If you would like to speak with Scott Gonnello and his team about your current website or even a future one you can call him at (941) 877-1229 or use this contact form to introduce yourself.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
This form is currently undergoing maintenance. Please try again later.
Here are 10 tips for hiring a web designer that I’ve chosen because of the carnage I’ve seen. I have been writing code well before the internet was around. When the internet came around I started writing and designing code for websites, accounting, scheduling and many other software’s for running a business.
Over the years I’ve seen a lot of really bad things happen because of the internet. It is a playground for scams, hackers, fake information and fake companies that are all too eager to take your money. It’s so easy for someone to buy a domain, download free WordPress software, download a free theme and print up business cards and Poof – they’re a professional ready to take your money.
With it being a global marketplace the scams are not just locally anymore they are globally and that just means more ways to waste your time, efforts and money. So here are some of the things that I’ve seen the most since the internet started. These are important to identify before you hire someone to build your website. With competition being so high you can’t afford to waste time or money and you certainly can’t afford to ruin your reputation – that only helps your competition succeed as you fail.
Here are the 10 Tips For Hiring a Web Designer. Click on them to learn more about protecting yourself as you start the website process. The more you know the safer and more enjoyable the process will be for you.
If you would like to speak with Scott Gonnello and his team about your current website or even a future one you can call him at (941) 877-1229 or use this contact form to introduce yourself.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
This form is currently undergoing maintenance. Please try again later.
Don’t hire a web designer in another country because you don’t really know what you are getting. We see a lot of challenges with the websites that we see that were designed outside the states. There are plenty of good web designers in your area to choose from. Going overseas is only to save a few dollars but the truth is we’ve seen people lose more money than they save.
There are many reasons to buy local/regional vs foreign designers. You just need to get a few quotes and see the quality you are getting for that price. Sure foreign web designers can charge a lot less because they have a lower cost of living and $500.00 where they live is a lot more than $500.00 where you are from. BUt here are three reasons that should make you think twice before hiring overseas.
Bad Code/Bad Focus
There is a lot of old code or style websites out there. They are all they know and can duplicate them over and over. We often look at sites and can tell if it was a foreign site. The challenge with old code is that it’s difficult to manage, update and they don’t play well in the search engines. Sure they might look good on the front side but it’s the behind the scenes that matters most.
Because many of these designers use pre-made themes over and over there is inevitably some bad code in there. We’ve seen Russian links embedded, UK focused code that doesn’t search well in America, bad links that can hurt the reputation of your business, images from foreign countries to represent your small town and that’s just the easy ones to find.
Bad Support
When your web designer is five thousand miles away it’s hard to reach him or her if they don’t want to speak with you. Then there’s the time difference, when you site goes down while they are sleeping you’re stuck waiting for them to wake up and get back to fixing your site. You have to rely on the internet to find a trustworthy designer and if you don’t know what you are looking at when viewing their website, directory listing, reviews, etc. it’s easy to caught up with their reputation – but how do you know? The internet is filled with fraud and in another country it’s really hard to see that.
Today I spoke with a person who paid good money for a website and the technical parts of it was developed by someone in New Zealand. The site failed and he had to wait a long time to get the issues taken care of. That should be unexceptionable. There really is no reason to go overseas to build a standard website because it isn’t that difficult to do that.
Ask your local web designer if the work is done locally and by their company. Make sure they have the experience to handle even a simple website, and most importantly ask those questions to a few different designers. Doing this will help you decide on which designer you are most comfortable with. Make sure all your questions are answered before you pay for your website. Hint – If you have a hard time understanding your designer there will probably be many misunderstandings in the end and that can be costly for your business.
If you would like to speak with Scott Gonnello and his team about your current website or even a future one you can call him at (941) 877-1227 or use this contact form to introduce yourself.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
This form is currently undergoing maintenance. Please try again later.
Don’t Hire a Web Designer Who is Not a Legitimate Business
Don’t hire a web designer who is not a legitimate business unless you only need a hobby website. The troubles you will have over the long run will make it more expensive and a waste of valuable time. In this business climate you cannot afford to lose money, time and reputation and that’s what I see happening to many businesses on a weekly basis.
The web and SEO industry is fraught with fraud because there is no licencing, certifications or any kind of training needed to go out and sell. That means everyone and their grandmother is a web designer. That makes this industry have a really bad reputation. So we see many people buying from their friends, family, neighbors kid, etc. That’s a recipe for disaster when it comes to your business. Would you take legal advice from a hobbyist who watched legal videos on YouTube? What about medical advice from your neighbor’s kid who’s only qualification is that she’s never had the flu.
I see the damage it does over many areas. Most people think that they really didn’t lose much because they didn’t pay out all that much. But a business that doesn’t show up in the search engines looses market share (cash, sales, opportunities), it looses reputation and brand because know one knows you’re out there. It looses valuable time because you have t make up for not getting found in other ways and usually that costs money. And if you do get found what is that first impression on a non functional mediocre looking website? Basically you are helping your competition get stronger and that’s a bad business model.
