Posts Tagged ‘web design advice’

Do you own your domain? Are you sure?

February 6th, 2009

Today I received a telephone call from a perspective client who was interested in redesigning his company website. He had not had a particularly good experience with his original web designer and was looking to end the business relationship and start over with a fresh site and new webhosting. Like many new clients I’ve met over the years, he had entrusted the task of setting up his webhosting and registering his domain name to his web designer. Also, like many of those clients, he was completely in the dark as to what company actually hosted his site or with which company his domain name was registered. Imagine his surprise when he found out that his web designer actually owned his domain name, not him! Makes breaking off the relationship just a little more complicated, doesn’t it?

What you need to know as a client is that many web designers make extra income by reselling webhosting and domain names. A reseller basically enters into an agreement with a webhosting company or registrar wherein they receive a discount for each new account they sign up under their company’s name. The designer/reseller bills their client full price, thereby making a small profit. That is not necessarily a bad thing. It is an honest way for a web designer to supplement their income, but this arrangement generally only benefits the web designer and more times than not leads to a host of complications down the road.

Here’s a great example… true story!

A new client calls me in a panic. Their website has been replaced by a screen full of ads, has someone stolen their website? Not at all. A quick “whois” search reveals that their domain name has expired and GoDaddy has replaced their website with a standard ads page until the name is either renewed or sold to someone else. No problem. They can simply contact GoDaddy and renew the name, right? Usually the answer would be yes, but for this client the nightmare has just begun. The “whois” search also turns up the fact that their prior web designer registered the domain in his personal name. That makes the web designer the owner (registrant) of the name, not my client. The web designer sold his company years before and moved out of the country without transferring the domain name to my client or providing him with the password, ID & pin number to the account.

The problem can be resolved, eventually, but not without a great deal of headache and time is now of the essense. What are his choices at this point?

1. He can prove to the registrar that he is the legal owner of the domain. Each registrar has different methods of proof, but all involve faxing various forms of identification and proof of company ownership which takes time; or

2. He can track down the prior web designer (which also takes time) and hope that they still have the login information and are willing to turn it over.

There are other problems that can arise besides domain expiration. Let’s say you hire a new web designer to create a site from scratch using a new webhost. You plan to keep your old site active until the new site is ready to be launched. Everything is going great… new site is done… now all you have to do is change the nameservers to point your domain name to the new website. Problem is you cannot change the nameservers without access to your domain account. Most times when a web designer registers a domain as a reseller they do not provide login information to the client as it would grant access to their main account. Again, the client is at the mercy of the web designer. If they cannot turn over the password & ID for security reasons, then hopefully the designer would be willing to change the nameservers for the client NOW while ownership issues are addressed.

Let’s keep going. Say you have all the emergencies worked out now. The next step is pursuing transfer of the domain into your name. If the web designer is cooperative (we won’t even complicate matters by using a scenario in which your web designer hate’s your guts or works out of his truck) and everything goes smoothly, it can still take months for the domain transfer process to be completed. Consider that a registrar may legitimately deny a transfer request if (among other things):

  1. There is a reasonable dispute over the identity of the person authorizing the transfer
  2. The domain name is on hold due to payment owed for a previous registration period
  3. They receive express written objection from the domain name holder
  4. The domain name is within 60 days of initial registration
  5. The domain name is within 60 days of a previous transfer
  6. The transfer is initiated within 60 days of changing contact information of registrant

So, how do you avoid falling into this horrible headache of a situation? Easy! Buy your own domain name and keep a record of your account ID, password and Pin. Problem solved!

If you have had a web designer register your domain name in the past and you are unsure who actually owns the name, you can find out by doing a “whois” search at Network Solutions. Just pop in your domain name and take a close look at the information that pulls up. The registrant is the owner of the domain name and all verifications will be emailed to the administrative contact.

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Posted in Client Resources

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5 big no, no’s when shopping for a web designer

January 19th, 2009

While not an exhaustive list (I could definitely come up with more!) here are some major things to avoid when hiring a web designer:

1. Don’t let your web designer purchase your domain name for you. Suppose down the road you end your business relationship with your designer OR the designer closes up shop OR moves to another company. Not only is the owner of your domain name MIA, most of the time he has taken the login & password for your registrar with him! If your designer uses his personal name and email address as the administrative contact not only will he receive all notices regarding domain expiration (you’ll be unaware), all changes in ownership will have to be validated through that email address. If the email address no longer exists it gets even more complicated. Bottom line… Make sure you own your domain name!

2. All in one packages purchased from web hosting companies that include hosting, web design and web design maintenance are not always a good deal. Some of the pitfalls can include:

- Paying a monthly maintenance fee even when no updates are required for the month.

- In some cases the web host may retain ownership of the site, so if you change web hosts in the future you will not be able to take your site with you.

- Some web hosts require that updates be made through their company, leaving you subject to the company’s (some time excessive) time frame.

