Blog entries tagged customer service

VOXUS's first PR problem for Joomla

Jen Kramer — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 13:54:37 +0100

I believe that Joomla is the best open source content management system out there today. It's powerful but adaptable. You don't need to know PHP to use it and accomplish amazing things with it. If you do know PHP, you can do just about anything with it. It's been downloaded over 15 million times.

But as Bill Tomczak says, there used to be two TV recording formats: Beta and VHS. Everyone knew Beta was "better". But VHS eventually won the day.

"Holy Wars" have always been with us ...

Why are web professionals SO expensive?

Jen Kramer — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 18:29:12 +0100

What's your rate? Everyone asks that question. The typical going rate for a web developer in my area -- the professionals, the ones who make their living doing this stuff -- generally ranges from $70 to $125 per hour, depending on skillset. Most seem to lie in the $75 to $100/hr range.

WOW, you say. WOW is that expensive! Perhaps even excessive! Man, you must live the lifestyle of the rich and famous. You must never worry about money. You're too expensive to hire. I know this guy, the ...

What's your problem?

Bill Tomczak — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 17:35:04 +0100

We've been working on a rather largish site recently and over the course of recent weeks, I have been reminded of a lesson learned way back in my dark ages when I was designing desktop database applications.

When developing any application but especially a customized application designed for a specific person or company, it can be easy to confuse problems with solutions. In that database I designed so many years ago, the client had been doing things largely on paper for a very long tim...

Fast, Cheap, Good: Pick Two

Jen Kramer — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 18:07:36 +0100

Those of you who freelance or work for a firm have heard this story before.

The client needs it now! The Joomla site is 90% done and the developer has disappeared and there's just a few more buttons to click and the site will be totally done. The client thinks you can finish this in just a few hours. Plus, of course, you don't have anything else to do, so you can drop everything to get this job done.

Then they find out the price. And they're shocked, shocked!!! at how much it co...

Best. Dilbert. Ever.

Jen Kramer — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 05:00:00 +0100

Your Online Reputation

Samantha Bovat — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 05:00:00 +0100

As they say, reputation is everything. And while there's an opportunity to make a great impression with a beautiful website, there are plenty of things you can do that will turn off your visitors.

Sites should be quick to load, easy to use, get your visitor in to the information they require and get them out. It's that simple. Sites like this let visitors know that the organization respects their time. The organization wants to help the visitor get great customer service — even i...

The Absolute Importance of a Great Webhost

Jen Kramer — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 05:00:00 +0100

Recently, we've been dealing with some web hosting issues with our current company. They've changed our tech support package on us, and they were bought out by another company -- all without one email communication to us. We found out after the fact.

The story has a happy ending, as we've found another great host, and we're in the process of moving our sites.

This isn't the first time in my web career that I've dealt with icky web hosts. Some cardinal rules of finding ...

4Web Update: Why are we so busy in this economy?

Jen Kramer — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 05:00:00 +0100

For our fans, we haven't been posting much because... well, we've been awfully busy. We are thrilled with our first 9 months in business. We established a new company, just as the economy was tanking and gas and oil prices were going sky-high. Yet we've had plenty of leads, and plenty of work to keep us very busy.

Watch this blog over the next 3 months. We anticipate launching 4 large, substantial sites by the end of the year, all with various custom-coded components and modules, and of...

Rant: What IS it with Joomla developers and clients???

Jen Kramer — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 05:00:00 +0100

I can't tell you how many calls and emails we receive each week that go something like this:

I'm a client without a lot of technical skills, and I have a Joomla site. Can you help me because:

My site is still under construction but my Joomla developer is nowhere to be found, won't return calls or emails, and I don't know what to do.My site was built and launched, but no one ever showed me how to use the site and make my own updates, which is why I wanted Joomla in the first place.My ...