Geoffrey Multimedia » Buyer Beware http://geoffreymultimedia.com Perth web site design, development and maintenance since 1997 Wed, 16 May 2012 10:18:09 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 Why Geoffrey Multimedia? http://geoffreymultimedia.com/business/why-geoffrey-multimedia/ http://geoffreymultimedia.com/business/why-geoffrey-multimedia/#comments Wed, 07 Mar 2012 09:05:25 +0000 Edwin Lynch http://geoffreymultimedia.com/?p=2838 Geoffrey celebrates 15 years of web design.

I encourage clients to do a major upgrade of their website every 2 years, so I was surprised to see my first commercial website design still being employed after 15 years. It was built in 1997 and now has a back-end CMS developed by Aussie Homes. The (very old) code, graphics and artwork were hand written by me.

Go to Lansbury Real Estate.

lansbury 300x217 Why Geoffrey Multimedia?

I really can’t believe it’s still there. I remember hand drawing this on graph paper so that all the animated areas would line up correctly.

5 reasons to choose us

Great design isn’t everything. Here is a list of other things that you won’t find your average web design company doing.

1.FREE home page mock-up. I will design a mock-up of your web site home page so you can get an idea what you are about to spend your money on. If you don’t like the design, you are free to shop it around to other development agencies. I can do another for you if you ask. No obligation. Not many companies can afford that service as a mock-up can take almost a day (and half a day for the second one).

We won’t hold your site to ransom
2.Your existing server. I’m 95% sure I can work on your existing server so there’ll be no disruption to your email service or day to day running of the business. If your site is sitting on a regularly serviced, professional server (like HostGator, GoDaddy or an Australian equivalent) I can build your site there. I may not be able to if your website is sitting on a computer in a room on your premises. Professional servers offer support and I need that support. It’s the pointy end of web design that clients never see.

If you don’t have a professional server, I buy US server space wholesale (on your behalf) and pass the savings on to you. Big savings.

The bottom line is that – if we part ways further down the track – the server is in your name, not mine.

3.Half Price. Pay a fraction of the cost for exactly the same web site as built by a larger company. It will be (roughly) the same design with all the same functionality. In most cases, Perth website design companies are literally using the same software as I do, but I can do a better job of it. I talk about this at length in my article How Much is a Website?

One client paid $15,000 for her (not mine) website which I gutted (the code was ancient) and rebuilt for $3,000. She started crying. No joke.

4.Access. Everything is yours if you decide to develop in-house or use the services of another web company further down the track. You have full FTP access, codes, everything without paying a cent extra. After all – I’m working for you, it’s not the other way around. Most large web companies are like banks. They don’t want you give you access to “their” server (you might get someone like me to update your site, but it’s often a security issue also). Since I’ll be working on your server, it’s not an issue.

5.Award-winning CMS. I use Open Source (OS) code to build the back-end of your site, so nothing is proprietorial or “owned” by third parties. There are no license fees to pay. Companies tend to charge for software licenses and fees – often for a same service you can get for nothing. Where there’s money, there’s profit to be made. Besides annual hosting and domain fee, there are no licenses to pay. Plus your site will be right up to date because I (manually) keep it that way.

In short, you’ll have nothing of “mine” if you decide to leave me or use an in-house developer.

I can do a better job than a big company for at least half the price because I have no overheads.

Perhaps the best reason is obvious . . .

I sometimes work behind the scenes for big companies and I can let you in on a little secret. I do a better job when I’m working for myself. Companies tend to appeal to client vanity. I don’t care about your vanity, I care about your site and how it will function in two years’ time. I design sites as if they were for me. I’m open to comment, but when I’m doing a site, I do the best job possible : the best code, the best security, the best layout. New clients don’t actually know this as they’ve nothing to compare. Clients who have been with larger companies know exactly what I’m talking about.

I’ve also taught best practice web design principles part-time at Universities since 1995.

I see it as my job to bring all that knowledge and technological know-how to your non-ivory-tower real world web site.

You’re lucky to find Geoffrey Multimedia as I rarely advertise. I don’t really have to drum up work (I take on only what I can) and if I run into a coding issue, I enjoy the challenge of solving the problem all by myself. Sometimes, if there’s urgency, I may call a programmer friend but because I choose not to profit from the work of others, I pay him exactly what the client pays for programming.

I’m all about fairness and transparency (read our philosophy), but I do keep some secrets.

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