Think I am being ripped off by my web designer!

[cull24]

Hi, I am really hoping for some help and honest advice on here as I feel a bit lost and not sure what to do.
Nearly four years ago I took over my company which is a traditional memorial masonry business that's been established over 150 years.
The last owner was very stuck in his ways, old fashioned and that's how he liked it but once I took over I wanted to look at getting a website built and move the company with the times which I have done successfully.
The problem was and still is that I have no idea about web design, hosting fees, security updates, seo and anything else to do with it.
It started off a friend of a friend that builds websites for a living so he offered to make me a simple website for a cheap cash price, which was ok for me as I was developing and growing the business and trying to save a little money.
once built it was and still is a simple website with just my product catalogue, emailing facilities for contact and a few pages about the company. No bank details or financial details exist on the site.
This was all fine at first I though, just pay my hosting fee every year to the web designer and that's it no maintenance as its so simple!
I thought wrong!!
He tries to get money out of me every time we talk for some update or another.
My main points are:

1. Personally I have no access to the website to alter or change anything.
2. He owns the main domain name so if I leave him I will lose that but I do own another which he keeps asking me for the username and password so he can take control and I'm worried he will put it in his name?
3. Keeps talking about SEO and saying its going to cost me a lot?
4. I'm one of a small amount of memorial masons in Wakefield and I don't even show up when you google headstones in Wakefield, but I used to?
5. He recently charged me quite a bit for security updates then told me I might need ssl security to deter hackers. Sure enough a day later I had been hacked and he phoned me saying he had installed ssl and wanted £149 per annum for it.

I am even scared to call the web designer because I know it will cost me.
Can anyone point me in the right direction to a decent, trustworthy web designer to build me a new site and forget about him.
Does it exist paying a set yearly fee for a website + maintenance or is it the norm to be charged left right and centre for updates?
Thanks for reading and hope you can help.

 

[KM-Tiger]

Yes, it does sound like you are being ripped off.

Is the domain name the same (or very similar) to your business name?

 

[ryedale]

Really sorry to hear that you've had problems.

I take it there was no contract involved?

1. With regard to the domain name - is it a .co.uk and has it been registered to you or him?
2. Don't let him have it !
3. SEO can be expensive but I certainly wouldn't trust him with it by the sound of things.
Basic improvements don't need to cost a lot
4. The site probably has no optimisation
5. Most hosts provide SSL's for free now and they won't stop hackers anyway for most type of hacks that affect small sites.

We'll be happy to have a look at the site for you if you'd like to put the address on here or PM it to me and provide you with some advice

It's often not as desperate as you think because people like this chap rely on you having no knowledge - when faced with someone who knows what they are talking about, they often back down.

 

[Ian J]

We'll be happy to have a look at the site for you if you'd like to put the address on here or PM it to me and provide you with some advice

It's easy enough to find the site and it's registered in the webbie's name.

The site was cheap because it's a template

 

[ryedale]

Yeah got that now, thanks Ian

 

[cull24]

I thought it was a template which I think anyone could make?
I don't need a fancy website but would I need so many updates and security?

 

[STDFR33]

Why would someone hack a website such as this? What is there to hack, exactly?

Sounds like he is taking the p1ss massively.

 

[fisicx]

Useless template site, not responsive, awful colours, dated design, badly coded and fails just about every speed, usability and accessibility test.

A simple site like that should cost no more than a few hundred and you would have full access to make any changes yourself - which means no monthly/annual fees

You have been shafted right up the memorial

 

[STDFR33]

@fisicx please put me out of my misery, because I am very far from being an expert.
On the OP's site, what is there to hack? Why would someone hack such a random site?

 

[ryedale]

Hackers look to get into basic sites like that to use the webspace for their own means - e.g to host phishing sites or other dodgy material

 

[fisicx]

It's just a static html site though, not a CMS..

It is a joomla site (yuk) so all the normal hacking routes apply. But if the site has been locked down properly then you are correct, there is nothing to hack. Certainly not something you would need to be charged for doing. And the SSL is just a red herring. SSL doesn't make a site more secure, it just protects submitted data.

 

[ADNattan]

This doesn't sound good. Unless you're relying on the domain name he has for ranking/brand recognition purposes, I'd think about looking elsewhere.

 

[ryedale]

Ah yes, admin area didn't load initially when I put administrator. I've cloned a copy of the site onto one of our devsites for now anyway to help him get away from this as I doubt the developer is ever going to release the database.

 

[fisicx]

Good to know the right man is on the job!

Mind you, there isn't much on the site worth keeping. The whole thing is awful.

 

[Paul Norman]

I think the underlying problem here is buying cheap. Often ends up being costly.

But I agree. The OP has been royally taken for a ride, and has an indifferent site with no access to update it.

All a bit 2003.

But I would recommend starting over, with a professional partner. And allocate a respectable budget to the project, that is proportional to what you wish to achieve with the site.

 

[fisicx]

Or take a Gravestone in PX

 

[DavidWH]

We asked a web guy (friend of a friend) to do a site for us. @ADNattan did the copy for us, we supplied all the photo's. 6months + later, all they'd done is plonked the copy onto the wordpress theme we had installed. Then blamed our photo's for not being the best.

