Webmaster Papers








How Not to be Ripped Off by Your Website Designer


As web designer my self, I have had the unfortunate luck of speaking to too many of my clients who have been ripped off by a web designer somewhere along the line. Whether it be that the designer never really finished the website, took the deposit and was never heard from again, or finished the website with less than promised quality.

No business, especially a small business, can afford to be taken advantage of by a web designer.

So what can you do? How can you prevent this from happening?

  • Get everything in writing! You should never turn over a dime without a contract. Make sure to include a detailed list of deliverables as well as completion date.

  • Never pay more than 50% of your project cost upfront! Never! Make them work for the rest of their money, if they are expecting a pay day upon completion of the website they will move to finish it much quicker.

  • Beware of prices that are just too low. If your project has been receiving bids in the $1,200 range and then out of the blue you receive one for $300, it might be too good to be true.

  • Ask for a reference, most reputable design firms will put you in touch with a recent client without hesitation.

  • Make sure the designer agrees to show you mock ups of your website before the project is complete. This way if you don't like the look or need anything changed it can be taken care of before the website is live.

  • As obvious as this one sounds, check the portfolio! If you are looking to develop a full web based application check if they have done this sort of thing before! If not, there is a chance the designer might get in over his or her head.

  • Ask about the business, find out as much as you can! How many employees, where are they based out of, how long have then been in business, etc.

  • If you can, get a referral from a friend, family member, or colleague who has had a great experience.

  • Lastly, Google the business! Search for the business name in quotes on Google.com, you may just come across a forum post some where from someone telling you to beware!

Overall, you just need to be cautious when selecting your web designer. There are millions of design firms and freelancers who are willing to take on your project, the problem is finding the right one for you. Designing a website is a very fun and exciting time for a business and if you follow the tips above you won't have any regrets!

Brent Mulligan is the owner of BCM Web Solutions, a Massachusetts based website design, web application development, and search engine marketing firm. BCM Web Solutions team leaders have had over seven years of website design experience. BCM Web Solutions specializes in working with small business clients, nationwide. For more information visit BCMWebSolutions.com.

RELATED ARTICLES

Graphic Design Using Color
Color is everywhere and conveys a message even if we don't realize it. While this message can vary by culture it pays to know what colors "say" in your own corner of the universe, and even what color means to your target market.
How To Get A Pay Raise From Your Web Site
How many of the visitors to your web site take the action you want them to take? Whether you want them to buy something from you, sign up for your newsletter, enter your sweepstakes, or give you contact information to follow up on, you want them to do something. The percentage of visitors who actually do that something is called your "conversion rate."
How To Boost Your Sales Dramatically Using Dynamic Back-end Strategies
Getting a customer is not easy.
Integrating Advertising into Your Web Design
If you are going to be placing ads on your website, you'll want to put some thought into how you'll integrate them. Poor integration of ads into your website will cause visitors to click away fast. Successful integration of ads into your site can be highly profitable. Before I show you where to position ads, I want to mention a few important points about ads.
6 Reasons Why Using Flash is a BIG Mistake
Most web designers and web design companies will try to convince you that if you want your business to have the best site possible that you MUST have a flash site. Flash, for those of you who are newbies, is a software program that can create really cool special effects and animations. You can either have flash elements embedded in your website or you can have your entire website done in flash.
Is A Picture Really Worth a Thousand Words?
The great debate: how much copy you should have on your site, particularly on the home page?
The Most Important Question To Ask About Your Web Site!
When you design a website how do you start ?
7 Web Site Design Mistakes That Will Lose You Clients
In today's world, a web site is virtually mandatory for any successful business. But there are web sites that will win you customers, and there are web sites that will lose you customers. Good design has a lot to do with which category your web site will fall into. But what is it that makes good or bad web site design? In my personal opinion, a good web site is one that's simple, informative and gives me a reason to come back frequently. That's what you should get from a good web designer/writer team. Bad sites, on the other hand, are complicated to use, slow loading, confusing or just plain annoying. Here's a list of my personal top 7 turn-offs as far as web site design is concerned:
Web Design: How To Get Your Visitors To Stay
Remember the famous line from the movie Field of Dreams, "If you build it, they will come"? In the world of Internet marketing, you not only want them to come, you want them to stay.
What You Should Ask a Web Designer Before You Hire Him
You've thought about it and you're ready to go. You're ready to give your business an online presence. You want your own website. That's great but unless you are doing it yourself, you would be shopping for a website designer. Some people would design their own websites but most people prefer to save themselves the time and money and hand the job over to the professionals.
Tapping Into The Visual Stimulus Of Your Web Site Visitors
"Oh, my eyes, my eyes! What an eye sore. Quick, click away! Click away!"
Custom Website Design - 7 Steps to a More Professional Website
If you are trying to sell a product or service on your website, then it is important to make your site as professional as possible. You might think designing that your own website to look like a professional did so is a rather difficult proposition, however there are many tools online that will help you achieve professional looking design.
HTML - A Website Language Explained - For Over 35s
This is a very perfunctory look at the website code HTML, for those who never did any kind of Computer Studies at school and have never had the need or opportunity to look 'under the skirt' of your average website. There's nothing that an experienced webmaster will find here that's not very basic, but for those who have just begun to discover the 'website' and especially those venturing into... maybe starting one of their own, here's a basic understanding to pique the interest and possibly kick-start the learning process.
Copy Editing: 10 Powerful, Mind Blowing Secrets For Writing A High-Impact Ad
No matter what product or service you're promoting, unless you are able to write and use a highly persuasive Ad, you may not generate a lot of traffics and sales.
Offshore Web Design and Development - Use Great Opportunities
Sooner or later every small or medium business owner realizes that he needs a web site for his business. And almost everybody wants to have great web site for affordable price because usually web site design budget is quite limited.
Why Long Web Pages are Better than Short Ones
Many Internet sites that try to sell you something have very long pages. Why is that do you think? Well, it appears that long, scrolling, web pages lead to more sales than short pages. This article explains why you need long web pages.
The Secrets of The Shriekers
I am constantly bombarded with all sorts of advertisements, single-page sites, and sites offering very little real content but some wonderful new "product" or "service" for sale that purports to make its customers wealthy beyond their wildest dreams.
Looking For A Designer To Re-Design Your Website?
If you were like me and you have just started an online business, you have a website that you have made or someone has made it for you, and this design does not match up to your expectations and the competition. Fear not, there is an inexpensive solution to your problem.
How Do You Make A Website?
No, that's not the real question. The real question is "How in the Heck Do You Make a Website???"
Why Your Site Should be Developed with CSS and Semantic Markup
Why your site should be developed with CSS and semantic markup