Venting about Web Design companies who rip people off

I started this company as a work at home Mom - as a sideline. It's definately NOT a sideline anymore (yay) with my husband by my side and two new part time employees but I haven't changed my rates much in 9 years. Why? Because it's enough!! What I make and what I charge for what I do covers my time and my expertise.

Why am I venting?

Because yesterday I had one of those professional experiences that really pisses me off. I went into a neighborhood store (who's name shall be preserved to protect the innocent) and they said "I'm sorry we close in 5 minutes".

I commented that their website said they were open an hour later and they said "oh, it costs $300 to update our website so that's wrong and we close earlier". WHAT?????

Their website is html - boring, easy - as easy as me typing a sentence right now - we charge $15 for small updates (our quarter hour minimum). Whatever justification their web company has for doing what they're doing, it is a COMPLETE RIP OFF! Now, maybe that company doesn't want to do updates so they charge crazy rates to discourage having anyone go back to them.

However, what really annoys me about this is that we're doing the business owner a disservice. Why encourage people to put up a website they can never update? It's ridiculous!

I also visited an old friend's website yesterday and it was created by a company that charges $500 for a 4 page website (we charge $60 per page) and after digging a bit more around his website - guess what? He uses templates!! He buys a template for $25 - dumps this clients info into it and charges them $500. This is not only unfair, but I think misrepresentation - I highly doubt he tells them it's a template and if he does, $500 is a crazy price for filling out a template. Trust me, just go buy the $25 template and do it yourself.

When did having a company and being an entrepreneur become more about us making money than customer service for the clients we serve?

I happen to find websites invaluable. Not just because I'm a geek, but because I use them all the time. So, why should small companies be unable to update them or get help?

What's crazy about this story is that almost all of our clients have had these experiences in one way or another. Small companies most likely are not run by someone who's a tech expert and so they must look to web companies to help them. The problem is there is no standardization for what's "right" in the industry.

So, how do you NOT get ripped off? Shop around. Ask questions. Please, don't resort to having your nephew do the site (we have ugly stories to tell about that too) - but honestly there are reputable web companies out there.

How to Tweak Outlook email to work for you

How to Tweak Outlook Email to Work for You
by Katherine BoehretWednesday, September 16, 2009
provided by
If you have a job, chances are you use Microsoft Outlook.
But are you using it to your best advantage?
More from WSJ.com: • To Count Stimulus Jobs, Help Really Wanted • The Top Business-School Programs if You're in a Hurry • Avoiding Bank Overdraft Fees
Despite the popularity of Microsoft Outlook, several of its functions aren't noticeable unless you dig around in menus or try out keystroke shortcuts. Many of these tricks can be found by reading a user manual, but users would rather be spending their time in Outlook responding to or writing emails.

Read more...

New issue of our newsletter - big expansion news!

We're so excited to announce our "new additions" here at Widget. Nope, we're not having a baby, we've hired employees!

Justin Hernandez is now part time in our office helping us out with administrative duties and whatever else we throw at him! So, if you get him on the phone, be sure to say hi!

We are also pleased to introduce Jani Duncan Smith as our new graphic and print designer. Mary-Frances has gotten so busy with other things that this gives her a chance to concentrate more on SEO and customer service (along with some design of course!) and hand off print and other graphic projects off to Jani!

Jani says about herself:

"I got my start as a designer in 1989 as the assistant to the principal designer of a small design firm, after five years in the agency world, I moved into publishing where I have flourished for over 15 years.
My freelance career started in 1994 with Merry JJ Design Boutique, which I formed along with a friend to pursue other creative interests that were not part of the day-to-day publishing world. We designed together for four years, then my partner moved away but the clients didn't, so I was "it", and It Girl Design Boutique was born.
I enjoy all aspects of the creative process and have done work on a wide-range of projects for clients all over the globe."

We are helping Jani to revamp her website, but meanwhile you can check out her other work here at: http://www.itgirldesign.com/

We are so excited to be growing and expanding and hope to address all of your web and marketing more completely with these two fabulous additions to our staff!

Roger and Mary-Frances

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