“As the bearer of this contract, you hereby relinquish full ownership of the soul originally belonging to you, once the website is launched according to your needs mentioned here forth.”
Signing the Devil’s Contract – Really??
This scenario seems quite familiar especially amongst the small and medium business owners who have ventured out in the technical world looking to build a perfect business website. I believe that 6 out of every 10 companies that have had their websites built, have gone through some form of emotional, physical, or worse – monetary pain. The last resort for businesses is choosing between ‘the devil and the deep blue sea’. Of-course in this decade, nobody wants their business to be washed away, so they end up making a deal as per se with the devil of creating the website that they desire.
But before you as a business sign off on the soul-selling contract, let’s review whether you REALLY need to sell your soul or you just need a good partner by your side during your website design and development.
How Bad Can the Situation Be?
“I know! I know! You are too desperate”, but let’s review what is or are the reason(s) behind it:
Information Overload – Which web company / developer / to choose?
Well, let’s face it! Google has become the answer to everything in our lives and there is actually a name for it now – “Googling”. The access to limitless information is both good and bad. In context of website development, Google has opened thousands of doors on the subject. In an attempt to access all these doors, businesses end up with hundreds of web developer profiles. This makes choosing the right one difficult as all look and feel the same – the best in the field.
What businesses fail to realize is not to choose the best in the field, but to choose the one that fit their requirements. It is simple – choose the one who understands your information, instead of absorbing the information available to the web developers or the web development company.
Bad Communication
Communication is the foundation of any project. I have seen many clients who tell me that we have just given up on our developer or our web developing company because they have either stopped responding or never complete the projects. Businesses face this thing all the time. It is not something new but nonetheless it is very frustrating. When you have gone through the pain of searching for the right person, but things are not communicated clearly, then mis-commitments are inevitable. It is termed as “Communication Gap” at my workplace.
The easiest way to avoid falling into this Gap, is to look for a developer or website development company that have an already built communication channel such as some project management system where client can actually see first-hand the progress on a project – and no, email threads are not professional communication channel. This will not only instill trust in any web developer or web development company but the whole process will become transparent.
Unfulfilled Commitments
How often have we heard the phrases, “this is not what I was expecting” or “my project is half complete” or even worse “I have paid you in full but you are not delivering as per my expectations”? This has become an everyday scenario with hundreds of people worldwide who are wondering in the technical world. The main question here is to ask ‘Why does this situation occur?’ The answer is simple – because of information overload and communication gap.
Businesses go about searching the internet and keep adding all the glittery features to their website wish list. The developer or the development company, in order to sign the business as a client, make promises that they have the magic wand to grant them their wishes. The inevitable occurs – not all wishes are fulfilled. The reason – because all wishes were not meant to be fulfilled. There is always a limitation in using magic. First, either the developer or the development company have too much work in backlogs or they are unable to cater to the technology or feature that is requested by the business. This leads to unfulfilled commitments and frustrations.
The solution – make sure whether your wish list is achievable or not and then have a clear communication about it with your chosen developer or development company.
There’s More…..
The pain of developing a website is not just limited to finding the right company and getting things done. It goes beyond to include the after-build maintenance and the cost.
Maintenance of the Website
There is no easy way to say this, but here goes: “Websites need attention and maintenance from time to time. You cannot just make it and let it be on its own.” Website is the face of your company which needs to look in top shape 24/7 because a well-maintained website can retain and attract new customers.
The pain arises for many reasons but the 2 most common are related to availability of maintenance workers. Once a business has set up a website, through a developer or a development company, the same do not offer web maintenance services. In other cases, businesses try to hire an in-house person to look after the website, but the cost becomes high of having a full-time resource working on it.
In order to treat this pain, it is important to engage with such a company that can provide after-build maintenance and that too at a reasonable monthly or sometimes an hourly rate. Once you as a business are able to understand this, you will be on the road to having a perfect website.
Pocket – Friendly Solutions
The most important of all situations – finding a pocket friendly solution. What you as a business need to understand that every feature in a website has a price tag. Finding the actual price of a website that you desire can be tiresome as different people like freelance developers to different companies will quote different prices for the same thing.
The first thing to understand here is that website development is not a product – it is a service, therefore everyone will put up a price based on their time and effort to complete the project. For instance, the price for eating a burger at a fine dining will be higher as compared to eating the same burger at a fast food restaurant. It is because of the difference of experience and commitment. The same concept applies in choosing a web developer or a web development company.
The second thing to understand is the nature of technology that will be used for building the website. For instance, if it is a basic 3 to 5 page CMS (content management system website) the price range would be $1,500 to $2,500, whereas, if it is a custom solution the price range can start from $4,000. So, it is important to gather all your requirements (wish list) on one page and take it to different vendors to come to a price bracket. Then you will be able to analyze your cost and decide on the place and price of website development.
Sell or not to Sell – That is the Decision?
Now that you know your situation, it is better to make an informed decision rather than blindly signing a contract with the devil. Website development is not as complicated as it is being portrayed. With the right information and a partner like Black Dot Technologies at your side, you can create a perfect website without having to sell your soul. The power is in your hands.
