Web Site Development
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Out of curiosity, what are the problems? That is so subjective and perhaps just randomly looking for another firm may not be the best answer.
Some times it is really not the website developer's fault depending on whether you were truly ready for a new site, or perhaps there were some financial limitations that forced them to deliver less than they wish.
I have worked with easily over a few dozen different website companies this year, and many times the problems were destined from the start. In your case, I am wondering if you actually needed a higher end option from the start, and perhaps just did not realize it.
Feel free to reach directly out to me if you do not want to air any dirty laundry, which I could understand. I was trying to connect via your website but then realized my communication would probably be copied :laughing:
Have a good weekend.
Good morning and many thanks for responding.
As I’m sure you are aware you can always throw more money at any problem. I don’t think that’s the answer.
I decided to up grade my site about 6 months ago so it would be more user friendly to many different media types. So now you can view it on an PC or iPad, or iPhone.
The problem is not the looks of the site, it’s the performance of the site. I have a one man show remodeling company focusing on kitchen, bath and basement remodeling. My time is normally very limited. Unfortunately, I currently have time to investigate my problem areas.
The front page of my web site shows the cities we are looking to work in. I recently did a search on Google in those cities for my company in the type of work we want (kitchen, bath and basement remodeling) and in most cases we did not show up on the first page, in fact we didn’t show up on the first 10 pages and we are listed on only 25 out of the 50 of the Tier One directory. When I spoke to my sale person, she suggested I look at a pay per click advertising campaign and spend $600.00 more per month. My last salesperson told me if I redesigned my site and spend the extra money (which I did 6 months ago) I should expect 3-4 calls per week which is the right number of calls per week for me.
My problem is not with the look of my site but is with the optimization. I did a little investigation and found my site had not been updated in 220 days. I believe that’s why I not getting calls. All I’m asking is they (the web site developer) do what they told me they would do. With my old site I was on the first page.
So, here’s my dilemma; most web site developers want $2,000-$5,000 to develop your web site and $500 - $1,000 per month in a marketing budget, I can’t afford that. If I would spend that money, I would be inundated with phone calls and would not be able to take care of the customers.
I have an old-fashioned attitude about business and customers, we take very good care of our customers. We have 90 “A” reports on Angie’s List, an “A+ listing on BBB. I don’t want to grow this company into a multimillion-dollar company. I just want to make a decent living for my family.
Thanks to all who take the time to review my problem and perhaps make suggestions. Good luck to you in your businesses.
Joe
Premier Home Design and Remodeling LLC
premierhomedesignandremodeling.com
As I’m sure you are aware you can always throw more money at any problem. I don’t think that’s the answer.
I decided to up grade my site about 6 months ago so it would be more user friendly to many different media types. So now you can view it on an PC or iPad, or iPhone.
The problem is not the looks of the site, it’s the performance of the site. I have a one man show remodeling company focusing on kitchen, bath and basement remodeling. My time is normally very limited. Unfortunately, I currently have time to investigate my problem areas.
The front page of my web site shows the cities we are looking to work in. I recently did a search on Google in those cities for my company in the type of work we want (kitchen, bath and basement remodeling) and in most cases we did not show up on the first page, in fact we didn’t show up on the first 10 pages and we are listed on only 25 out of the 50 of the Tier One directory. When I spoke to my sale person, she suggested I look at a pay per click advertising campaign and spend $600.00 more per month. My last salesperson told me if I redesigned my site and spend the extra money (which I did 6 months ago) I should expect 3-4 calls per week which is the right number of calls per week for me.
My problem is not with the look of my site but is with the optimization. I did a little investigation and found my site had not been updated in 220 days. I believe that’s why I not getting calls. All I’m asking is they (the web site developer) do what they told me they would do. With my old site I was on the first page.
So, here’s my dilemma; most web site developers want $2,000-$5,000 to develop your web site and $500 - $1,000 per month in a marketing budget, I can’t afford that. If I would spend that money, I would be inundated with phone calls and would not be able to take care of the customers.
I have an old-fashioned attitude about business and customers, we take very good care of our customers. We have 90 “A” reports on Angie’s List, an “A+ listing on BBB. I don’t want to grow this company into a multimillion-dollar company. I just want to make a decent living for my family.
Thanks to all who take the time to review my problem and perhaps make suggestions. Good luck to you in your businesses.
Joe
Premier Home Design and Remodeling LLC
premierhomedesignandremodeling.com
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Good morning Joe,
I hear your pain and was in the same situation few months ago. Whoever I approached, was asking me to spend more money.
