Looking At Your Web Designer Options

Build-it-Yourself vs. Family Member vs. Webmosa Web Design

Webmosa has officially passed the 3 year anniversary, and one of the most frequent dilemmas we have faced before signing a new client is explaining to them how we differ from build-it-yourself websites, or having a friend/family member build it for you. All certainly have their pros and cons, here we will lay it all out!

Growth Limitations Of Build-it-Yourself Web Design

Build-it-Yourself companies are not trying to make any money on the web design aspect, they are truly just hosting companies. Rarely do they even charge to gain access to the “web design software”, because the use the “free” aspect to leverage higher monthly hosting rates. Their complete business model relies on generating quick customers, as they typically have high turn over rates. Before I continue, ask yourself this: have you ever experienced good customer service from a company who is built on fast, short customer relationships?

Ignoring the lack of service, and higher than necessary monthly hosting fees, let’s jump into the actual code restrictions. The sites they sell are proprietary templates, this is critical, as it means that no other programmer can access the code and make adjustments. You are stuck within the scope of their template. As your business or organization grows, and you want to add a custom module or two, there is an almost guaranteed probability that your website will not be able to do so.

Webmosa’s Counter Offer

Webmosa is a big support of the code platform Joomla, which we use for almost every website we build. Joomla is open source software, which means if you ever choose to fire us, you can take your site to any other programmer and they will be able to modify it. Not only does it being open source protect your initial investment, but Joomla has a HUGE market for programmers who code specifically to the platform (similar to the “App Stores” for your smart phone). Let’s say that you want a new program on your site that displays the local weather, Joomla gives us the capability to search for the best programs to use, modify them, and install them to your taste, for a FRACTION of the cost of building a program from scratch.

So yes, initially we will cost more than a build it tonight, however we are far cheaper than other developers, who charge to build everything from scratch. With Webmosa you get a superior product, both in the design capabilities and hosting freedom, for less than what you would get from a different Marketing Firm.

The Family Member or Friend to Build Your Website

If I were to guess a percentage, I would say that 15% of Webmosa’s clients had first tried having a family member or friend build their site. Of them, 100% said it went terribly (otherwise, why would they have contacted us!). The reasons this rarely works out is: 

1. It isn’t the person’s full time job, and they take a very, very long time while squeezing bits of programming into their schedule
2. The person isn’t professional, and the work quality is sloppy
3. The person IS a professional, but your site has to take the lowest priority of their other clients, and again takes a very, very long time to complete
4. The design isn’t what they hoped for, but they don’t want to offend the person by requesting changes
5. The person only has 2-3 websites under their belt, so the technology they use isn’t the best available
6. The person is better at either art, or programming, ergo the other aspect of the website suffers as it is their weaker skill set

Initially and on paper, we get why this option might first look appealing. However, I urge you to look at that list noted above, and consider the likelihood of this being accurate to your friend, or family member.

Webmosa Counter Offer

The web design industry is just like every single other industry, professionals are paid to do the work because they are better at it than everyone else. To take it to the next level, the Webmosa staff are not allowed to do any cross-work, they are only allowed to do what they are specialized in. We do this because our Artists can draw better, and quicker than anyone else in the company, just as our Programmers are better at programming than anyone else in the company. By only allowing the specialists to do the work they specialize in, we work faster and produce a higher quality product. The faster we work, the lower the end cost is to you.

All in all, there is a reason Webmosa has seen its 3rd year, despite starting new in a recession: we excel at what we do, and we have a long list of customers to vouch for us! Webmosa continues to be the best Web Design company in Tacoma, and is quickly expanding to the local cities. Dollar for dollar, Webmosa provides the most superior product.