Here are some shocking facts that some web design agencies don’t want you to know…

Before you sign any type of agreements or contracts, you might want to read this post.

In 25 years of web design and development, I’ve seen some pretty quirky things.

I refer to much of this as the “Wizard of Oz syndrome”. Remember how terrified and respected the great Wizard of Oz was until the meek man behind the curtain was revealed?

Well…the world of web design & development is a whole lot like that!

People think there’s a lot of money to be made in web technology and maybe there is. Unfortunately, there really is a LOT of smoke and mirrors, exaggerated project estimates and scams lurking around every corner.

Like the Great Randi who set out to debunk claims of ghosts and the supernatural, I see a lot of potential debunking in the world of web technology.

Flying monkeys abound

Yes, I’ve seen them. In some of the most modern looking web design and Internet marketing agencies. They toss around Nerf balls, sip Latte’s, enjoy fancy organic food cafe’s that serve as lunch rooms – and even have full service gyms nearby, to conquer stress.

Here are a few of the shocking facts that some web design agencies doesn’t want you to know:

1. Choosing a web agency just because they are a large agency or are located in a big city

This one is so ridiculous it’s too sad to be funny.
I once worked with a company that had talented, technical in-house staff, more than capable of building a great website.

The more “creative” minded staff decided that they needed to pitch to design firms in Boston and NYC because they were on the “cutting edge” of design. Or so they thought after looking at glossy brochures.
Requests for proposals were sent and interviews set up.

Usually the first thing these mega-agencies would ask is “what is your working budget?“
Otherwise translated to mean “how much are you willing to spend?”

Funny how web project quotes always came in just below the maximum budget indicated.

Many of the agencies sent people who had little or no technical background, and couldn’t answer technical questions correctly.

Others when pressed, embarrassingly admitted to outsourcing the bulk of the project work overseas. A website that could be constructed in 30 to 60 days, was often estimated to take 12 months…probably to justify the six figure project quote.

P.T. Barnum would have been proud!

Why in the world would anyone in their right mind pay $400K for a website that could probably be created in-house, by experienced people, for a fraction of the cost? But they do.

There is a commonly shared misconception that if something costs more, it must be better. Many people fall for it easily. Especially if they are spending a company’s money and not their own.

2. Marketing agencies offering “expert web design” as an add-on

A graphic designer, writer, advertising agent, etc. is NOT, by nature, a web designer, unless they have had comprehensive web development training.

Print and web media are too entirely different things. Rules that apply within the web world do not work exactly the same in the print world and vice versa.

Jack of all trades and master of none?

Graphic designers create some fantastic work in Photoshop and for print, but many simply do not have the knowledge or experience to be expert web designers. In some agencies, the graphic designer passes along the work to a qualified web designer. That is the proper way to work with a web design project.

Think of it like this, would you trust a well known podiatrist to perform brain surgery on you after he dabbled in a course on YouTube? Of course not. You would probably feel more confident with a neurosurgeon specialist.

The professional photographers lament….

Someone who takes fairly good iPhone photos, now declaring themselves professional photographers.
Perhaps they purchase an SLR camera, take a few decent photos and then announce that they are now “professionals”. This drives true, expert photographers crazy.

But what happens after one of these weekend warriors messes up a photo session?

I can hear professional photographers snickering with glee.

A graphic designer who treads into web design, thinking it might be easy, is in for a surprise.

Sure, they might be able to throw up a quick WordPress website but that’s about where it begins and ends. They have little to no knowledge of HTML, CSS coding, web hosting, file security, file management, image compression, etc.

What happens when things go wrong with a website (and they do…all the time)?

Sorry. No quick fixes in Photoshop! Ask someone who is not trained in web design & development a question about SEO, SERP’s and backlinks and their heads explode. This is usually when they decide it’s time to call the REAL web professionals to clean things up. Especially when you’ve just messed up a website for an important client. Scary stuff!

The bulk of our work centers on triage that we perform to correct websites improperly built by graphic designers. Though we are thankful for the work, it certainly does seem terribly inefficient, especially in terms of saving the client money.

Logically, wouldn’t it make sense to call a web specialist to get the job done properly in the first place?

Many of these agencies have people that come and go and are desperate to replace them, at the lowest costs possible. That results in project delays which may end up costing the client money, not the agency.

3. Blatantly ripping off clients

This is probably the most offensive activity I’ve seen and it happens much more than you would think.

There are a lot of agencies out there (which I refer to as “take the money and run” businesses) that routinely over charge their clients for changes, submit inflated project estimates and negatively influence other cost factors.

One recent example was a large, well known web design agency that grossly overcharged a client for setting up a Shopify e-commerce system.

