It seems like everyone that contacts me (generally through referral) has been burned at one point or another by their previous web designer, marketer, or SEO. The situation is always different, but the end result is always the same - and broken promises are all too common.
After months upon months of dealing with this under my new LLC (and 10 years of previous side work), I’ve drawn a couple of conclusions as to why this STILL happens.
How They Do It
The internet is still very much a cowboy industry. In the end, we’re all trying to make a buck at this thing, and there’s very little regulation on how to do so. I honestly feel that often times internet amateurs (I will not refer to them as professionals) will take advantage of their clients so that they can be lazy, yet still manage to pay the bills.
If I’ve managed to catch your attention, you might be wondering how they screw you?
1. Hidden Fees. This is a good one. I’m always amazed at how web guys will tack on hidden charges for even the simplest of tasks. Even more alarming however is that their clients will pay them, and not jump ship to another web firm. Seriously, if you are being hit with hidden fees, run and never look back.
How do you avoid getting screwed? Get something in writing. Have them sign a contract. Know what you’re being charged for up front, and have it listed on every single invoice.
2. Terrible Design and/or Functionality. Now I don’t have much room to talk as I’m not really the artsy type but I will say that it doesn’t take a Pablo Picasso to notice that the internet is full of terrible design. One thing to keep in mind though is that design goes far beyond what you see when you initially enter a website. The scope of a design job can also take on a developmental role in the form of functionality, which is something that you simply cannot put a price tag on these days. If it’s done improperly the first time around, you’ll just have to have someone better come in and re-do the whole thing and you’ll end up spending twice as much.
How do avoid getting screwed? Ask to see a portfolio, and really delve into their previous projects.
3. Shoddy Service. Think about this for a minute. You own an E-Commerce website and it’s been compromised in one form or another. For an example, let’s say that part of the checkout service is broken. You call your webmasters cell… no answer. You email him… no answer. You call him again… no answer. You are at his mercy. I can’t even count how many clients that I’ve picked up simply because the support wasn’t there.
How do you avoid getting screwed? Ask for a couple of references. Call their previous clients and find out what the working relationship was like.
Final Thoughts
I suppose the catch 22 in this situation is that if aspiring internet businessmen and women didn’t ever get screwed in the first place, there’d be less work for someone like me to come in and clean up the mess.
That being said, this isn’t an advertisement since I do very little “web design” these days as I’ve taken on more of a Marketing/SEO role with various clients. It’s just terrible to see that there’s so many “gurus” out there tarnishing our reputation as a whole. It’s also good to note that I’ve seen clients who are just as guilty of “screwing” the web designer, developer, marketer, etc. It’s a two way street really. Both sides need to protect themselves. If you are getting cold feet about someone, get out of there.
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