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Why Are Our Sample
Websites So Simple?
If you look at some of the 30
plus sample sites we have posted you will see a simple theme,
undeveloped pages and little to offer other than some unique
looks and some interesting features.
That is not an accident in
spite of the fact that you could build any of the most complex
designs on pageBuzz.com as much as on any other website host.
HTML is HTML and in the short of it, it is just a text file
hosted on the server. That file can be hosted on any server, so
there is noting specific about design tied to any website host.
That is in the full control of the designer or website owner.
The problem is,
people just don't realize that and think to have a certain design
they need a certain host.
So as we looked at what people
expected after they looked at the samples:
we realized that they
expected something that they could do themselves in a few
minutes
they want something
that looks amazing without any effort
they want the TajMahal
for $20 a month
they want a $100,000
website without having to work on it or pay for it
(don't we all?)
Most people don't know the
difference between a website that someone spent $100,000 building
and one that someone spent just $100 building.
So when they see a spectacular
design meant to lure them in, they expect to be able to have that
design for their business and manage it easily. Regardless of the
fact that the business might have a full staff of employees
working on the design to keep it up to date.
Since the average
user is lucky to just get to their own website, they
cannot be expected to manage complex designs and content.
So we feel that is would be
wrong to have upscale designs in the window and make people think
they could achieve those designs themselves. Or to tell them
later, "sure you can have that design but it will cost
you $10,000".
We think our plain simple
websites are a good representation of what the average user can
build using the pageBuzz.com sitebuilder.
I know car dealers put
$100,000 models in the showroom and then sell you the $20,000
version parked in the back of the lot under a tarp. They get
you excited then work back to your budget, but that is not us.
Our experience has been that
most people will not spend hundreds of hours working on their
website no matter how much they need it. They wont learn how to
manage html or code pages just to run their business and if it
comes down to that, they will go someplace else were someone will
do it for them.
Everyone wants website
building to be easy, but that is not the way the world works.
Just because you want something does not make it happen.
So our market is full of
people that need a website, don't want to spend the money to pay
someone to do it and don't want to spend much time themselves.
If we had websites that we
spent 300 hours building as professionals, our customers could
never achieve that type of a website. So we would be wrong to
post those websites as samples.
The fact is, we do have
hundreds of other websites that we run as business, blogs and
affiliate marketing websites that are not representative of what
our average users could build, so we don't show them as samples.
At the same time, it is hard
because people think they cannot build elevated and advanced
designs on pageBuzz.com if we don't show them any, and in one
sense they are correct, since they don't possess the skills
necessary to do that. But equally as important, they don't
possess the skills to do that on any website builder or hosting
platform. So that is not going to change no matter who they use.
So how do we
communicate the idea to our clients, that they can only build a
simple website because they don't know what they are doing?
We try, but that is not always
possible and many people are offended when we tell them they
cannot build what they want with their skill set. But that is the
truth, not everyone has the skills to product a multi million
dollar movie, a multi million dollar business or build a multi
million dollar website.
We all want to
believe that success is easy, just around the corner and when
companies show us designs that look great, we are suckered in
and host our website with them.
Just today, I had the son of a
customer call up and cancel and his comment was, "I have
been trying to get my parents to get a REAL website for years".
REAL Website? What
does that mean?
You mean a website built on
pageBuzz.com is not a real website? Is it fake?
Just because the user does not
have the skills to build the most amazing design, don't blame the
web server for their shortcomings.
We keep the network running,
we run high end servers and just because your mom and dad did not
put any effort into the website it is not our fault.
But you can't tell people
it is their fault, they are always looking to blame someone else,
like us.
So for us it is not about
spending less time building samples, but more about being more
realistic about customers abilities and drive. Being able to show
them a real example of what the can do and not some sci-fi
fantasy version of reality.
But, at the same time, the
people who do realize this is what they can manage, that they can't
build a website like a seasoned professional webmaster then they
end up being long term customers. Because they are reasonable and
wont jump ship when they can't get what we showed them in the
sample that they liked.
Website design is just like
any other form of art, just because I give you the tools does not
mean you will be able to create a work of art.
For example can you create
this pencil drawing below, if I gave you a #2 pencil?
The very same pencil in the
hands of this talented artist can do amazing things, drawing an
image so lifelike you would swear it is actually a photograph.
The artist claims it took 4 days to create this masterpiece.
In that same regard, good
quality work does not get done in 15 minutes like some website
hosts want you to believe. It takes time even for the experienced
professionals.
It would be wrong to sell #2
pencils by telling everyone that they can create art work like
Einko Szabo did in the drawing shown above. Clearly, this is a
gifted artist and the average person will never be able to do
that kind of work.
In the same way, we can't
consciously pay professionals to build samples and tell people
that they can do it themselves!
Because while it is easy for
the professional, it is not at all easy for the average person.
Our struggle is trying to make
people understand their limits, understand they are not gifted
artists and that they should shoot for something more basic that
is more manageable and workable.
For Eniko it is easy, but for
the rest of us, even if we spent 40 or 400 hours, we would never
have the same look. My drawing would be a stick lady with a mop
for hair, if even that good.
You can look up "Einko
Szabo" on deviantart.com where she is available for
contracted work, portraits etc. We thank her for letting us
share this amazing drawing with you.
The simple truth is that the
same tools in the hands of different people will be able to
create very different things. Anyone that thinks that anyone can
pick up a #2 pencil for the first time and draw like that is
crazy.
Anyone that thinks they can
buy a website for $20 a month and be a professional webmaster is
also crazy.
So rather than telling
customers they might be insane, we try to give them a real
perspective of what they should be able to do. What is reasonable
and not over the top.
People lose sight of the fact
that they need tools like ecommerce, content managers and page
management tools. They get stuck on the design elements and
forget about website functionality, availability and support.
We try to reign in that
excitement, bring them back down to reality and offer a mid range
solution that they can reach.
It is important for people to
realize, what is possible may not be possible in the time and
budget they have set for their website. And it may not be
reasonable for them to think they can achieve the design they
want without help or spending a few dollars on a website designer.
I always try to analogize
website design with pencil drawings because they are so similar.
They both use very basic tools and can have amazing results.
And in the wrong hands, they
can both have disasterous results.
So while our sample website my
seem simple, they are at the top end of what the average user can
do and at the bottom end of what a professional can d using the
very same tools.
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