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Richie · 08-01-2007, 11:26 AM

Last week I had the pleasure of meeting and contacting four of Alphashare's new members, some I have personally seen others via telephone.

For reasons I will not mention names as I don't want to upset anyone - however, upon meeting these companies I realised that there are so many rip off designers out there that string jobs out over months and months on basic sites which would take a normal straight designer one week, charging ridiculous prices which I could not justify myself - prices which would get you an all singing all dancing site which would fly you to the moon and back, promise everything under the sun and fail to deliver such as SEO work which is basic stuff but still not done and taking these poor agents for a complete ride!

One agent paid 1000 US dollars for one template! Another paid 5,000 euros for a joomla website which could not be found if you sat there and stared at it, another is paying 600 pounds sterling a month for SEO work which doesn't have a title, keywords, description, etc - basic stuff that you do before you design the site! Obviously I am in the wrong job and probably the rest of us that can build sites!!!

Now these agents are in the safe and professional hands of Alphashare so all worries are gone....

And you begin to understand why there is a lot of mistrust in the web industry especially when you have spent thousands of euros or pounds on a project which is not just a waste of time and money but also a really stressful experience.

I thought I would post this to see if any more of you have had bad experiences with website designers and SEO firms - for you to vent your anger!

NotWebDesign · 09-14-2007, 12:37 PM

I totally agree. There are many cowboys in our industry. I recommend that you always see examples of the "web designers" previous work and that you read some testimonials or better yet, talk to some of his previous clients.

We always quote a price up front and stick to it. And we always guarantee a completion date.

But when it comes down to it - I recommend looking at existing sites that you like and if it isn't too much of a competitor then call up the owner of the site and ask him some questions about the agency he used.

eyeonspain · 09-15-2007, 10:17 AM

One of the things that someone can consider too when needing a website is to post their requirements on sites such as www.elance.com where designers all over the world will bid for your project.

I have dabbled in this myself and you do have to be careful who you choose and you need to make sure you have an excellent understanding of your needs. But if you do it properly you can save a lot of money.

wood1e · 11-01-2007, 06:51 PM

As with any industry there are people out there who believe in the 'sell' and not the service. So you get Â£750 to Â£1450 websites for Â£5000. Or and sometimes this annoys me even more, Â£100 web jockeys...killing the market and annoying clients with getting poor work and design. And don;t even get me started on what some SEO companies will charge!!! Then ask why does an SEO company need to pay Google to be top? Thats enough for one day

NotWebDesign · 11-01-2007, 07:07 PM

Pay Google to be number one? That is not possible! You can pay for advertising, but that is not within the results, it is either just above or to the right of the "real" results.

But other than that - I agree - although it is difficult to price web development - you usually get what you pay for.

wood1e · 11-02-2007, 05:30 PM

sorry didn;t mean to pay Google to be number one, I meant why would an SEO company pay for an ADWORD campaign when they are SEO specialist

CB Web Solutions · 11-02-2007, 10:06 PM

Firstly, I agree with a few of the comments on here most notably the Cowboy Designers that offer very low prices in order to enter the market and have no idea about service or design. This is often followed up by a large amount of BS to the client who frequently knows no different. In my part of Spain, near Torrevieja, virtually all of the competition I am up against are like that.

In answering the question though about what is a rip off price, it depends on a lot of issues. Firstly the value of an internet presence to the company i.e. where it fits in their marketing strategy (if they have one!) and what they are prepared to pay. Secondly, the level of design and facilities involved in the design. Thirdly, the popularity of the designer in question and his reputation. Fortunately my company CB Web Solutions enjoys a very good reputation and has a very high level of repeat business which is a good sign. Apart from that we are frequently dealing with companies who have dealt with the competition and need us to 'repair the damage' and even help save the business!

My final point is that the clients idea of a rip of and what actually IS a good website don't always coincide. Clients far too often are taken in but sites that have excesssive flash content for example. The rest of the site may be limited when you explain things to clients but they often only see the flash content and 'hey we've got a flash movie on our site so it must be goos!' is what they are thinking!