"The Banter" A Quarterly Newsletter: Vol. 3, 4th Quarter :: October 2007

How to Make Sure You Don't Get Burned by Your Web Developer Tech Tips: Setting Your PDA or Email Client To Download Message Headers Our Clients in the Spotlight: OSU Income Tax School New! Make Me Laugh Intersoft Jobs: Sales Positions Wanted How to Make Sure You Don't Get Burned by Your Web Developer By: Jessica Sudo Recently it has come to our attention that some innocent companies are getting thrown under the bus by unscrupulous and unethical web developers. This outrages all of us at Intersoft enough that we decided to write about it in this quarter's newsletter. We all gathered together and discussed the horror stories that we've heard, not only from our clients that found us AFTER working with their first botched developer, but from our vendors that tell us about their clients' horrific web developer tales. So, we have comprised a list to help you and your fellow colleagues to "Make Sure You Don't Get Burned by Your Web Developer". Here are the top 10 Tips: 10) Make sure you own your domain name. This tip is not just for those who use web developers it is also for those who use hosting companies. We have seen time & time again clients fighting with their previous providers over their domain name. The previous company does not want to release it, causing wars and tons of paper work for our clients. Please make note to never let your Administrative or Registrant Contact out of your company's hands. You should always be the Registrant AND Primary contact for your domain and make sure you insist on it. 9) Check Portfolio & References. Any web development company that is reluctant to give you a name and phone number is probably not the most reliable. A few short quotes on their website just won't cut it. Ask the developer for their clients' information and call as many as possible. Check out their success stories and their portfolio. And don't just look at the pretty pictures of the websites they've developed. Go to a few of them to see if they are easy to navigate, read and/or buy from. 8) Check them out with the BBB. We're not assuming that a company who is not a member of the Better Business Bureau is bad, but check and see if they are a listed on the BBB website (http://www.BBB.org). Non-members can even have complaints filed against them so this is a good way of seeing what type of partner you are going to be dealing with. Remember, if you are serious about your website (which we all hope you are) you are going to be dealing a lot with your developer so make sure you can trust them. 7) How long have they been in business? Now, we're not knocking startups. We actually have a fond place in our hearts for them, but the length of time a business has been around is a point to consider. Take us for example. We've been in business since 1992. That's 15 years. That's a long time! The length of time a company has been around, especially in the DotCom business, gives you a great deal of insight on not only the expertise but also the business management. You know that a company who has been around for a lengthy period of time probably won't be out of business in a few short months (or years) leaving you "up _ _ _ _ creek without a paddle". 6) How is their response time? This is a big complaint that our Sales Reps hear time & time again. Our prospective client's current developer just isn't getting back to them and they want work done now! Make sure to ask how quickly they can get a job done and, when you're checking references, don't forget to ask that too! 5) How do they approach design & your competition? First and foremost, look at the design and design quality of their current websites. Do their sites all look the same? Do they research your industry and provide you with a graphical look that is fitting for your business? It would be shocking to see a dull and dreary site made for a circus. Don't you think? You need to make sure that their designers can provide you with the graphical look tailored to your business and your industry. 4) How do they charge? Hourly or fixed rate? Why is this important, you ask? Well, you'll meet a web developer that tells you he will give you exactly what you want for cheap. Then, after the project is completed he will hit you with a much higher cost. This is what can happen when you are charged with on an hourly rate because the job "took longer than expected". So, when quoting large projects it's best to go with a fixed rate. This way you'll know exactly what you're paying and there will be no surprises. 3) Look into your extra costs. If you are doing an ecommerce store, this is especially important. Ask if the developer provides you with a secure server. This allows credit card and sensitive data to be transmitted through an encrypted & secured line. Ask if they provide you with a PCI compliant gateway and do they integrate it for you. Do you own the store? Can you take it with you if you decide to host elsewhere? Can they help with your online Merchant Accounts? Do they offer an integrated email marketing system to your store? Can you customize and add features needed for your business down the road? Or, is it a standard out-of-the-box solution? I know, a lot of questions to ask, but it can definitely save you time & money in the long run! 2) Read Your Proposals Please, read your proposals. I know sometimes they can be lined with some technical jargon but make sure it states what you want. If it doesn't, go back to your Sales Rep and clarify it with them. You want to make sure that you are getting what you want and need. Most production departments go by the specification so, if it's not clear to you, it may not be clear to them. So take the time to read them. 1) Read, Read & Reread the Terms Like anyone really reads the Terms of Agreement! I know, personally, I don't. When I read terms, I read, Blah...blah...blah...Governed by the State of Ohio. But the terms are actually one of the most important parts to signing with a web developer. These terms govern how you can and can't use the site. Some web developers will even charge you a yearly or monthly fee to use your graphical look and feel...even your content! So even if you are no longer hosting the site with them, they can still charge you to use your own website! So please, read carefully! Happy Website Developing! Back to Top Tech Tips: Setting Your PDA or Email Client To Download Message Headers Let's say that you are trying to download your email using your PDA, Blackberry, IPhone or even Outlook. Each of these clients works in a similar way. You connect to the mail server, download the emails and then read them. Now, lets say that you know that you will have 100 or so email messages and that only one out of those is a legitimate email. You don't want to waste your time and/or wireless minutes downloading all 100 messages just to retrieve the one that is legitimate. So, how do you avoid this situation you ask? Easily! Just setup your client to download the message headers. Downloading the message headers will download the From, Subject and usually size of the emails that are sitting on your mail server. By setting up your client to download the message headers first, you can then select which email(s) you wish to download and/or select the email(s) you wish to delete before your client downloads the full message. This can help especially with very large attachments that can time out your download and cause your client to re-download duplicate messages. Many of the newer clients now offer you the ability to download message headers using POP3. Check out your client's Preferences or Options to find the settings. For your PDA or phone check the software's documentation. If you have tech question that you would like us to write about email us at techtips@intersoftgroup.com. Back to Top Our Clients in the Spotlight: OSU Income Tax Schools Website: http://www.aede.osu.edu/programs/taxschool/ The OSU Income Tax Schools are designed for tax preparers with some experience preparing and filing federal tax returns for individuals and small businesses. Instruction focuses on tax law changes and on the problems that you face in preparing tax returns. Back to Top New! Make Me Laugh New to this quarter's newsletter is our Make Me Laugh section! We will feature a new comic every quarter that'll be sure to make you laugh! Back to Top Intersoft Jobs: Sales Positions Wanted Intersoft is looking for qualified Sales Applicants to join our Group! If you know of anyone looking for a Sales position that you feel would be a good fit with our company please have them check out our job description at: http://www.intersoftgroup.com/jobs/jobs.aspx All qualified sales applicants can email their resume to: jobs@intersoftgroup.com Back to Top