They've been given their marching orders, and we're now doing PX with a customer who needed some signage.

 

[Alan]

He tries to get money out of me every time we talk for some update or another.

Every one is exclaiming you are being ripped off - but the how much do you pay him each time you use his time? I'm sure that you don't expect him to work for free, just like you don't.

he had installed ssl and wanted £149 per annum for it.

SSLs can range from £0 to £3,000 p.a.
Installing an SSL can take minutes or an hour depending on the server tools and also how frequently the job is done in terms of familiarity.

In this case he has set up Let's Encrypt Authority X3 - which is free to buy, and on my server at least takes me 3 minutes to set up. So in this case I concur royally ripped off.

Does it exist paying a set yearly fee for a website + maintenance or is it the norm to be charged left right and centre for updates?

Yes it does exists - and there are different levels - for instance most of my client chose to pay for maintenance / updates & monitoring monthly - but then 'pay as they go' if they need additional changes, this works out most economic ( rather than paying a larger all inclusive price that they may not utilise )

But I would recommend starting over, with a professional partner. And allocate a respectable budget to the project, that is proportional to what you wish to achieve with the site.

This is key advice - what value is the website to your business? You need to work that out and spend accordingly.

 

[Alan]

On the OP's site, what is there to hack? Why would someone hack such a random site?

As VTS said, it not the site they want ( well there are some vandals that hack for no reason ), it is the server resources they are after.

It is pretty random, as scripts perform automated Google searches for certain technical footprints, when they find a vulnerable version of software e.g. an un updated Joomla site, then they exploit the unintentional 'back door' left open to inject their own code.

Once injected they can do what they like, it not uncommon if the hosting account has email attached for that to be hijacked and the site becomes the latest contribution to spam emails. It is all automated, systematic, in the same way that a thief walks down a row of cars trying each door.

It is a common misconception that your site won't be hacked because it gets hardly any visitors, or there is nothing to steal.

 

[Noah]

@fisicx please put me out of my misery, because I am very far from being an expert.
On the OP's site, what is there to hack? Why would someone hack such a random site?

Maybe I am too cynical, but the obvious answer is "to justify £149 p.a. to install ssl".

 

[webdesignnewcastle]

Domain Name problem, if the domain name is a .co.uk , I would recommend you speak to Nominet.

Nominet Dispute Resolution Service
[email protected]
01865 332244
https://www.nominet.uk/

If the domain name is .com you need a solicitor who understands domain names

One best IP solicitor is:

Matthew Rippon
Specialisms IP and domain name issues
07939 080 534
http://www.particularlegal.com

 

[Newchodge]

Every one is exclaiming you are being ripped off - but the how much do you pay him each time you use his time? I'm sure that you don't expect him to work for free, just like you don't.

I think the main point is that the OP is not expecting him to work at all. The ssl for example was not requested, but carried out first and then the OP was asked to pay for something he had not agreed to.

 

[Alan]

No doubt a mismatch of expectations between the client and the supplier. Typically due to a non existent client onboarding process, evidenced by the clients lack of understanding of how a CMS is operated and maintained.

It started off a friend of a friend that builds websites for a living so he offered to make me a simple website for a cheap cash price,

The problem is that anyone, literally anyone, can build websites, but only the experienced, professional and dare I say, expensive ( or not cheap cash ones ) actually have an inkling about processes such as client on-boarding & off-boarding.

Thank goodness I don't build cheap websites! ( Oh s**t I do, I must change my signature link soon )

 

[EC1 Solutions]

Bottom line here is that trust has been abused and lost and can never be recovered. It was unprofessional of your web developer to put the domain in his name but you can rectify that if you want the hassle. Here is a LinkedIn article on what to do if there is a problem.

Most of our clients choose to pay a nominal monthly amount for 1hrs web support/maintenance or training a month with low hourly fees thereafter. We offer this service, as with many clients its easier/quicker/cheaper to remember each site's querks if you work on it regularly, so we encourage it. But pricing transparency should be standard and you can always ask for a fixed quote before work commences. We also ensure all our clients get a training session or two before we hand over so they can (if they want) update & maintain their own site

Depending on where the site was hosted can affect the price of SSL. Many hosts provide one free of charge and it is a matter of a few clicks and you're away, but some dont and dependant on your server setup it can be tricky to install but your developer should justify this as @Noah said.

Hosting is usually paid either monthly or annually and I recommend you do that in your name. Your Domain name is charged annually or in annual increments. Always have the domain name in YOUR name.

Professional web developers do not behave in such a way. Nor do "friends".

 

[fisicx]

Domain Name problem, if the domain name is a .co.uk , I would recommend you speak to Nominet

But can be expensive. If mediation fails resolution can cost £200, £750 or even £3000 + VAT
https://www.nominet.uk/domains/resolving-uk-domain-disputes-and-complaints/

You don't need a solicitor for a .com, you just need to follow the ICANN procedures: https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/dispute-resolution-2012-02-25-en