Make sure the person you are hiring is a legitimate business that specializes in Web Design and not serving coffee at the local cafe. Make sure they have experience, demos, testimonials, a good reputation and quality website of their own. Look around to other web designers that some of your business friends have used and interview them. Doing a little homework will save you a lot of money in the end, but more importantly it will make you a lot of money as well![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”12″ element_width=”6″ item=”basicGrid_NoAnimation” grid_id=”vc_gid:1497215558161-82d0570c-932c-3″ taxonomies=”90″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Contact Scott Gonnello Now
If you would like to speak with Scott Gonnello and his team about your current website or even a future one you can call him at (941) 877-1229 or use this contact form to introduce yourself.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
This form is currently undergoing maintenance. Please try again later.
There are many reasons why you don’t hire a web designer who is on Craigslist. The biggest one that we see a lot of is the scams. Unfortunately Craigslist is a place where people go to get something cheap. So there are plenty of scrupulous people out there quoting themselves as “Web Designers.” They might be it’s just that the quality of work is very cheap as well and what good is a cheap website if it doesn’t work.
Usually these companies have a single website that they just copy and modify slightly for your website. That brings in all the other just from that copy and might not be good for yours. They are usually tin on quality content, not set up properly, lacking many connections to the search engines, filled with hidden sample pages, bad tagging, bad meta data and the list goes on and on . . .
More often than not the stories we hear about Craigslist is scary vs great experiences and we see it all the time. It’s easy to market to people that don’t know what they need in a website to work well in the search engines so when they ear a cheap price they jump on it. More often than not they never meet the person or know what kind of work they do – they just need that website fast! As time goes by and the site is not working well they usually start the right process by learning what it really needs to do.
We routinely speak with people who had their website built from a craigslist company and it’s usually the same poor quality. Having a Craigslist mentality for the most important piece of your business – your website – is a dangerous way to go out in the business world. It represents your name, your brand, your reputation, bottom line, sales, etc. This is one business item that you should not buy cheap because it could cost you your business.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”12″ element_width=”6″ item=”basicGrid_NoAnimation” grid_id=”vc_gid:1497215595674-963a0ea8-5cb1-9″ taxonomies=”90″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Contact Scott Gonnello Now
If you would like to speak with Scott Gonnello and his team about your current website or even a future one you can call him at (941) 877-1229 or use this contact form to introduce yourself.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
This form is currently undergoing maintenance. Please try again later.
I can’t even tell you how many people we speak with about websites on a monthly basis but it’s a lot. We always hear the same thing and that is:
“We’re just starting out and I don’t have a lot of money to spend on a website”
I get that, in fact I’ve been there but that was in the times where basic websites were 6 to 10 thousand dollars for a basic website. The economy is better now and the prices of quality built websites have come way down. So it’s hard for me to sympathize knowing what I know. The truth is that your website is going to be the first point of contact for people who are meeting you and your company for the first time. That means if you skimp on a quality website it will say a lot about your company. It could give the wrong impression, give the wrong information or even worst – not show up and that means your company doesn’t exist. That’s really bad for business – especially if you’re just starting out.
The Trap
I have heard the same excuse time after time and that is “Well at least I didn’t pay a lot for it.” That’s usually why it never worked for them. I’m not saying the more you spend the better you’ll do. What I am saying is the less you pay the worst you’ll probably do. Don’t go into buying a website based on the cheapest price. That saying of “You get what you pay for” has been around for a long time because its true.
There are scores of people out there that will give you a beautiful looking site for under $500.00. How can you go wrong! That’s a great price, or is it. The trap is that it looks really nice so it has to be good – WRONG! Having a nice looking website means nothing if it doesn’t work. That would be like saying the engine in your car died so you get the car painted and detailed to look nice. It still doesn’t run…
Here’s the secret – most of these people are doing nothing more than what you can do. Watch a video on YouTube and then go for it. WordPress is a free software, there are free templates out there, server companies can help you put them both on the server for the price of your annual server contract (which you pay whether they help or not). There, you’re a web designer. If you want to save money do it yourself.
Ahhh but you’re probably thinking that you’re not qualified or smart enough to do this. You’re probably right but the sad part is neither is the person you are hiring for $500.00. The quality of work is no better than what you can do only now you’re out $500.00.
The Excuses
Here’s where the conversation gets frustrating. After reviewing many sites for all kinds of businesses we have to be brutally honest and explain why it’s not working properly, not getting found in the search engines, not communicating with the search engines, and so on. The excuse we always hear is “well at least I didn’t pay a lot for it.” The truth is that you actually did just based on what you paid for what it does. Even worse is that the lack of business helped your competition because you’re not in the mix of business.
A website should be your most cost effective tool in your business. When it’s done properly it can increase calls, emails, inquires, sales, profits and so on. Remember the search engine is the ONLY place where people go to look at commercials – your website. If you’re not there when they are looking you virtually don’t exist. So what ever you think you’re saving on that great deal of a website, think again – the health of your business depends on it.
If you would like to speak with Scott Gonnello and his team about your current website or even a future one you can call him at (941) 877-1229 or use this contact form to introduce yourself.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
This form is currently undergoing maintenance. Please try again later.
Recent Comments