The Big Call-Out .... and Jodie.

**WARNING** - This post is much more rant-y than usual. I actually debated (for a long time) on weather or not to post this one but think it needs to be said.

If you feel like you can't handle anything negative today go here  but if you're up to it... read on. 

The Big Call -Out

Okay, it's time to throw down the gauntlet. I've been stumbling across a bad trend lately. It seems that that I have been taking on a lot of clients lately that may not have had full disclosure from their web company. As of late my newer clients have had a custom website created for them. These new sites also have content management systems built right in. Wow! A custom site that you can change yourself! Sounds great! Until I pull back the curtain. Far too often I am finding that I get admin access to a Wordpress site. 

What this means to the lay person is this. You need a new website. You shop around and find a web designer that does really great work. You also find that said web designer quoted less than other designers. You then pay your new web designer to create a site for you.  What you don't know is that the designer used a free program to create your site and charged you as if they built it from scratch. There are web companies in mycity charging as much as $7000 for this service. I've said this a hundred times. "THAT SORT OF THING MAKES ME WANT TO EAT MY FACE"

Now some would argue that the designer still has to create graphics and copy-write the content. That is what you are really paying for. So be it, then those companies should be up front about it. They should tell clients that they are really content providers NOT web designers. They should also tell the client that this may be something the client can do themselves.  This service is not worth the amount of money that I see some people getting charged. I really don't like seeing small business owners getting charged legacy pricing for something they can do themselves with a little help. My current rant is this. If you (web design company) are building a site in wordpress and using an open source theme, gathering images from istockphoto (or equivalent), and getting the client to write their own content. Then this service is not worth more than $500 ...AND THAT'S STILL PROBABLY TOO HIGH!

Whoa! Okay. Lets take a moment so I can calm down. Excuse me while I go here.

Okay, better now. 

I feel that it is important, at this juncture, to mention some companies who do a great job. I've worked with Ryan at Honeycomb Webworks and Kelly at Seriously Creative Design . They both do incredible work at a great price. They will build a custom site for you and add in some content management features to boot. If you want a custom site built from scratch, please give both of these companies a chance to quote.

I also recommend RW Global A LOT. They have their own proprietary software that is geared around a content management system. (or CMS - meaning you can do web changes yourself.) ((even if you think you can't))

Then there's Jodie. The (in)famous @jodie_nodes on Twitter. I have recently enjoyed spending some time with Jodie and her brain is as sharp as her mohawk. She's also very honest. I highly recommend checking out her website. She will teach you how get your own Wordpress website up and running in 2 days for less than $300 dollars. 

What I like about the aforementioned companies is that they are up front about what they do while empowering small business owners to do better. The are providing solutions that offer a great website for less money. In this day and age you can have a great looking and functional site with ANY budget. Even as little as 7 dollars a month. 

Please don't spend $7000 on a new website if you don't have to. There are so many better solutions for you. If you are too busy to research what's best for you then call me. I can happily suggest something that works for you - even if you don't end up working with me. That's much better than having to keep my mouth shut after your contract is signed. 

I now return you to your happy day. 

Comments

[Website Development in Surrey]

That was inspiring,
Nice call out info,
Thanks

[Strategic Insanity]

Thanks Technopassion.