Calling in the Pros Vs Doing it on the Cheap
The most frustrating thing I have found from 5 years in the web
design industry has to be businesses cutting corners to get
their website designed and looked after.
Ok fair enough, when you're starting off, perhaps a website is
on the cards, but you've seen some of the prices they've charged
and your budget is a little bit tight. What do you do? Allocate
some of your initial budget for a website? Wait a while until
business picks up a little and then invest some budget and time
into creating a worthwhile online presence? Or collar a friend
who you know is "pretty good with computers" and entrust them to
determine your online reputation for as little cost as possible?
Luckily the majority of businesses that contact me have opted
for the first and second option. But I do get a few customers
each year where I have to clean up after another company who did
not meet up to expectations or the client has learned the hard
way that you get what you pay for.
For choosers of the third option I ask the question: Would you
let a friend/relative rewire your office/premises because they
know where the Earth wire is?
Out of the stories I have collected from my customers over the
years, here are the short-cut suspects I have come up with so
far:
The IT Professional They work by day in the city as an IT
professional and any web design work is done in the evenings or
at weekends. After a hard day commuting and working into the
evening, the last thing someone really wants to do is sit in
front of another computer. Any calls have to be made via their
mobile phones which can be expensive and it is not always
possible to get hold of the person in a hurry. So if you spot a
mistake on the website, you're stuck with it until they have the
time or energy to rectify it. Heaven help you if they regularly
go away on business
Cousin Nobby A brother, a cousin, a friend at a wedding
who is starting up in the web design world and want to use your
website as a guinea pig. Flattered? You may not pay for this
person's service but you and your company's reputation might for
the mistakes he makes along the way.
The student on the two forums I post on regularly there
have been a few scenarios where companies contact an IT pro
asking for their tips and recommendations only to pass it onto
the work experience kid that proudly claims he completed a
website in a weekend. It doesn't matter that it was only a 3
page website, Result: poor work experience kid gets his first
taste of work-related stress when it is rushed out of the door
on his last day ridden with bugs and errors.
A lot of these cost-cutting antics come down to lack of
research. After all, the web design industry is still pretty new
compared to; say quality management or building houses, etc. And
the first web designers (pre-2000) wouldn't get out of bed for