The Pitfalls of Using a Big Box Company to Design Your Website

Over the years my company has revamp, repaired, revised and rebuilt websites that were created by large companies and off-shore developers. We discovered that in most cases, promises were made and seldom kept as listed in the points below.

1) A local business signed with a large online web design and advertising company to build their website. Shortly after the website was launched the client received a bill for $875.

After reading the fine-print they discovered that they pay $125 for every online lead received via their website's contact form whether they closed the deal or not.

Even if the big box company has a strong brand name, ALWAYS read the fine print.

2) When a local photographer client asked his big box company why his website does not show up in Google for popular search terms, he was told Google has changed the rules.

Over the next 6 months he was told he needed the following additions to his website to improve its ranking: A blog, an Xml site map, and creation of multiple back links. The client paid $1,500 for all these services over a 3-month period, but the Google results never improved. This frustrated client asked the big box developers: 'Why doesn't my website show up in Google for popular search terms relevant to my business, after all the work you have done?' They answered him: ”Oh, didn't you know... Google changed the rules again.”

If you think you are being taken advantage of by your current web designer, then get on the phone and pose the same questions to another web design company and don't forget to check their references on Google Places or Google Maps.

3) A client's company recently had an off-shore company develop their website using a proprietary framework.

When the client called them 3 months later to make changes, the original developer had left the company and no one was left to support the software framework. This client had no clue that websites can be built in a variety of HTML framework.

The best thing to do is learn a little bit about each so you are somewhat forearmed when the topic arises. There are many software architectures running locally and on the World Wide Web. A few of these include: .NET, Linux, Red Hat, Cold Fusion, Java, Oracle, Ruby on Rails, and many others. We frequently work with clients who come to us with Microsoft Access and Word Perfect for database and communications.

A good web development company can work in many different environments and help to build legacy systems to help migrate users to more modern platforms. All things considered, a developer must look what is best for the company in terms of data migration, scalability and cost savings.

The most expensive website does not necessarily mean that it is the best website plan. Shop around and choose the companies providing similar pricing (give or take $100).

4) A dentist client hired a big box company to improve his standing on search engines such as Google, Bing and Yahoo.

After 6 months had passed with no improvement, the dentist contacted us to perform an SEO (Search Engine Optimization) analysis. At first glance we discovered spelling and grammar errors in the meta tags of every website page. We explained that a big box web design company seldom has any vested interest in helping them maintain good Google placement. Many large companies hire throngs of 20-something youngsters to bang out websites. That’s fine, as long as you understand your website is being done by someone whose main focus is looking forward to the weekend, getting that bi-weekly pay check, and maybe a bonus based on how many websites he or she can quickly crank out the door.

Ask yourself, ”Do they really give a hoot if I get lots of business from your website?”
They might sound concerned, but at the end of the day you can bet that their solution has you shelling out more cash over the long run.

5) A national company hired an LA website company to build a website complete with a robust content management system (CMS).

It wasn't cheap, but it did everything they asked except that the content management system required the user to have some knowledge of HTML to effectively style text and apply links. The CMS was simply too hard for them to use, so they had to hire a professional HTML person to perform basic updates. This company could have saved a truck load of money by passing on a content management system and instead opting for an open source standard HTML website.

The most expensive website does not necessarily mean that it is the best website plan. Shop around and choose the companies providing similar pricing (give or take $100).

5) A legal professional hired a national web design and SEO (Search Engine Optimization) company with offices in the U.S and overseas, to improve website ranking on Google for related search terms.

This company had an impressive resume and threw out lots of fancy terms for all the work they planned to do, such as: XML sitemap, back links, blog links, article links and press release links. After many months passed, this client found many links for her website on other very low quality websites that had nothing to do with her legal business. Needless to say, her website ranking did not improve. When she complained, the company agreed to refund her monthly fee, but not before she noticed a charge on her credit card for $1,100 for administrative fees and charges. To date she is still fighting them for this unwarranted charge.

When she initially told me this story, I immediately Googled the company name and found page after page of complaints. She could have saved herself a lot time, money and grief if she had only researched them over the Web.

6) A local construction company hired a big box website company to perform online social marketing.

When he ended his expensive contract, the big box company refused to provide him all the login credentials for all the social networking accounts they had set up for his business. Since his business has moved, there are multiple social websites listing his old address. And as long as the big box withholds the credentials, there is absolutely nothing he can do to correct these incorrect online listings.

Never put your digital assets in the control of ANY 3rd party. Treat your hosting, domain name, social websites, and ALL online listings the same as you would your birth certificate and social security number.

To finish making my point, professional companies and professional people are people plain and simple. There are good doctors and bad doctors, good lawyers and bad lawyers, good accountants and bad accountants, and good web developers and bad web developers. Be smart about who you hire to build your company website. Do your homework, ask questions, read the contract, and check as many client references as you can.

At the end of the day, you get what you pay for.


MUST-READ RELATED WEB DESIGN ARTICLES:

Planning your website
Using a freelance web designer, hiring a web design from elance or scriptlance
Choosing a good website designer
Advice for designing a great website, having a website that has the wow-factor
Designing a professional website

About the Author
http://www.visionefx.net - Visionefx President Ricardo Vidallon has been in the creative business of advertising, cable broadcast, animation and the World Wide Web for more than two decades. His work has been featured on the Christian Broadcasting Network, Inc., Fox News and NBC Entertainment. His career track in Web consultancy includes the global companies of Reynolds and Reynolds, CMGI Solutions, and Automark, Inc.