Business and Money

Until I went to great lengths to protect my email address against spam, I received lots of messages from foreign companies offering ‘cheap’ website services, primarily from India but also from China and Eastern Europe. I ignored them or put them in my junk folder but the idea of a low–cost website must be attractive to some, particularly in a recession.

Is it a good idea to get your website built by an overseas company? The UK has one of the highest costs of living in the world so going over seas and getting it done at a fraction of the cost on face value seems like a very good idea. The cost advantage is great but there are several barriers that get in the way of you and a good website when you use an overseas company.

Time barrier

The development company won’t be working in the same time zone as yourself. This is not so bad when working with European companies but when you go further afield your working hours seldom cross. This may not be a problem most of the time but what happens when you need an urgent, critical bug fixing and all the developers are out of the office?

Language barrier

There’s arguably nothing that can damage your online credibility more than a website full of typos and grammatical errors. The company may appoint an English–speaking account manager but that doesn’t mean all the developers can read and write English too.

Legal barrier

Some countries have less stringent laws on copyright than we do. They may use an image, video or piece of software that they don’t have the rights to. If they use it on your site and a court case arises, you may be responsible, not them, especially if the site is hosted in the UK.

Distance barrier

What if you want to meet face–to–face? Some projects require that personal touch. A local company is usually never more than an hour or so away. If they’re the other side of the world it can cause problems.

Cultural barrier

A good website is always about thinking what life is like in your (potential) customers’ shoes. This is a difficult job at the best of times; it’s infinitely more so when you’re from a completely different culture.

If you do use an overseas company…

These barriers can be overcome to a limited degree. If you do use an overseas company:

1. Get them to work to your time zone
2. Use a proof reader who speaks English fluently and ensure all source code is annotated in English
3. Consult your solicitor to make sure you’re not liable for them breaking the law (via a written agreement)
4. Keep in touch via Skype or phone and don’t be afraid to visit them personally
5. Use a local designer that is culturally on the same wavelength as yourself

I was lucky enough to be involved in a large project recently; I was the lead designer but all the development work was outsourced to China. We learnt that the above five points are critical if you do decide to use an overseas company.

You clearly need to exercise caution when using a development team from another country. Getting your website built at a fraction of the cost it would to get it built in the UK is an attractive prospect but be careful—it’s easy to waste your money. For more advice call me on 07843 483 078 or get a free quote online.

It’s common for people to get more than one price when they want a job doing—and websites are no different. One thing that quite rightly confuses people when they do get more than one quote is the vast difference between prices. More often than not, when someone gets several prices there can be a great difference between the cheapest and most expensive. Why? Here I outline some of the main reasons:

Agencies versus freelancers

Freelancers tend to be much cheaper than agencies (though not always). Freelancers typically work from home and have very few overheads. Agencies, on the other hand, have the cost of running a studio and its staff. You can read  about this in more detail in my other post, Agencies versus freelancers.

Location

The location of the web company has a strong influence on the price. In the UK, the prices steadily rise the further south you go. And companies that operate in around any of the major cities—particularly London—tend to come out more pricey. Of course, you can save money by using an overseas company that works from somewhere like India, China or Russia. Some companies increase their margin by outsourcing the work to such places, but they don’t always tell you, the client.

Are you getting a truly bespoke project?

Are the cheaper web companies really tailoring this project to your unique requirements? I’ve found myself competing with rock bottom quotes only to find out the company has done a similar site before for a client and they are planning to pass off a re–hash of that project but charge the client as though it’s been built from scratch. And of course, no two projects are the same so this is never going to be a good idea (for the client anyway).

Some cut costs by using open–source content management systems. While such systems do have their place—as I have discussed before—they by–and–large aren’t really suitable for high–end professional websites.

Inflated and/or hidden retainers

Some companies initially quote a very low price to ‘reel you in’, only then to claw back their costs through inflated retainers. Sadly, this is common practice. For example you might get the initial website design and build for a very low price but then get a large invoice every month thereafter for hosting and email newsletter activities that have been heavily inflated. Such retainers are usually omitted or hidden in website proposals.

Designers —good and bad

Finally, how good is the designer? Design is the most subjective element of a website. It not only requires creativity but also a sound knowledge of how websites work. Good looks need to support the website’s functionality, not come at the expense of it. Such designers are hard to come by and therefore you pay a premium for using them. Look at designers’ previous work first to check their quality. If they’re good, they’ll be more expensive; but as the adage goes: you get what you pay for.

If you need help getting a reliable and good value quote for your website, call me on 07843 483 078 or get a free quote online.

When is comes to discussing the price of anything the phrases ‘you get what you pay for’, ‘there’s no such thing as a free lunch’ and ‘if it’s too good to be true, it probably is’ are commonplace. The widespread use of such phrases in this context do show that lots of people support these axioms: the more you spend, the better something is.

However, with the proliferation of open–source content management systems (or CMSs) such as WordPress (a blogging platform),  Joomla (a content publishing platform) and osCommerce (an eCommerce platform) it is possible to use one of these free platforms to power your website—as opposed to paying a web designer/developer to create a bespoke one from scratch. And contrary to the above beliefs, some people regard these free options as suitable platforms to power their websites. I’m not convinced this is a good idea.

While I am not against the use of such programs (this very blog post is powered by WordPress) I do think you should consider these points before deciding whether to use them or not:

It’s not actually free is it?

Even if you do use a ‘free’ option, you still need to pay a web professional to customise the look and functionality for you. Generally speaking, this would be much quicker—and cheaper—than doing it from scratch. But what if you ask the web person to add a feature that turns out to be very difficult (or even impossible) to implement? If you’re paying by the hour, it could prove costly.

Does one size really fit all?

Open–source CMSs try to be all things to all people; the result is that they please most of the people most of the time. If you’re serious about having a successful website, wouldn’t it be better to go the extra mile from square one and get a website uniquely tailored to your business’s needs? If your chosen CMS doesn’t fit your business model you’re going to have to compromise somewhere down the line.

Scalability

In the future, your website will grow with your business. What if you need a brand new feature in a couple of years’ time and your CMS doesn’t support it? You wouldn’t want to cap the growth of your business so why do the same with your website?

Lack of support

Every open–source software license I can think of comes without warranty. So, if something goes wrong no one is accountable. It’s easy for your web designer to say, ‘well, I never programmed it that way!’ Conversely, with a bespoke project, you developer is on hand should you need him or her.

Once again I’ll say, I’m not against open–source CMSs. They are useful for the some individuals and smaller businesses. Also, some of them can be used in moderation to enhance the rest of your site (like this blog for example). But for a truly successful website I recommend you go down the bespoke route every time. Yes, you do ‘get what you pay for’.

For further help deciding how to power your website, get a free quote online of call me now on 07843 483 078 and ask for Tim.