Thursday 28 October, 2010
The tricks some web designers will try on to line their pockets – and empty yours.
It's not called the Wild West Web for nothing.
Anyone from primary schoolkids, to stalkers or terrorists can freely publish a website. Promises of Nigerian riches arrive in your inbox on a daily basis.
Yes the web really is a virtual free for all, and the time-poor smaller business operator is left to make head from tail of it all.
And our predominantly well-meaning web services industry doesn’t make it any easier. One minute SEO is the flavour of the month, the next Web 3.0 capabilities. All when most business operators haven’t got their heads around Web 1.0.
Similarly standards for the provision of websites are underdeveloped to say the least, as business operators receive quotes ranging from $500 to $50,000 for what appear to be – on paper at least – pretty much the same website.
Now unlike some, I’m not saying for one second that the entire industry is out to take advantage of your relative lack of knowledge of all things webbie.
But there is an unhealthy number of web designers that will. So just to ensure you aren’t taken for a ride off the info super-highway into some dark and dangerous virtual alley, here’s five scams to watch out for when getting a quote for a new website.
These days you can get the technical infrastructure of a website for as little as nothing for a fully featured world class web platform. And as time marches on, there are few website features that aren’t offered as part of a platform license instead of having to have it built by a developer.
If you want to own the code (as distinct from license it) then on most occasions you will still have to have it built. But when the price comes out at more than ten times that of an ‘off the shelf’ solution, why bother?
CMS systems are now available for what amounts to loose change. Any web designer who doesn’t offer it with their ‘build’ either doesn’t trust you to be able to edit the site while preserving their designs or has built it in a way that makes editing difficult – forcing you to go back to them for basic content changes.
Make sure your site comes with a CMS – even if you don’t intend to use it initially.
So instead of providing you with a website that either has features that can either be switched on free of charge or for a small increment, they provide you with one that has no or little of this scalability. Meaning that your upcoming need to upgrade the site will require going back to the designer and having them charge accordingly – often like a very wounded bull.
The truth is, nowadays that kind of website is the easy part. A fully operational, ready to publish website requires considerably more than that. It has to be well written in the ‘drill-down’ style appropriate to the web. It has to be laid out in a way that allows for easy navigation, cross-sell, upsell and calls to action. It then has to be optimised for search engines. Then it has to have links and appropriate images added to make it come to life. Etc etc…
Yes, with all the free literature available online you can learn most of these techniques. Just don’t expect a professional result for some time.
But don’t be misled. Whilst the tools may be free, the cost of integrating them with a custom design may actually cost the thousands you thought you’d saved – not to mention the cost of making future changes.
Given the plummeting cost of proprietary systems that are backed by organisations whose reputations and longevity are on the line (unlike the creators of open source whose vacations are on the line), it just doesn’t stack up.
So tread carefully out there. Arm yourself with as much information as possible and if in doubt, seek out a provider who is both technology and technique agnostic.
Source:ceoonline.com
Anyone from primary schoolkids, to stalkers or terrorists can freely publish a website. Promises of Nigerian riches arrive in your inbox on a daily basis.
Yes the web really is a virtual free for all, and the time-poor smaller business operator is left to make head from tail of it all.
And our predominantly well-meaning web services industry doesn’t make it any easier. One minute SEO is the flavour of the month, the next Web 3.0 capabilities. All when most business operators haven’t got their heads around Web 1.0.
Similarly standards for the provision of websites are underdeveloped to say the least, as business operators receive quotes ranging from $500 to $50,000 for what appear to be – on paper at least – pretty much the same website.
Now unlike some, I’m not saying for one second that the entire industry is out to take advantage of your relative lack of knowledge of all things webbie.
But there is an unhealthy number of web designers that will. So just to ensure you aren’t taken for a ride off the info super-highway into some dark and dangerous virtual alley, here’s five scams to watch out for when getting a quote for a new website.
1 – ‘Hand coding’ a basic website
The notion of ‘building’ a website for smaller business has gone the way of the dodo. When we say building, this means starting from scratch either using a web design tool or even raw html code.These days you can get the technical infrastructure of a website for as little as nothing for a fully featured world class web platform. And as time marches on, there are few website features that aren’t offered as part of a platform license instead of having to have it built by a developer.
If you want to own the code (as distinct from license it) then on most occasions you will still have to have it built. But when the price comes out at more than ten times that of an ‘off the shelf’ solution, why bother?
2 - No website editing tools
The number of web designers who fail to offer editing (Content Management System or CMS) tools with their websites never ceases to amaze.CMS systems are now available for what amounts to loose change. Any web designer who doesn’t offer it with their ‘build’ either doesn’t trust you to be able to edit the site while preserving their designs or has built it in a way that makes editing difficult – forcing you to go back to them for basic content changes.
Make sure your site comes with a CMS – even if you don’t intend to use it initially.
3 - No affordable scalability
This scam could easily take the Number 1 spot. Many web designers take advantage of your relative lack of knowledge by providing a quote based simply on what you have briefed at that particular point in time. In principle, that sounds like a natural response. However, they will have worked with businesses like yours in the past and have a pretty good idea of your future requirements.So instead of providing you with a website that either has features that can either be switched on free of charge or for a small increment, they provide you with one that has no or little of this scalability. Meaning that your upcoming need to upgrade the site will require going back to the designer and having them charge accordingly – often like a very wounded bull.
4 - An empty website shell
One of the real traps a business operator can fall into is the fundamental meaning of what constitutes a ‘website’. Because many call a website a nice design applied to a CMS ready for you to become a webmaster overnight to ‘populate’ the website with your content.The truth is, nowadays that kind of website is the easy part. A fully operational, ready to publish website requires considerably more than that. It has to be well written in the ‘drill-down’ style appropriate to the web. It has to be laid out in a way that allows for easy navigation, cross-sell, upsell and calls to action. It then has to be optimised for search engines. Then it has to have links and appropriate images added to make it come to life. Etc etc…
Yes, with all the free literature available online you can learn most of these techniques. Just don’t expect a professional result for some time.
5 - The ‘free open source’ myth
The promise of a free and comprehensive website platform sounds pretty compelling. Essentially website or web marketing tools that once cost thousands of dollars are now available for no cost at all.But don’t be misled. Whilst the tools may be free, the cost of integrating them with a custom design may actually cost the thousands you thought you’d saved – not to mention the cost of making future changes.
Given the plummeting cost of proprietary systems that are backed by organisations whose reputations and longevity are on the line (unlike the creators of open source whose vacations are on the line), it just doesn’t stack up.
So tread carefully out there. Arm yourself with as much information as possible and if in doubt, seek out a provider who is both technology and technique agnostic.
Source:ceoonline.com
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