- Most “all in one” companies use template systems so your choice of design may be limited.

- You may pay extra for features that you never use.

Many times it is more economic to find an affordable web host and hire a web designer that charges for updates only when updates are required. You will generally have more flexibility with your site’s design and you can request only the features that you intend to use.

3. Don’t use a web designer that insists on his own design. It is one thing for a web designer to advise you regarding site structure, accessibility, color theory and organic search engine optimization - that is their obligation as a professional and what you are paying them for. It is another for the designer to insist on a web site “look” based solely on their personal taste. It is not unheard of for a web designer to provide a draft to their client and if the client expresses unhappiness with any aspect of the draft for the designer to become offended. This is a sign of immaturity and unhealthy pride. A good web designer should always take your vision and likes/dislikes into account. The perfect website should be healthy, perform well, attract the appropriate customers, AND make you proud.

4. Remember that a web designer is not necessarily a search engine optimization specialist. While a good web designer should be educated and incorporate healthy organic SEO techniques into their design, a web designer cannot be held responsible for the ongoing performance of your site (especially in a competitive market) unless you have specifically contracted for those services. Web design and SEO are two distinct industries that compliment and build upon each other.

5. If you already have a website and are looking for a redesign you do not have to move your site to your designer’s recommended web host. Many times web designer’s resell web hosting and are looking to make a little side money. Though it sounds easy enough, moving a web site is more complicated then you think. First you need to take the “if something can go wrong it probably will” law into consideration. There will be at least 48 hours of downtime, and forms and email links have to be reconfigured and retested. Unless you are using an exchange server, there is a chance you will loose all emails sent during the transition time. It gets even more complicated if a site is running an online store. In that case, configuration files have to be edited at the server and gateway levels, the database reinstalled, and the store retested. You should only switch web hosts if you are unhappy with your current host.

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How does your SEO rank loyalty?

January 10th, 2009

How does your SEO rank loyalty?

Before hiring a professional SEO (search engine optimization) company, there is a critical question that should be asked, but is often overlooked. The question is:  “Are you already working for a business in my industry?”  If the answer is “yes”, you should request and carefully consider the company’s plan for promoting the best interests and search engine ranking of multiple clients in the same competitive industry.

Here is a GREAT example of a BAD deal!

The company that designed my orthodontist’s website – officite.com – promotes their services as follows:

Strategic search puts your practice first.

Just as you may have found Officite today by searching the terms “dental marketing” or “dental Web site design” on a search engine like Google®, so, too, will your patients and prospective clients search for you with words associated to their needs.

By creating customized keyword lists that include localities, ailments and treatments, and properly registering every Web site we build with the network of major search engines, you know you will be front-and-center when someone searches for you.

But guess what? My orthodontist is nowhere to be found on Google for “cosmetic dentists” or “orthodontists” in Colorado Springs. Why? Well, just try plugging this section of their home page text into Google (with quotes for an exact match):

“doctor and patient become a team for treating an individual’s dental needs”

You will find about 290 listings using the exact same text. What’s more, if you begin going through the sites you will find that all of the patient education information on the sites has been duplicated as well.

It’s common knowledge that in the case of duplicate content Google chooses the ONE site that they believe is the original owner of the text and filters all of the other pages out of their search engine results. Since Google assigns the highest rank to sites with unique and relevant information, no SEO company can guarantee better rankings by using duplicate content.

So is it possible for an SEO company to have more then one client in the same industry? We discussed this challenge in a thread at The Small Business Forum, [see SEO loyalty in the face of competition] and the general consensus was that though it is possible, an ethical SEO would know full well that the scenario is complicated and have a plan in place.

Some of the valid ways in which an SEO can address competition among clients are:

1.  Limit clients to certain geo-locations. An orthodontist in Colorado Springs would not be affected by ongoing SEO work for an orthodontist in Denver.

2.  Explain the conflict of interest and refer the new client to another trusted

3.  Structure the contract based on achieving first page rankings. In that scenario, theoretically an SEO could serve up to 10 different companies. Ever changing rankings could make this idea unrealistic, however.

4.  Provide services based on specific keywords that do not overlap between clients.

5.  Hire writers (in house or outsourced) to ensure that unique content is written for all clients.

6.  Offer two separate contracts, one that guarantees exclusive rights within a certain mail radius and one that has no such guarantee. Charges would be based on which contract the client chooses.

In the end, all of the SEO’s I discussed the issue with agreed that it is a matter of company ethics.

So ask the question. If the SEO company has a plan in place at least it means they have thought through the complications and made a decision to look out for their clients’ best interests. If there is no plan, you could be hiring the company that is promoting your competition!

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Posted in Search engine optimization

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Web Designer, SEO or Both?

