There are many myths and self-enabling disinformation that can lead you down the path of disappointment and unsatisfactory results with your website goals and potential. You may be someone who is very knowledgeable about the internet and how it all works together. You may be someone who is comfortable using tools like Dreamweaver or some WYSIWYG/web-based tool to build your site like WordPress or Drupal. You may be absolutely correct in the direction you are taking to build your site effectively and have much success but bottom line is; if you do not focus on your business and allow someone who does these things for a living and has proven results to manage and build your site you are shooting yourself in the foot. I have worked with too many companies that think they know everything about the web and websites in particular. Each of those companies have different varying degrees of knowledge about the web but cut themselves short of achieving optimum success because they wanted to hold the reins and make all final decisions. We are a confident, do-it-yourself, able to learn and skilled people but sometimes we take on too much that spreads our available time and energy into things that turn out to be counterproductive in the end. If you allow professionals to help you achieve your goals and take your direction to new heights you will be much more effective at managing your company and having more time for yourself at the same time.

Myth #1: I can build my own website, it isn’t that hard to do

Technically, this is true, you can build your own website with the massive amount of inexpensive tools that are available for you to use to create your online wonderland. Technically you can also build your own house, car, plane or boat but how secure are you on the safety of the final product? Just because you can doesn’t mean you should. I fall into this trap all the time and you would think I would learn that hiring someone that does what I want to do day in and day out would be better than me stumbling around learning on the fly. The myth part is that most people build a website then leave it and expect people to come. Just because you have a website doesn’t mean people will find it. You have to update your site daily/weekly to be ranked better. Another misconception is that If the site isn’t built to industry standards and more importantly Search Engine Optimization standards you will do more harm than good. Certain tools like drupal, cakephp, oscommerce, wordpress, jumla, etc., all have their pluses and minuses but you really have to have a complete understanding of how HTML works, how website design and structure can help or hinder your overall exposure, searchability and indexability. Every single person I have talked to who have build their own site has regretted it and the few thousand dollars they saved wasn’t worth their time and aggravation.

Myth #2: The cooler my site is the more people will like it

I have personally built hundreds of website and overseen many more. Most of the time the client wants something really hip and cool and different than all the other sites out there with movement and artistic flare. I agree that a site that is like that is funner to see and if there is interaction with it I like it even more however; most people don’t search the web for cool websites that are fun to play with. Most people look for information, pictures and video; your cool flash and design is useless for what the internet was designed for. Flash and animation or app driven sites are not able to be indexed by search engines. Indexed means; Search Engines such as Google can send their robots to find text and images from your site and rank it depending on the content they find. So if you sell crowbars and all the words that contain crowbars is embedded into some sort of “cool” object it won’t be seen by the search engines and also won’t be found by people looking for crowbars. Search Engines are the key factors in the success of any website. Organic Searches are searches done in Search Engines and are free to the website owner. The more Organic Searches you receive the higher your ranking and relevancy your site will have for the particular search phrase used to find you. Keep your Site Simple and EASY to navigate or it will crash and burn with the millions of others sites that have made the same mistakes. Look at the most popular sites on the web; Google, Facebook, Yahoo, MSN, CNN yada yada, all of them are simple, text based with some images and video. It isn’t what you want but what people looking for you want, remember, it is not about you, it is about your customer.

Myth #3: It is too expensive to hire someone to build my website or web-based application

If you are still with me, the past two myths debunk this myth very effectively. How much is your time worth? Just like building a house if you do not have all the elements you need to build it correctly you will be working on that house forever and have to redo things which cost you a lot more time and money than if you would have done it right the first time. A minimum budget you need to build an effective site depends on your product or service. Here is a general rule (for what we charge) you can go by to budget effectively.

• Initial design and development: $1500 – $3000
• Ongoing Maintenance and Search Engine Optimization: $500-$5000 / month
• You have to update your site frequently in order to have any chance of success. You cannot just build it and leave it and expect anything from it. Just like in life, you have to progress and continue to learn. Staying stagnant is a regression not a progression.
• For web-based applications the amount is never able to be estimated perfectly as it will constantly change with your needs. One thing to keep in mind is that for every dollar you spend on development you need to get at least a 500% return on it. If you can see your application making you a profit then do it. Just like hiring someone to help you manage your business, hiring a programmer is far more beneficial because what they create for you can run forever and grow with your business as it changes and grows.

It will cost you more to hire a programmer than to outsource it. No payroll taxes, no healthcare or other related employee expenses. A good experienced programmer should cost you in a salary $85,000.00 per year. Outsourcing can easily reduce that by 50-70 percent and get the same or better results. Our goals are to make sure our clients are happy with everything we do and proven results are plentiful.

The only trick is you have to find someone that knows that they are doing or you can waste a lot of time and money building a technology based money pit. I have rebuilt and fixed countless nightmares wasting tens of thousands of dollars because the other programmer had no clue how to build large apps or even websites correctly. Make sure you look at your potential programmers work, reputability and project management abilities. You are making an investment and you cannot just take their word for it. To many of even my clients in the past don’t ask the right questions or know what questions to ask. I will post a good question and answer piece for you to reference. Make sure you test them as well to see if they even know standard industry terms such as Object Oriented Programming, SEO or LAMP. Check to see how they keep track of time; you shouldn’t pay for their facebooking or email checking. You have the right to ask anything, you are hiring them, not the other way around.

Myth# 4: My friend (insert Brother, Father, Cousin or Neighbor) knows how to build websites. Or: My “friend” is in college and learned how to build a website

I couldn’t tell you how many times I have heard this one. Sure, each of us know someone who “can” build our professional company website. Remember, just because they can, doesn’t mean then should use you as their Ginnie Pig. As history has proven, each time someone hires their “friend”, regret soon follows. Remember, if you hire someone out of obligation or guilt you have already lost. Hire someone out of experience and expertise and chances are you’ll come out ahead. Also, if you have to fire them, it is a bit easier on the relationship.

Remember: Special/Friend Rate = Special (When you can be fit in) Timeframe.. We still have to make enough to pay our bills

NOTE: If you have any experiences or would like to add any myths or questions please comment below.