Where are you heading?

Thursday, 05 June 2008 11:09

Before you hook up with a web agency or commit to a new Content Management System you should read this.

Appointing a web agency to recommend the right design and technical approach for your website is a little like hitching a lift.

You know where you want to go and you hope they are going to get you there safely. You'd certainly prefer to avoid a wrong turn or breakdown. And if the journey is enjoyable then so much the better.

Don't lose your website

Making a bad decision can prove to be more than simply frustrating and costly, especially if the system or technology they recommend is reliant on them staying in business or retaining specific knowledge in their company. Quite literally you could be left stranded and wondering what to do next.

Over the past few years we have learned of many instances of "car crash" web development. The typical story is that client 'x' buys into a technical platform developed by company "y". Unfortunately company "y" goes out of business and client "x" is left to pick up the pieces and wonder where it all went wrong.

The good news is that this doesn't need to happen. You can and should protect against this by choosing the Open Source solutions offered by Web Foundry.

Because we are committed to our clients for the long term it's important that anything we recommend can evolve as technology changes and is portable so that the client can work with anyone, anywhere at any time in the future. Most agencies do not like this approach as it doesn't 'lock you in'.

Many web agencies have their own CMS (Content Management System) that has been developed over a period of time and is used almost exclusively on their own client accounts. Whilst this approach can work in the short term it is rarely a long term solution for clients as agencies invariably find it hard to put the time and money into development. Worst still, if they were to go out of business then there is a real danger that the client investment would be lost.

At Web Foundry we are in the business of building long term relationships based on openness and trust. We don't need to lock our clients into proprietary systems because we provide superior service. We look after the client's interests first and foremost and make sure that their websites can be developed and maintained well into the future.

This is another compelling reason why the Joomla OpenSource CMS offered by Web Foundry is such a great choice for many businesses. The Joomla framework has been developed by an OpenSource community of thousands of developers, designers, marketers and testers over several years. The system is extensible, meaning that others can easily add modules and components to extend the 'out of the box' capability.

Around the world there is a strong and growing network or Joomla experts in everything from SEO through to disaster recovery and it's in this body of people that you should take comfort.

We're here to get you started with the Joomla and to help you grow your online presence for as long as we can.

We can advise on migrating from your current system, installing and hosting your website, devising the structure, implementing the modules and components, developing custom functionality and even optimising your website to make it highly visible to the Search Engines.

If you would like to learn more about this exciting approach to web design and content management then This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it