Then I found WPadmin, they promptly helped me with fixing a few broken things on my site & on-page SEO issues
A month later, I had them manage my website. Now all I do is sent them an email and they get make the changes
They are also managing the SEO part of my website.
All this for a low monthly fee.
I hear your pain and was in the same situation few months ago. Whoever I approached, was asking me to spend more money.
Then I found WPadmin, they promptly helped me with fixing a few broken things on my site & on-page SEO issues
A month later, I had them manage my website. Now all I do is sent them an email and they get make the changes
They are also managing the SEO part of my website.
All this for a low monthly fee.
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This is part of the business that drives us bonkers.
Everyone is charged some monthly rate, from less than $100 to over $1,000. Many, but not all, get used to the residual without being forced to do anything or show-explain anything. I can understand allocating 15 minutes to explain what was worked on, regardless if it is 1 hr or 5hrs+ per month, but your situation is not uncommon, and unfortunately you are paying the price. One lesson to learn is, if you pay monthly then get even a 1 lined email update as to what was done in the month, pay quarterly then even a 1 lined email what was done in the quarter. Your Domain Authority, Rankings, and other metrics can take a hit, and then you drop off the radar. My instinct tells me your Credit Card was charged to the T, but you were not being proactive to see you were not getting whatever it is you think you were getting.
For what it is worth, I had an issue (with another website company) when I asked for some 'very basic' update requests. Was like pulling teeth to find out the client went 'way over a year without a single thing being done'. The programmer was pretty arrogant towards me when simply asking what he did for $199 per month for the last 17 months. Bottom line, he had dozens of customers paying 'just $199 per month for nothing'. Can you imagine how comfortable he was doing nothing and just billing away.
But this is not the norm, or the way it should be, so please do not assume everyone is out to get you, since that is not true.
Sorry for the results and the bad taste you got, I know it stinks.
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Many times the monthly number does not represent what is needed, other than just a random made up number. Technically someone can be doing SEO 24hrs per day on your account, and that may not even move the needle depending who your competitors are.
There is a fine line of what you can do for Free (i.e. getting Google Reviews, making the correct Facebook Posts that drive traffic back to your site, creating the correct YouTube videos that drive traffic back to your site, etc.). And then of course is adding new pages with Fresh Content about your projects, and that too can be done fast or done right, but most times is it one option not both.
So in the absence of doing nothing above, the next thing to do is to tweak the old (i.e. SEO optimization). And if you pay $100, $500 or $1,000 per month, then you should get some level of update as to what is done. Let's assume the programmer is 'annoyed at the time to explain what he is doing', I would sooner live with him working 15 minutes less on the actual work to then report what-if-anything is being done. In the absence of any update, then you have to have the shame-on-me feel since the result is what matters.
I really wish all programmers were proactive in their updates, but that is not the case, so you need to position yourself correctly, or stop the Credit Card charge, then watch how fast you get a phone call with someone saying "Hi, the Credit Card charge did not go through" and then you say "We were just waiting for the last update before moving forward this month". :thumbup:
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I pay CAD $248/month for everything
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Possibly, but I do have questions that you may not want to answer on the forums, plus those resources may happen to be working with others in your area and then may not wish to take on a competitive situation.
Reach out to me at my site whenever you have a chance since I am in end of year busy season and will not be as frequent back on the forums for a little time. I just happened to take a break and this caught my attention and I wanted to give initial guidance. I can then respond within my normal business day. Have a nice week.
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You are also looking for someone who understands your industry due to its specialty. I went to your site and see what you are-were trying to do on your own. There are too many questions to ask here so feel free to PM me. Forgive in advance any delayed replies in the forums since Oct-Nov are the absolute best time of year working with existing clients, so its hard to keep up not knowing what-when you may be looking for change. But even without communicating with me, just be aware you are not looking for anything out of the box when it comes to a specialty like yours. There are a lot of terms and buzzwords that some may take for granted, but for you they mean everything when it comes to marketing and lead generation.
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Half of the web studios do not have their own office. This is a fact. But if there is any conflict situation or questions arise, where will you contact as a client? If a web studio understands that the truth is on your side in a situation, then, most likely, its representatives will not answer calls, letters, and SMS. The presence of an office for a good web studio is mandatory. This is not only a guarantee that you will be able to meet with the manager, if necessary, to discuss website design for accounting firms but also evidence that the company has a fairly high level since it has the opportunity to maintain an office.
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