September 6th, 2008

What is the job of a web designer?  To create a website that is aesthetically pleasing to their client or a website that is guaranteed to perform well on Google?  What is an SEO?  Is my web designer an SEO?  Is an SEO my web designer?  The answer is yes… and no.  The lines are not always clear and the subject is often open to debate [see thread at the Small Business Forum regarding implementing an SEO friendly design into the build of a website].  Before you hire a web designer then, it is important that you understand the different roles a web designer and SEO can play in the design and ongoing performance of your website… and where the lines sometimes get blurred.

What is SEO?

SEO stands for search engine optimization, and simply means putting your website into such optimal shape it ranks well on search engines.   This, however, covers a lot of ground.  It involves the careful planning of site structure, the development of relevant content, the use of clean code, how your pages link together, positioning and use of keywords, description and title tags, garnering natural and high quality links to your site and marketing.  On an ongoing basis, SEO may involve the monitoring of statistics and analytics to see which pages are performing well and which are not and making adjustments accordingly.  It also means, when possible, continual adding of fresh content.

Is a ”search engine friendly” site the same as a site that has been ”search engine optimized”?

You won’t find these terms clearly defined in Webster’s Dictionary for sure, but basically no.  A search engine friendly design means that a site has been designed with search engine ranking in mind.  In other words, the design will not hinder search engine ranking, though it does not guarantee HIGH rankings either.  This includes particular attention to site navigation, internal linking of pages, and the amount and positioning of good, quality, keyword-rich text.

A search engine optimized site has been taken a step further. In this case the focus is on improving a site to the point that it ranks well on a search engine.  As mentioned above this entails a lot of extra work and monitoring of a website, and some argue that for particularly competitive industries the job is never really finished.

Do I need a search engine friendly website?

Believe it or not, there are circumstances when a search engine friendly site is not necessary, but those cases are few and far between. For instance, I once developed a website for a photographer that did business locally and was not concerned about reaching an international market. Their site was used basically as a portfolio and for draft viewing purposes.  Most importantly, they marketed their website frequently in other venues such as direct-mailers, flyers, business cards and other promotional publications.  In this situation, the client felt it was more important to impact their visitors visually and chose to have their home page created as a full page graphic and basically no text.

Why is that important?  Because search engines are not human and can only connect specific keywords to specific sites if those keywords are actually on the website.  So if the keyword “photography” is not on the home page the site generally will not be found when a search is conducted for those terms.  This was a trade off that my client clearly understood and decided to compensate by advertising through other means.  This type of design could be considered search engine unfriendly and is not the norm.

In general you should always expect and require a search engine friendly design as part of your web design package.

Do I need an optimized site?

Whether your site needs to be optimized will generally depend on the competitive nature of your industry and how important search engine rankings are to your business.  Since the only value a search engine can offer it’s visitors is relevant results, it is no surprise that they are constantly tweaking the formula by which they determine which sites are ranked the highest.  As forumlas become more sophisticated so has the “art” of website optimization.  Tricks and quick fixes that you may have heard of in the past no longer work with reputable search engines like Google and could even cause your site to be banned.  If you choose to have your website optimized, it is always best to go with a professional.

So can my web designer do it all?  What should I expect?

A good web designer should always have a working knowledge of SEO – enough knowledge to create a search engine FRIENDLY website.  This is standard.  This is also where the lines sometimes become blurred.  There are web designers that specialize in optimization and offer ongoing optimization services, but not always.  In the case where a web designer does not offer these services, they are still responsible for some optimization basics, such as careful planning of site structure, clean coding and optimal page linking, but cannot be held responsible for continued upward movement in rankings.

If it is clear that ongoing marketing and adding of content will be necessary to increase site ranking and the web designer cannot offer such services, then site structure must be a main consideration in the site plan.  The site must be created in such a way that adding content in the future does not require a redesign of the whole site.

What’s the bottom line?

Not all web designers have the SEO skills to ensure that your website ranks highly on search engines, especially in highly competitive industries.  Conversely, not All SEO’s have the skill to create an attractive website.  The important thing is that before you start your website design you discuss the scope of services with your web designer.  Be aware that even if your web designer does offer optimization services, those services will generally be an add-on service and not included in the cost of your website design.

Before contracting with a web designer, here are the 10 most important questions to ask:

(1) How important is search engine ranking to you?

(2) What do you do to ensure your designs are search engine friendly?

(3) Can you show me examples of web designs you have created that rank well in Google?

(4) Should my site require ongoing optimization, including the adding of content, do you offer those services?

(5) If you do offer ongoing optimization services, are they included in the cost of the web design or is it an add-on service?

(6) If ongoing optimization is an add-on service, how much will it cost?

(7) How much experience do you have in website marketing?

(8) Can you give me examples of websites you have optimized and records of your results?

(9) Can you provide me with references?

(10) If you cannot offer ongoing optimization services, what will you do to ensure that my site is easy to add on to or update by a SEO professional in the future.

In most cases a web designer can and should meet your basic optimization needs.  If more advanced optimization skills are needed, however, you may have to contract with an SEO specialist.

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