Web Content Monster Devours 6 Clients

FAIR WARNING TO SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS: you will actually have to put real stuff like words and pictures on your site to go along with all the nice web design. Sounds simple, right?

Tell that to 6 of my clients who have gone 'missing' since being asked to provide said content. And I don't mean missing for a few days or weeks. Missing for MONTHS.

Solving the Mystery

What happened to them? They've been swallowed whole by the Web Content Monster -- a beast that begins stalking you when you realize your logo, list of services and contact info doesn't quite make the showstopping web site you were hoping (and maybe paid) for.

Why does it happen? Small business owners have the expert skills to run their small businesses. That skillset may not include copywriting or product photography. Others simply don't have the time. The great idea of an all-informative web site complete with staff bios, photo galleries, monthly articles, polls, resources, etc., now sends them running blindly right into the arms of the beast.

Tips to Avoid the Web Content Monster

• Be realistic about what you have time and skills for. Don't commit to more of a web site than you have time or budget to handle.
• Delegate to a staff member who has more time or contract out the copywriting and photography to a 3rd party.
• Check your existing materials. Brochures, flyers, ads, company manuals, client handouts, press releases, business plans, PowerPoint presentations, even e-mails, can be great sources of content.
• Be fair to your web designer. Don't assume these time-consuming tasks are included in the cost of your web design and then request the services a week before you want to go live with your site.

If you really want an informative site that adds value to consumers and brings you more business, that's great! Just realize it will take time and effort on someone's part to achieve that. Decide who that someone will be, develop a plan of action and stick to it!

Web Site Taggers

Must I resort to becoming a tagger to get ahead of my competition?

Of course, I don't mean tagging walls, freeway signs and such. I mean tagging my client's web sites. You know, the fine print down at the very bottom of the page that says "web site designed by..." In other words, "Crafty Pixel was here!"

I recently compared my web site against 3 of my local competitors and they killed me in link popularity because they seem to have tagged just about every page of every web site they've ever designed and I have only tagged two (very reluctantly).

Whenever I see those little web designer links at the bottom of a web site, it whispers 'amateur.' Am I the only one who hears that? Even though some of my clients' web sites rank very well in the search engines and I could share in that search engine love with a link back to my site, I don't feel right about it. Paying for or 'discounting' for the privilege only slightly lowers the arrogance factor and doesn't lower the amateur factor at all.

Well! Just blogging this out has helped me decide. I think I'll pass on web site tagging for now and find other ways to make a name for myself. I feel so much better now.

'.com' Name Theft in the Inland Empire

Has this happened to you? A web designer pops into your place of biz, says she's designed a web site for you and wants you to check it out. You do and for whatever reason, you decide you don't want it. She goes on her merry way. Sounds like an innocent interaction, right?

What she may NOT have told you is that she also registered a '.com' name for your business. And she sure as hell didn't tell you that if you don't buy the web site she designed for you, you're not getting your '.com' name back until you fork over hundreds or thousands of dollars to buy it from her.

Can she do this to you? Can she cop a big fat cyber-squat on your '.com' name?

Technically, yes. Afterall, anyone can register any available '.com', '.org', or '.net' name for as little as $8 a year. But legally? Maybe not. You can check out the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act for all the legalese but basically it says you can't register domain names ('.com', '.org', etc.) in bad faith--like when you know it's already someone else's trademark and you plan to sell it to them or divert their potential web traffic to your own web site.

I've met 2 business owners (one in Corona, one in Norco) who've been scammed by the same web designer. The audacity! I know swindlers and con people come in all forms. But in web designer form? What's wrong with people? It's hard enough trying to run a small business and make a little pocket change without this kind of crap going on. We should be supporting each other.

Moral of the story: if you haven't already, go register your '.com' name, please. It's really easy and really cheap. Check out my Resource Center page for links. And, if you've been a victim, please look up your local Better Business Bureau and report it (you can register a complaint online). Also, read this one page article on a new dispute procedure you can use to fight the cybersquatter.