Are You Being Scammed By Your Web Design
Company? by Martin Lemieux
Are You Being Scammed By Your Web Design Company? By:
Martin Lemieux
This is a growing concern amongst many
business owners. Does your web design company own you? This
may be possible if you've allowed them to host your web site
for you and also register your domain name for your
company.
Web design companies have a lot of control
over their clients. I refer to this as "False Power". The sad
reality is that most of their clients don't even know they are
stuck in this potentially painful predicament. This power is
usually exercised when a client of a web design company finds
a better deal on hosting for their web site and they simply
want to switch their hosting provider, or when the "client"
wants to upgrade their web site for a better rate than their
current web development provider is offering.
Here's
what usually happens to so called "traitor clients":
-
Current web design company sends their client a hefty bill for
switching - The web design company cancels their client's
account - They may point the domain name to another place -
They sometimes take down the entire website until further
notice
You get the point! Too much power is given to
the web design company. I truly believe that it is your right
to shop for better prices and it is your right to own your
domain name even if you didn't have a hand in registering your
domain name.
As the owner of the website, you put your
trust into your web design company to represent your business
appropriately and honestly, only to find out down the road
that honesty isn't in their vocabulary.
I truly believe
there should be a law against web design companies that can be
summarized as such: For any domain name registered by the web
design company on behalf of their client, the domain name may
not be disputed or need to be disputed, the domain name is
automatically owned by the client and is automatically bound
by their web development contract.
With every new
venture, there is always going to be loopholes. From the
aforementioned example, what if there is no contract? If you
are reading this and are in the process of searching for a web
design company, please ENSURE that you have a contract
drafted, outlining everything you are entitled to and that you
have sole rights to your domain name.
See what most
business owners fail to realize is that their domain name is
as important as registering their business name itself. I will
repeat that... Your domain name is "hot real estate", would
you want someone else owning your property?
The same
applies for your domain name. Don't get caught with your pants
down while asking, why don't I own my domain name. It is as
important as owning your own company name. There are people
out there searching for suckers to take their domain name -
don't be the one who gets caught!
How to avoid this
"Power Stricken" disaster: The best solution is to go out and
register your domain name BEFORE you hire a web design
company. This ultimately gives you the power over your domain
name. At any given time, you can go back and log into your
"domain name registrant" in order to switch your web site to
any hosting company you choose.
When searching for an
"all around" package for your web design project, make sure
that your hosting is suitable for your needs. 95% of all web
design projects don't need a large hosting package that costs
between $150-$500 a year. The most you should pay for your
hosting in this case is around $100.00 a year, no
more.
You only need a large hosting package
if:
- Your web site is 1000+ pages in size - You're
going to buy traffic in the 1000's every month - You need over
25 email accounts setup
Ask questions when shopping for
a web design company! Here are a few questions you should be
asking right away before you sign any contract...
- Do
you provide a contract for all your projects? - If you
register my domain name, will it state in my contract that I
own the domain name under all circumstances? - If I am late
making payments, is it your company policy to cancel the
account? - Why are your hosting services so high in price? Why
wouldn't I go somewhere else for $100 a year? - Does it state
within your contract that I cannot switch to a different
hosting company later on? - Going forward, am I going to be
able to hire any web developer for my website updates, if I am
able to negotiate better prices?
This is another
important note: Make sure your web design company gives you
the "FTP (File Transfer Protocol)" access to your website. The
FTP allows you to hire another web design company to go in and
update your website at any time. Without the FTP information,
no one can update your website besides the original web
development company or hosting company that you
hired.
In Conclusion: Be weary of web design companies
that don't provide contracts for all of their projects. Be
careful with your domain name; make sure that in the end, you
own all rights to your domain name, not someone else.
I
hope this article helps you out!
For more of Martins
articles, go here: http://www.smartads.info/newsletter
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About the Author
About The Author:
Martin Lemieux President of
Smartads
International: http://www.smartads.info Canada: http://www.smartads.ca
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