JV Media Design Blog

I have seen a pattern forming over the years where we will be contacted by a potential client with a story such as, “I paid over $5000 four months ago to have my ecommerce site built and it’s still up and the designers won’t fix it!”. I’m not a big fan of stories like this. For one, this means that this potential client has already spent their budget having something created that didn’t actually meet their needs - meaning that they do not have the budget to pay the going rate for having the site done properly. But the more disturbing aspect is when I have a look at what has already been built and find out that the ecommerce website is really nothing more than OsCommerce.

For those of you who may be unfamiliar with OsCommerce, it is a FREE shopping cart solution built by many different programmers to be offered as “open-source“. It’s fine if a client really has a bare-bones budget because hey, it’s free. When we use a free solution such as OsCommerce, what we charge the client for is simply installing, customizing the template, and setting up initial categories, shipping, etc. Unless you are programming or installing many additional complex modules to interact with the base cart, I really can not fathom why a job using OsCommerce would cost $5000 or more. To me, this screams of shady business practices.

I’ve said this in a number of other articles, that I believe honesty is always the best policy. If you are using any sort of pre-developed software (whether it’s free or if you are paying for it), do not fool your client into believing that they are receiving 100% custom work. I find that even when using software, there are aspects that are custom (usually the design), but we make clear in our estimates and contracts which is which and what the client is actually paying for.

Designers and programmers are always on the look out for things that can help them while doing a job, everything from free scripts to stock photos to the latest software. As a designer or programmer, you have to judge for yourself what works best for you and what would benefit your client the most. I find the clients are much more comfortable working with you when they know exactly what you are doing for them and what they paying for and it’s simply more ethical to let a client know when you are using a free or pre-built solution.

I was recently alerted to an article appearing on BusinessWeek.com called, “No Geeks Required“. The basic premise of the story is that, with the help of online services (such as Register.com’s site builder) there’s no reason for a business to not have a website, that “building one is easy”.

While I agree that there is no reason for a business to not have a website, I find it suspect that a large publication such as Business Week would print an article that was so one-sided, never really mentioning all the drawbacks to using online site builders or all the positives to actually hiring a professional to complete a business website. I also found it interesting that they did not print the URL’s of any the do-it-yourself website owners mentioned in the article, but I did find a blog of another designer who did go the distance to find them: http://bluedot.us/users/webdesigner

Online site builders are great for personal sites, to showcase your vacation photos, etc. But one thing they don’t do is give your business website that professional polish that comes with hiring a designer or company that has the experience and talent to create a full website. Online site builders are “quick fixes” that are often riddled with mechanical issues and “template” style design (that often serve to give a website that, “built in the year 2000 look”). Someone quoted in the article actually mentions, “If you’re in a creative business or in a business targeting those looking for cool stuff, you may need to have a cool site”, then the author follows up with a few more points in which these online systems won’t cut it (namely databases and flash animation). So at least the article briefly touches on the fact that these online systems won’t work for every business.

The article also seems to imply that simply putting up a website will get you more business or sales. The first featured example claims over $100k in sales after launching their site - but this is not a typical example. Simply putting up a site does not automatically bring visitors. A diversified marketing strategy, which includes a professionally done website that takes search engine optimization and other online marketing into account, as well as support materials is a more well-rounded and viable game plan than a do-it-yourself or template style website. Awhile back I wrote another article, “How A Custom Designed Website Can Help Your Business” that illustrates some of the other drawbacks to using quick fixes.

And it took me a moment, but I actually managed to get offended by the title of the article - implying that one would normally have to hire a “geek” to build their website. And $2000 for a simple informational website for a small business? Not sure where they’ve gotten those price quotes but the only way we would charge something like that is if it were a 100% flash site with a lot of “bells and whistles”.