How to tell if a website has been done well

[Niks]

*I have also posted this in one other place, so I apologise if you have read this twice! I'm 8 weeks away from having a baby so I'm hoping to get all of this sorted out ASAP

Some of you may remember my recent posts about my website disaster – 8 months post the expected date of completion, sent a link of the 'finished' product with many features missing and distorted on internet explorer.. and many other disasters in-between.

In the past few weeks I moved on and really thought that nothing would ever come of working with them. I requested a refund and listed the things that they had not done (it's not the first time I had asked them to fix it though). I hadn't heard from them for a couple of weeks, and had a look at the link tonight and it seems that they have now done most things I asked of them, and to me it appears to be near completion. Last night it was in the form described above. It's not perfect, and it's not exactly what I asked for, but I am able to have it handed over to me for a reasonable price.

- What things do I need to look for to see if it has been done well? I want to make sure I don't overlook anything
- Who handles the process of moving it onto another host? I have a host lined up – do I get them to get in contact with the developers?

There are a few things I need to do myself. How easy will it be to:
- Add all of the product photos
- Set flat rate shipping
- Add in my Paypal Details and Direct Deposit details
- Add in content for static pages (some with bold headings and images)

I'm happy to send through the link if anyone is keen to have a look – I'll be forever grateful!

And I will also looking into hiring someone to do a few things at an hourly rate if things go ahead with the current site... probably prior to its launch. I definitely realise I can't do all of this myself.

Thanks in advance

[DavidM]

Hi there Niks,

Sorry to hear about your website disaster. Here's my take on the situation:

Originally Posted by Niks

- What things do I need to look for to see if it has been done well? I want to make sure I don't overlook anything

Did you have an agreed scope of work? If so, this will assist in ticking off the items once they are complete. Does the website provider offer a post sale support for a period of time? This gives you some peace of mind knowing that you can get bugs fixed later on.

But essentially you want to test every aspect of the website to make sure it flows, links and is branded correctly. Look at the title tags of the webpages, type in an incorrect page url to see how it handles 404 errors, and compare how it looks across different browsers (except Internet Explorer 6... *shudder*)

Originally Posted by Niks

- Who handles the process of moving it onto another host? I have a host lined up – do I get them to get in contact with the developers?

It's standard practice for the developer to migrate the site to your selected webhost. Your developer will just need your cPanel username/password. You may be required to connect the domain name servers (DNS) at your domain registrar end (i.e if you bought your domain name from Crazy Domains you will need to log into your Crazy domain account and point the name servers to your website host servers - ask your web host for their domain name server address).

Originally Posted by Niks

There are a few things I need to do myself. How easy will it be to:
- Add all of the product photos
- Set flat rate shipping
- Add in my Paypal Details and Direct Deposit details
- Add in content for static pages (some with bold headings and images)

Shouldn't this form part of the website developers scope of work? Although I don't know the full details of your arrangement, it seems a bit odd that your developer isn't doing this to ensure it's all onbrand and looks shmick.

Originally Posted by Niks

I'm happy to send through the link if anyone is keen to have a look – I'll be forever grateful!

I'm sure our community is only too glad to provide feedback. Just post it in the review section.

Originally Posted by Niks

And I will also looking into hiring someone to do a few things at an hourly rate if things go ahead with the current site... probably prior to its launch. I definitely realise I can't do all of this myself.

Sounds good. I'm sure there are many capable hands on deck here. Just don't launch a website that's not 100% functional, as that reduces your level of trust.

Good luck,

[Niks]

David, thank you so much - that was all so helpful!!

To cut a very long story short, yes we did have an agreed scope but not a document as such. We had an initial meeting where I took notes and stated exactly what I wanted, and it was agreed several times via email that my requested features would be incorporated. I was asked for product photos, page content, etc. and then once the site was handed over they backtracked and said those kinds of things are never included in websites.

My website was due to be completed 8 months ago... needless to say, it's been a VERY long 8 months! and I had to let go of two major features I wanted in my site so that I could get it done sooner (at the same original cost).

The website was in such a bad state that I asked for a refund. So many features were missing, many of the default Magento items had not been removed, and the site just looked completely distorted. Links did not actually even link anywhere. Tonight I clicked on the site and they seem to have done most things I have asked (except for product photos, loading content, payment methods, setting up the chat and contact us page, etc. etc.).

I basically see my only option is to pay the remaining 50% and have the website 'as is' or continue to demand my refund and start the whole thing all over again. Asking them to make changes I believe could set me back months

I'm wondering if it would be OK for me to post in the reviews section or if I should just send the link via private messages? Perhaps I'll post in there and see if anyone is interested in a link.

Thanks so much for your help!!

[DavidM]

Hi Niks,

I'm happy to review via PM if you want to keep it private.

Pretty much if they haven't delivered the work to scope within an agreed time frame then they haven't completed the task as requested and you should be able to ask for some sort of restitution. Again, this should be covered by in their general terms and conditions / scope document. Also understand what the ramifications are for the work they've completed thus far. As in, do you get to keep any of it - or none of it.

Just listening to your side of the story it doesn't sound like a very competent design company. I would be giving them a time frame to complete the work and then demanding a specified discount (e.g 25%). To provide firm context behind this discount, say that the delay has already cost you $x because of this, this and this.

Cheers,

[inveress]

Hi Niks,

It really sounds like your developers are not capable of providing a professional service, nor does it sound like they take any pride in their work.

I'd be happy to have a look at your site and let you know if I find any problems.

Cheers,
Peter.

[The Infotainer]

are they an Australian company

and if so are they in the same state as you

please don't tell me the company is in India

[BizPromo]

These options are not difficult at all. Just go through the options in your admin and you can configure it by yourself:
- Set flat rate shipping
- Add in my Paypal Details and Direct Deposit details
- Add in content for static pages (some with bold headings and images)

As for the adding products, it may be a tiring work. And if there isn't any content or description for products, its a headache.

Moving to another host is not their responsibility, however, if you told them in the beginning you are gona move to anotehr host and they will have to do it then that's their responsibility and they must do it.

[inveress]

Originally Posted by BizPromo

Moving to another host is not their responsibility, however, if you told them in the beginning you are gona move to anotehr host and they will have to do it then that's their responsibility and they must do it.

True, it's absolutely down to what was agreed to in the scope of the job, but, realistically, as someone who provides technical services to non-technical people, I've never had a development job in which it hasn't also been my responsibility to put the site into production.

It would be like a mechanic looking at your broken car, ordering the right parts to fix it, then giving you the parts in a box and wishing you luck.

I'd certainly agree with what David said above, that it is "standard practice" for the developer to move it.

Cheers,
Peter.

[Niks]

Sorry just to clarify - they want me to organise my own host, and I have done so. Currently I have paid 50% so it's the demo version on their server, so I now need to take the site from them and put it onto it's new hosting.

I have no idea if that's even the right lingo... I totally agree with "inveress", this is really something I know nothing about!

[DavidM]

Originally Posted by Niks

Sorry just to clarify - they want me to organise my own host, and I have done so.

There's a difference between organising your own webhosting and moving the final website to your desired domain name. What does 'organising my own host' mean -

1. Is it finding a hosting provider under your own steam and being responsible for migrating the test site to the final domain? OR

2. Is it just telling them who your hosting company is, so they can transfer it to your hosting provider? (more likely)

As stated above, I would be surprised if they are relying on you to transfer the development site to the final domain as it assumes a high level of technical competence.