As the owner of a business, whether you’re a freelancer, a small shop, a professional service company or a multinational corporation, if you’re looking for a service provider to implement your website, beware of con artists! Unfortunately, web services, like any other field, aren’t exempt from dishonest providers that engage in dubious commercial practices, seeking nothing more than your money.
In fact, there are several widespread scams in the area of website creation. Frankly, it’s a shame! Some of our clients here at BJMédia have already gone through this situation. That’s why we’d like to take the time to shed some light on certain questionable practices. Companies should be honest, regardless of their line of business. At BJMédia, we care about the success of SMEs and want to help them achieve it. We hope that the advice below will help you avoid a few headaches!
Let’s get right to the heart of the matter. How do web agencies operate? When it comes to approaching clients, these web service providers almost always follow the same strategy, like a tried-and-true recipe! Here are more details regarding certain fraudulent practices so you can identify them and avoid them.
Do you have doubts about your relationship with your current web agency? You might want to consult this article: Is it time to switch to another web agency?
The most common scams
- The one-shot sales technique (high-pressure sales)
This is without a doubt the most widespread scam on the internet with regard to website creation.
This technique enables making an immediate sale without giving the client enough time to read the contract or contracts in detail, as he or she wouldn’t necessarily accept the offer after having taken the time to review it carefully. – reference
The mechanics of this practice are simple and well established. Using a very attractive offer (usually a free website) as a pretext, the con artist attempts to get you to sign a hastily prepared contract without giving you sufficient time to read it, thereby forcing you into an agreement before you clearly understand what you’re committing to. Before you know it, you will have entered into a multi-year lease agreement (often for 36 months). As a result, you’ll be stuck making undefined recurring payments in order to retain the operating license for your website.
Furthermore, you’ll quickly realize that the so-called provider has built a poor-quality website using a very basic template with no possibilities for personalization.
However, please be aware that you could find a web agency with which you foresee a long-term collaboration as of the very first meeting. Signing a contract at the initial meeting doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re doing business with a one-shot seller! To help you evaluate your potential partner, you can refer to the “Asking the right questions” section, which appears later in this article.
- Acquiring ownership of your domain name
Even today, many illegitimate web service providers will try to defraud you by purchasing your domain name in their own name without transferring the ownership rights to you. As a result, the day you decide to change web agencies, you’ll be obligated to change your domain name (which you definitely don’t want to do!) or to pay an unimaginable sum to regain ownership.
What’s more, certain providers won’t hesitate to bill you for ridiculous amounts (e.g. a one-time payment of up to $2,000) to transfer your website to a new provider.
However, in reality, your website belongs to you! Your domain name, as well as all your written and visual content, belongs to you. You don’t lease your website: you own it!
To orient you, here’s a summary of the typical characteristics of a fraudulent website contract:
🚩 No internet marketing analysis or strategy offered beforehand
🚩 A super-low price or the promise of numerous attractive discounts
🚩 Pressure to quickly sign a sloppily written contract
🚩 A fixed commitment for a period generally exceeding 24 months
🚩 A scarcity of complementary marketing services or the absence of a team of multidisciplinary personnel, such as writers, SEO-SEM specialists, translators, graphic designers, etc.
🚩 Systematic use of website templates yielding mediocre results
🚩 A complete lack of follow-up once you’ve signed the contract
🚩 Failure to give you ownership rights to your domain name and the source code of your website
Asking the right questions
If you’re in the process of selecting a web agency to manage your internet marketing strategy, the questions below will be of interest to you! They will help assure you as to an agency’s legitimacy so you don’t end up choosing one that only wants to dupe you.
- How long have you been in business? When an agency has been around for a long time, this is an indication of reliability.
- What are the strengths of your team? The skills the agency employs to carry out your project must be varied, complementary and of high quality.
- What are your areas of expertise? An experienced provider will definitely excel in a certain area. Nevertheless, the agency must offer comprehensive service or have partners it can refer you to. Shining online doesn’t mean simply having a website; you must also have an SEO strategy, an up-to-date Google My Business listing, etc.
- Do you have references? A legitimate agency will have no problem providing you with the names and contact information of several clients.
- Do you have a portfolio or case studies? This is also an indication of reliability, expertise and high quality.
- What tools do you work with? A project management platform, content management system (CMS) and Google tools must be on the list! Strictly speaking, you don’t need to know every single tool the agency uses. However, the response to this question will demonstrate the web agency’s rigor and organization.
Whether you think you might be the victim of a scam, you’d like to entrust the creation of your website to a reliable, professional marketing agency or you just have some questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us!
