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How NOT to redesign a website
Sorry, but I just have to share this with you. I won’t bother with the long-winded email exchange between myself, the prospect and Cindy (our designer) - I think my final email message sums it up fairly well (and hopefully fairly diplomatically):
I understand that you have opted to have your website redesigned for $150 in India. There are a lot of very talented technicians in India who work for very little. I am constantly being approached by Indian web folks offering to outsource my web design, SEO, and other items.
I understand that this time you made your decision on the basis of expenditures. If at some time you decide to choose a website designer based on the income you want it to generate for you, I hope you will look us up.
Best of luck.
Website design is not just about art. It’s about the elements on the page and how they are used to engage visitors, offer them choices, answer their questions and move them through the sales process (or the sign-up process, or the lead generation process, or whatever the goals of the website). This gentleman will most likely waste $150 and a lot of time, probably suffering a fair amount of frustration wondering what went wrong.
Cindy and I are working on preparing a couple pages on website re-design case studies, demonstrating how we have altered the various elements on the home page to help increase conversions.
Written by David Leonhardt
Grab The Bookmarketer For Your Site
November 23rd, 2008 at 4:32 am
I would be willing to bet that he will be back one day if he can afford it! We have watched many of our customers try to outsource web development and design work to India, plus we have tried it ourselves a few times, but unfortunately it almost never works out.
November 24th, 2008 at 11:49 am
I actually just read a very interesting article on conversions and it did indeed say the same things as you are. It´s not just about design, it´s about the implementation of the design, the layout, the content.. they all must compliment each other in order to gain maximum effect. There are a lot of websites from India – the wonder of the internet! Everyone needs to earn a living
Monika
November 25th, 2008 at 12:15 am
The problem is not with outsourcing but rather the choice of outsourcing vendors. I’ve seen rather impressive work done by companies in India – I suppose the key is rather not choosing the lowest cost but scouting for the right vendor.
November 25th, 2008 at 5:11 am
Since I’m didn’t have the talent in the web design, I mostly passing the web design gigs to my friend to get it done…
November 25th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
For $150, one can get some very nice artwork offshore. If what you are looking for is artwork, well, why not? The point here is that this person was looking to increase conversions. Whether a person is a talented artist is irrelevant to increasing conversions, except to the extent that the design has to look professional.
November 26th, 2008 at 1:18 pm
Getting a website re-designed would be desired once you realize that something is missing in the existing site , web designing is both a science and an art, it does not depend where it is done but who does it.
November 26th, 2008 at 8:33 pm
The redesign is a development process for the website; it needs for all the web designers. The redesign improves the quality of the site.
November 26th, 2008 at 11:17 pm
Pretty good work gets done in India too. But i guess the key is too choose the right people to work for you. Good and bad professionals exist everywhere.
November 29th, 2008 at 8:58 pm
I am impressed with the price to redesign the site, however there are issues with communication here.
It is importeant that if you want your site to be seen at the top with your key words, you will need a strong level of cmmunication with the design team the the SEO firm. I have had nothing but problems communicating with folks over seas for all my tech issues in the past. THis includes both design and SEO.
Bigger issue here is lack of accountability. There are no gvernmental regulations with the US and over seas webdesign teams. You make your paynment and cross your fingers….
Best of luck,
Tom
December 3rd, 2008 at 5:30 am
Looking forward to read the pages you and Cindy put out. I agree that web design is more than art. There is a hundred and one other elements that need to be considered
December 10th, 2008 at 9:35 pm
$150 for a site re design would more than likey end up in a waste of time, you wont get much quality for that ammount of money i know.
January 2nd, 2009 at 1:16 pm
I really very liked this post. Can I copy?
Thanks in advance.
Sincerely, Timur Alhimenkov.
January 10th, 2009 at 1:47 am
i think offshore or not offshore, it really depends on how you communicate with the designer about the the things you want for your site, and the way he undertstands them, I believe proper coordination is the key.
January 30th, 2009 at 5:09 pm
Well said. A site still has to look professional, but it is its content that is the most important factor, especially for it to appear high up in a search engine, which is the primary way that people get business these days.
February 21st, 2009 at 3:22 pm
I think I got the author there. We want to make "beautifull websites" because we like them. But customers may look at it totally diferent! I know many websites that are technically advanced…and I know few websites that look like "*****"-but they do generate profits! 'Aha'.
March 13th, 2009 at 10:03 pm
Cool! I think what is important when building a site it should be user-friendly. Like this website simple, user-friendly and lots of cool ideas.. ^^
May 28th, 2009 at 11:32 pm
Good for you! I give you kudos for politely sticking it to that gentlemen.
November 3rd, 2009 at 8:52 pm
I always go for audience poll, i mean i put my website on review by others so that i can get some comments whether they are positive or negative, believe me they become very helpful to you and make your mind to redesign your website in a better way.