Bad Dog Web Design » bad business practices http://www.baddogwebdesign.com/blog Delaware Web Designers Bringing Answers to You! Wed, 18 Jan 2012 05:32:51 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 WordPress for your website http://www.baddogwebdesign.com/blog/2011/11/wordpress-for-your-website/ http://www.baddogwebdesign.com/blog/2011/11/wordpress-for-your-website/#comments Wed, 09 Nov 2011 05:18:39 +0000 Baddog http://www.baddogwebdesign.com/blog/?p=299 A while back we wrote an article “Just Because it’s Expensive – Doesn’t make it Good”

I just want to clarify some things that our customers and future customers do not understand.

In recent months I have been involved with an existing customer wishing to make their website better than it was.  I gave a quote for a content managed website using WordPress totaling my hourly rate to build and set up a better SEO (Search Engine Optimization) website that would include more functionality than they already had and increase traffic to their website.  Since WordPress is an Open Source software I do not feel right charging what some companies charge for a custom Content Managed Website when they are using templates they purchased at a low price to reach a high profit.

Without my knowledge my customer went to a less expensive web designer that changed the DNS (Domain Name Servers) on the website that re-directed it to another host rendering it unavailable to the internet costing them their internet rank to go down as it was not being acknowledged by any search engines.

My client then fired that person to go to someone else that doubled the quote I gave them to begin with.  Results:  Website is still down and stuck in limbo because the person they first hired was new in the business and didn’t know what they were doing when they transferred the DNS to a new host.

I recently was contacted by a company that paid a high dollar amount for a WordPress site that they thought was custom built to their needs.  The result:  The web designer paid less than $30.00 dollars for a WordPress template and added some free plugins to the website to increase functionality.

This company thought they were getting a website compatible across all platforms only to find out it didn’t work with certain browsers.  They contacted their web designer and have yet to hear back from them.  They called me for damage control on their existing website.  When using an Open Source product such as WordPress I strictly charge by the hour and not for the technology since I did not create it.

WordPress is a great tool that many fortune 500 companies use.  I highly recommend using WordPress as it is very easy to use and highly customizable to suit your needs.  It takes some set up on the back end that people not in the business do not understand.

My problem is the lower end web designers that use WordPress to take advantage of customers as a Content Management solution when there are many web designers out there that will be up front with the service they are providing and not claim templates as their own creation.

If you are thinking about having a website built DO NOT go to your lowest bidder.  It may end up costing you more in the long run to get it running the way you want it.

Make sure your web designer knows how to update your server to the latest versions of software available.  If they have never transferred a website or MYSQL database to another server, move on.

As I have said, this is a content manage system.  Your web designer should take the time to show you how to manage it so you are self sufficient.

Their are plenty of WordPress templates to choose from that may fit your companies needs and work across all browsers.  Your web designer should be able to do this research and present it to you so you know exactly what you are getting.

As you can tell I’m A LOT disappointed in these new web design companies that claim these templates as their own.

]]> http://www.baddogwebdesign.com/blog/2011/11/wordpress-for-your-website/feed/ 0 WordPress content management http://www.baddogwebdesign.com/blog/2011/09/wordpress-content-management/ http://www.baddogwebdesign.com/blog/2011/09/wordpress-content-management/#comments Mon, 26 Sep 2011 04:15:01 +0000 Baddog http://www.baddogwebdesign.com/blog/?p=295 There’s a lot of people out there looking for a website they can update themselves without purchasing extra software or paying a web designer to make updates.

For a WordPress basic set up and data package we can make your website a reality at a very affordable price.

Basic setup:
$250.00 a year for hosting and technical support.

$500.00 Basic Design, Mysql Database set up, basic, Unlimited email addresses, SEO and technical support.

$700.00 Advanced Design, Mysql Database set up, Plugins, Widgets, Unlimited email
addresses, SEO and Technical support.

