In this blog, I’ve spent plenty of time complaining about the lousy state of service in the web design and development (and IT in general) fields.
But over the past 2 years, some great service providers have appeared.
Here is what sets them apart:
1. One of them has an excellent niche: He is an expert in open source research, and able to pull together a team of skilled developers from around the world, at a fair price. Meanwhile, he is able to bridge between technology and business to provide sound guidance, manage scope, and help me set technical direction without losing focus.
2. Another has a degree from MIT, and knows architecture cold. Normally he would be too pricey, but he, like the example in #1, has assembled a team of coders overseas to build out projects (which he oversees).
3. I’ve found an affordable designer who does award-winning design work, without that annoying, tempermental artsy attitude. He’s able to design products, advertisements, and web sites, getting the job done fast, with amazing quality, professionalism, and at a great price. He doesn’t come to Sitepoint, so I don’t mind saying here that I’d pay double for his services, and probably should make him an equity partner in this particular venture as he is so valuable (but first we need more sales!).
4. Another designer is very skilled at creating web sites that get response. He understands how to create sites that convert to product sales, something many designers don’t get. In other words, his niche is conversion.
5. Yet another responds to my requests for website upgrades and support immediately, is responsive, and understands my ecommerce shopping cart. He is extremely helpful and responds to his emails within the hour. He also puts up good quality sites, quickly and affordably.
Each of the above has a focused niche, so it is easy for me to know whom to call, for what. Maybe that’s the lesson of this blog post: Find a niche, and be better than anybody else at it. Too many web designers, developers, and IT professionals are generalists who don’t focus, can’t explain why they are unique and better, and deliver neither quality results nor professional service.
This presents a fantastic opportunity for those who want to excel.
Andrew Neitlich
