Comments on: Design Costs vs. Values

By: Matt

Matt — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 17:26:56 +0000

Sounds great. I’m excited to see what you’re coming up with.

By: Vivien

Vivien — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 17:15:25 +0000

Thanks, Matt. Oh, I’m definitely putting up a new custom design on this blog. I know, it’s taking me too long to do so. Believe me, I never considered keeping the current theme for longer than a couple of months, but it did stretch for over a year now. However, I’m working on a new design and hopefully, it’ll be up by the end of June, so keep your eyes peeled

By: Matt

Matt — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 16:34:15 +0000

First off, I think this is a great article. I am a web programmer (not the best in terms of graphic design) but completely agree that any business that wants to step up any of their competition should design their own template. If a company has a site that looks like everyone else’s in its industry then why should anyone go to them over the other company.

However, I find it a little hard to take this post as being sincere because it itself uses a free template. One that i used about 3 years ago when I was starting out putting together my own page. I know I’ve found it hard to find time to create my own page/logo, and it’s still not complete, but it must be done. The one reason I could see a template (free/paid) would be if you are in a crunch and need something up quick. But I would really hope that in what little spare time is available a custom template is being designed.

By: Meticulous Design: Dramatic Headlines » Inspiration Bit

Meticulous Design: Dramatic Headlines » Inspiration Bit — Wed, 14 May 2008 17:46:13 +0000

[…] Inspiration Bit Knowledge comes from inspiration - one bit at a time « Design Costs vs. Values […]

By: Vivien

Vivien — Wed, 14 May 2008 09:58:39 +0000

Hi Ross. Thanks for the advice. Give me a bit of time, and I’ll learn how to market myself better I do agree with you though, if we won’t appreciate the value of our work, how can we expect that appreciation from others.

By: Finding the perfect client (swimming with big fish): Part 1 :: Aaron Russell

Finding the perfect client (swimming with big fish): Part 1 :: Aaron Russell — Tue, 13 May 2008 22:48:04 +0000

[…] from Inspiration Bit recently wrote about design costs and values, and exemplifies how frustrating the scenario I describe above can be. Vivien seeks answers to why […]

By: Ross Johnson

Ross Johnson — Tue, 13 May 2008 12:45:10 +0000

Some people simply are not in the position to pay what a quality site is worth, and some people simply don’t want to pay what a quality site is worth. Essentially you just have to weed them out from the beginning and talk to the right people.

There was a time where I would spend lots of time with any person who was interested in a site hoping that regardless of their situation I could convince them they should spend more… but it became a waste.

Now we qualify every lead that comes in the door, even if it is just a ballpark range. “Were you thinking about spending $5,000 - $10,000 or $10,000 plus?” - if the lead gets sticker shock we know to refer them to someone else.

There are plenty of companies out there that know the value and are willing and WANT to spend more on high quality custom design. You just have to market yourself to them.

By: Vivien

Vivien — Mon, 12 May 2008 22:26:43 +0000

Hi Lucy, thanks for sharing your experience in this. I know many hosting companies are offering a free web site, though of course there are several catches, one of them being tied up with the monthly hosting fees and a standard-looking site. I know one lady, who hates her e-commerce site, hosted with Yahoo, but can’t get away from it, since the actual store part is working, plus it comes with lots of handy features like creating a newsletter, various tracking tools, etc, but it is a nightmare to update (she spent months learning how), and the site itself looks pretty awful.

Thanks, Simonne. I worked on a couple of projects for bigger agencies in past, and it’s something I’ll be trying to get involved in more this year as well. I’m also partnering with another bigger development company, so together we can take on larger projects.

By: Simonne

Simonne — Mon, 12 May 2008 10:25:02 +0000

Vivien, I’m sure you took the best decision. Corporate world can be amazing some times, especially when things don’t go exactly as planned, and guilty goats need to be found.

Regarding the clients, that’s funny how we encounter the same mentalities all over the place. Small business owners tend to be very careful on what they spend their money (sometimes becoming really cheap, and not realizing that they actually lose by paying less). For me, the most profitable jobs were the ones done for big companies, but those are really hard to get when you are small. I usually got those jobs via bigger advertising agencies who got the client and then outsourced the website design and promotion to me.

By: Lucy

Lucy — Sat, 10 May 2008 19:41:40 +0000

I was taken aback the other day, at PC World, to overhear at the next desk the saleswoman talking to a man setting up a new business. She said “have you got a website yet? We’ll do you one for free.”

For free! I had a suspicion this was turning into a commodity market, but really - for free?

On the other hand, I recently gained a new client who said that they’d browsed their competitors sites and that they were all the same. Literally - same stock photo, same layout. Luckily they wanted something to make them stand out from everybody else.

I suspect we’re still in the dip - there’ll be many more people going for the free option, until they realise that this doesn’t get them what they were expecting.