I have now been in the development industry for just over 18 years. The last 10 years I am searching for the convenient “happen” button on my keyboard. Needless to say that even the most expensive keyboard and mouse acquired does not contain this convenient all-in-one button that most clients seem to have.

It has always been my aim to assist clients after their website went live. There is what I call, a “maturing” stage and that is where small tiny issues comes to light. To quickly do a change for a client without charge is really a pleasure. Seeing a complete, fully functional website is our pride, our showroom and our marketing tools!

I just fail to see how this extremely generous way of working and operating can so easily be translated into misunderstandings. Sometimes there are functionality, changes and add-ons that falls out of the maintenance framework which needs charging.

We do our best to keep these prices reasonable and even compromise up to 50% of the usual hourly rate to ensure that the client gets the needed change, whilst still ensuring that we can put a few breadcrumbs on our table.

It never fails to amaze me how clients embrace the free changes, no matter how long the maintenance period is, but how reluctant they are to pay for new functionality. Remember that web developers are just people, caught up in the same capitalist system than all of us.

The only difference is that we, at MyCyprusIT, is passionate about our work and your website! :-)

Don’t let them boot you out of your online company.

It so often happens that companies and individuals alike fully entrust the web development company entirely with their domain information. This, more often than not, seem to be a bad move and by times quite a source of frustrations.

Always keep your domain name to yourself:
Your domain name, thus meaning your website name such as www.mycyprusit.com belongs to you. It is your intellectual property. Follow these steps to ensure that you stay in charge, unless you are absolutely sure:
 

1. Book your own domain with a hosting company of your choice.
2. Let the hosting company point the domain name to the server specified by your web developers.
3. Upon completion of your website, change the passwords and usernames to ensure that you stay in charge.

I have had numerous clients referred to me, whom all entrusted their websites and domain names to a “smooth talking” small time “crook” operating not far from where I am. When they wanted to either remove their websites due to non-performance or any other reason they found fit, they found that the owner and his right-hand man bluntly refused to hand over their domain names. Upon further investigation I found that there were no reasons for this. First thing that came to mind was that the client perhaps did not pay their accounts, but this was not to be. We, eventually, found the alternative motive and mindset behind this; however, it was too late for some customers whom already invested hard earned money on marketing material and logo design.

So, treat your domain name with care!
 

I recently got caught up into thinking that I am doing a friend a favor. Actually, it was not so recent. It started all in May 2009 when I spontaneously offered to assist a friend in dire need for a revamp of her website. The usual applied in that “friends just don’t have money, but need your skills”. Thinking that I am doing the right thing I did not hesitate and full of excitement started working on an outline.

How wrong I turned out to be, is unbelievable. From having a clear idea of utilizing favors from other true friends, I had a clear proposal of revamping the skin, implement a “state-of-the-art” administration system and all the usual SEO goodies such as a blog, forum, news and article management features. Wow, how this friend turned out to take-twist-and-turn the offer and tried constantly to lure me further into a website that I personally would not even offer to write for a paying customer – it just simply cannot be done!

To fully understand, I have to put the second, more pleasant event next to this. Yet another friend needed a website and her enthusiastic ideas and full steam work on it, made me close my eyes for time and resource constraints, and immediately offered (no, demanded) that I start working on it. What a pleasure this turned out to be even though I pushed the deadline constantly a week, and then yet another week, and again and again.

My advice to anyone embarking on such a venture is to “never help those that are not willing to help you help them”

Look at the table of comparison below and you will be able to answer:

1. Whose website got done within a reasonable time and whose not?
2. Guess who I will always be ready for, no matter when!