Call today for a free web consultation. 302-540-8073

]]> http://www.baddogwebdesign.com/blog/2011/09/wordpress-content-management/feed/ 0 Just Because it’s Expensive – Doesn’t make it Good. http://www.baddogwebdesign.com/blog/2010/06/just-because-its-expensive-doesnt-make-it-good/ http://www.baddogwebdesign.com/blog/2010/06/just-because-its-expensive-doesnt-make-it-good/#comments Thu, 17 Jun 2010 03:32:01 +0000 Bad Dog http://www.baddogwebdesign.com/blog/?p=161 Just because it’s expensive, doesn’t make it good…….. or worth it.
Recently I was have having a conversation with a friend about a local website that we were looking through.  My friend told me that the owner of this particular business (I won’t mention the name)  just paid a small fortune to have their website refurbished and it was going to be great as soon as it was finished. She said it was going to be high tech and really cool.  I asked when that was going to happen. She said that they hired the company a few months ago so it should be soon.  Here is where I question this mentality.  Not that my friend is not business savvy, but when did expensive and waiting a long time for delivery become the standard for business?  As a business owner, and a client to other businesses, my expectation is that I will get what I pay for, and I will get it in a reasonable amount of time.  It’s like those people in a restaurant that order the most expensive thing on the menu because it has to be good if it costs the most right?  Or the person that drinks Cristal champagne at $300/$400 a bottle because that’s what the Hollywood stars drink.  Personally, I think it tastes like……. well I won’t say it here, but you get the idea.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that we are in the web design business and we have many small family owned businesses as clients.  We don’t charge a fortune even though we could.  We give great service for affordable prices with a fast turn around time so remember, more doesn’t always mean better…………

]]> http://www.baddogwebdesign.com/blog/2010/06/just-because-its-expensive-doesnt-make-it-good/feed/ 2 Rip off Report…is it a reputable resource? http://www.baddogwebdesign.com/blog/2009/08/hello-world/ http://www.baddogwebdesign.com/blog/2009/08/hello-world/#comments Thu, 20 Aug 2009 22:14:06 +0000 Baddog http://www.baddogwebdesign.com/blog/?p=1 I was looking for a business website the other day and Rip of Report came up as a hit before the actual business.

My first thought was “This must be a shady business”. Secondly I had to read the article.

I thought the write up on the Rip off Report website was actually going to give me some insight on the business I was going to deal with. Instead it was the opinion of ONE disgruntled person that was obviously off their meds.

After reading the article I decided to do a separate search “Is Rip off Report a reliable resource” you’ll find the only web resource saying that Rip off Report is reputable is Rip off Report.

Most of the content for Rip off Report outside of their own site is people trying to get fraudulent claims removed. I found it amazing that it was next to impossible to get things removed from the Rip off Report website.

So now I’m fairly amused and always looking out for the little guy so I decided to do another search “how to get something removed from rip off report”. I thought this might get me some answers from the Rip off Report website on how to get things removed from their website but there was nothing on their website about how to get something removed.

Instead I find websites discussing how Rip off Report is killing the SEO (Search Engine Optimization) world on the web. I really don’t want to get too deep in this discussion only because Google was mentioned.

I believe the best resource to find out the real truth about a business is the Better Business Bureau WWW.BBB.ORG

I genuinely hope the people that visit the Rip off Report website take it for what it is. It’s entertainment, much like wrestling on the television.

The way I see it is Rip off Report allows someone the avenue to talk about someone without any authentication process. Someone can have a bad day, post an article and cost a business a fortune.

You can read the articles for yourself.

http://www.97thfloor.com/blog/public-spam-report-google-your-honeymoon-with-rip-off-report-has-to-stop/

http://www.seomoz.org/blog/chris-bennet-on-rip-off-report

http://www.marketingpilgrim.com/2008/01/ripoff-report-ripping-off-those-reported.html

http://blog.wired.com/business/2008/03/rip-off-report.html

http://www.my3cents.com/showReview.cgi?id=37131

http://www.distilled.co.uk/blog/reputation/join-in-and-do-your-bit-to-get-rid-of-ripoffreport-from-the-serps/

http://www.seomoz.org/blog/google-wont-remove-that-page-you-dont-like-but-you-or-your-seo-can


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