Don’t choose your website vendor on price alone.

Previously, we wrote about budgeting for your business website, and shared some tips on how to find a good vendor for your web design. Now, I’d like to share a scenario that (unfortunately) happens all too often.

I have a story, about a business that tried to save money on their corporate website:

Company A is a small to medium sized business and needs a new website. They get a quote from a couple of professional studios but the estimates seem like a lot of money. Someone who works for Company A has a nephew who “does this sort of thing.” Nephew submits a cheaper quote, says he can handle the project. Sounds like a great deal!

It takes longer than expected for Nephew to deliver the website. He just got a full time job (building websites is his hobby) and he can’t answer phone calls or attend meetings during work hours. Finally, Company A receives their new site, but it’s not all they hoped for. Some of the functionality is missing. It doesn’t work on mobile phones. But, they need a new site and Nephew was cheap, so they launch it.

A few months down the road, Company A notices they’re not on Google’s search results. They also can’t figure out how to update the site. Later, the website breaks. Uncle isn’t working for Company A anymore. Nephew isn’t reachable, maybe he moved to another city.

Company A goes back to the list of professional studios and contacts them asking for a rush fix. Studio B takes a look at the site. The source code indicates it was created in a drag-and-drop website builder. Nothing is salvageable. They quote for redoing the entire site, at the same price as the original quote they provided at the beginning.

Company A now has to pay for the same project twice.

Don’t be Company A.