltic countries, Latvia faces the same problem - limited human resources. Out of 2 million people in Latvia, 4.5% are enrolled in the IT industry. And even if the country tries to stimulate the numbers to grow, everything moves a bit slowly like in Estonia for example.  

Are Latvian companies reliable?

The Latvian business traditions find their roots back in the former Soviet Union, and while it was bordering the nordic countries the Latvian society followed practices and business culture from both sides. 

Now, Latvian companies, including those in the IT industry enjoy a high level of reliability and trust, including but not limited to on-time delivered projects, well-executed digital services, good project management, and why not - linguistic capabilities of the locals. 

How does Latvia perform compared to its neighboring countries in terms of IT?

Together with Estonia and Lithuania, Latvia is a part of the Baltic IT hub - probably one of the most progressive in Europe. The well-developed IT infrastructure is interconnected with the other two countries, and many companies provide services in the entire Baltic region.  It is something specific for the region, where three countries collaborate tightly based on the understanding that together they are stronger. 

Taking Latvia apart from those two countries, we could say that its IT industry does not differ from their neighboring countries, and probably is at a slightly lower level than Estonian’s tech scene, since the last one has been thru many digital transformations lately.

Web development is about creating, building, and maintaining websites or web applications using programming languages and web development frameworks. The main reason why web development services are popular is the need for businesses to establish their presence on the web. 

Building a website or a web application involves creating the user interface (UI) and user experience (UX), including the layout, colors, fonts, and images. It also consists in optimizing these elements for mobile and desktop, making the interface accessible to users, and facilitate the interaction between the user and the application. On the back-end, it involves scripting, server configuration, and database management. At the same time, it includes testing, maintenance, and ensuring overall functionality.

According to recent studies, over 4.7 billion people worldwide have access to the Internet. So, it’s obvious that having a well-designed and developed website is essential for any business that wants to succeed online.

On top of that, the number of mobile internet users is constantly growing, with approximately 92% of internet users accessing the web through their smartphones which proves the importance of responsive and optimized websites on mobile devices.

In a nutshell, a web developer, which is providing development services is responsible for:

• Establish a company's online presence via a web application
• Improve and optimize the performance of the website or web app
• Update and maintain the well-functioning of the website or web apps

In addition, depending on the terms of a contract between a company and a web developer, the second can assist with: 

• Backup the data of the website
• Operate changes to the UI
• Migrate the website to another domain or platform

Usually, a web developer should have both soft and hard skills. The soft skills are related to communication and reporting, while the hard skills help in the development process.  

If you choose to work with a web development company, make sure to keep in mind the following criteria in the selection process:

• The company should have experience in developing websites or web applications that are similar to yours.
• A solid portfolio that proves examples of their work.
• Communication abilities enough to pass through cultural, linguistic, and time-zone barriers.
• Transparency and proven track record

Carefully evaluating these factors, you can choose a Web Development company that best aligns with your needs. There are more than 18699 companies on the TechBehemoths platform that offer a wide variety of web development services.

 Explore their detailed profiles, and client reviews, and feel free to get in touch with them. We’ve created also a powerful filter that you can use to narrow down the results based on your requirements and shortlist the companies. 

Alternatively, you can submit your project and our team will select and send you the best matching companies in about 1 hour. It’s free and there is no obligation to hire.

We also invite you to read an insightful survey conducted by TechBehemoths in order to identify How IT Companies Use Web Development Technologies - 2022 survey.