The client was a well known name, which assumes they had plenty to spend. The agency set them up on Shopify, added and configured about 6 products to the cart and then charged them $20,000 for the services, which in reality was less than a day’s work. On top of that, the client had to request changes, etc., through the agency, who would then go in and make the changes at a minimum of $2000 per session.

Can you imagine being charged $2000 for a simple price change or two? The customer contacted us to investigate.

They were extremely shocked to find out that they had been charged $20K for a Shopify cart (that literally cost around $79 per month), with full access to free technical support and the ability to login and make their own changes. Add to that the outrageous cost for simple changes, and it was pretty obvious they had been ripped off. There may be some who would argue that as long as the client agreed to pay that amount initially, there was nothing wrong.

That may be true but as web professionals, we have an obligation to be fair to our clients and neither side should ever take advantage of the other.

4. Smoke and mirrors

Some web design agencies look impressive when you walk in the door. They may look like high tech Apple Stores or appear as a busy NASA command center with a buzz of activity going on.

The Wizard of Oz is at his best in this element!

In one case, we were called into a web design agency to do some clean up work because their only professional web designer/developer had recently quit.

The business had a dozen desks, all with modern computers, Photoshop, etc., on the monitors and people seeming to be very engrossed in their work. I have to admit I was impressed…for a few minutes anyway.

Then I found out the truth when I asked “why are my services needed when you have all of these employees?”

The answer was that most of them were unpaid college interns. Basically, they were there to hang out and learn how an agency works and maybe do a little work that they might be trained in. Some of them had some fairly good Photoshop skills but had no idea how to transform a Photoshop design into a working website.

Once they learned that I wasn’t a client, the environment in the room changed quickly.

People got up and went for coffee and came back with newspapers or magazines. Some of them tossed Nerf balls around, while others put on earbuds and listened to music or browsed the web. There was one guy who was working on a Photoshop file.

As the owner of the company explained to me, “Before a client comes in, I tell them to clean up the room and put a copy of a website or Photoshop file on their screens. I want to make it appear like they’re all working on a big project and that impresses people who walk in the door and see the activity”.

He added a sarcastic smile and remarked about his interns/employees, “I’m not paying them but I buy the beer at the end of the week so they’re all happy campers”.

Although the office looked very impressive and professional, I found it impossible to do any work there.

I would come in for client meetings but once the clients walked out the door it became like a kindergarten class.

After just one hour of trying to work in such a noisy environment, one of the conditions of my services were that I would come in to gather materials and do the work in my own professional, quiet office. This arrangement continued for about a year until I found out that the agency was involved in unscrupulous activity with their clients, which I did not wish to be associated with.

5. More smoke and mirrors on a grand scale

Another company that I worked with, as a consultant in Asia, was also very impressive. Very high tech, with about 25 employees.

If I were a client walking in for the first time, I would have been anxious to work with them!

However, as I later found out, many of the “employees” were actually paid very little and did no actual work at all. There were only 4 or 5 who were actual working employees. When a client walked in, they were expected to sit up and look professional.

When there was no client in the room, they could go back to their “previous activities” which included watching and downloading movies, listening to music or chatting on Facebook, etc. I was called in to help attract more website clients and repair all of the company’s outdated websites.

On one occasion, I was asked to investigate why Internet bandwidth and speed was so slow in the offices.
It didn’t take long to find the answer.

Many of the “employees” were downloading illegal software and movies, which put a strain on the Internet speed.

When I brought this to the attention of the company owner he asked if they should buy more bandwidth.

My suggestion was to curtail the downloading. “If we do that, ” he said, “most of them might leave the company because I don’t pay them hardly anything. They’re mostly here to use the free Internet” I was totally amazed.

But that wasn’t the worst.

One of the female “employees” came into my office and sheepishly asked for my help. She was uncomfortable because a guy next to her was watching porn and kept asking her to take a look. She asked if i could please make him stop, which I did.

But there were others doing the same thing and it was like extinguishing brush fires. However, when a client appeared at the door, everything changed like clock work.

Eventually I had enough and decided not to continue with my consulting work, no matter how lucrative it could be.

After 25 years in the web design/development and Internet marketing business, there are certainly many more stories to tell. These are the ones that I believe are the most important to our clients and potential clients, so I hope they are helpful in some way.

The bottom line is to be careful about the web design agency you choose to work with

It’s far to easy to be swayed by bells & whistles, promises that seem to good to be true and web design agencies that churn out qualified help on a regular basis. Ask questions and check references. As always, contact us or call 802-233-3261, if you need honest advice and truly professional web services.

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