We come across non-transparent fee structures from website managers everywhere. Because the majority of CEOs are grey haired and do not understand IT the “corporate website” is seen as this thing that is needed but not wanted. Everybody must have a corporate website. Someone said that if you create a website to satisfy everyone it will satisfy no-one. Why do you have your website?
The other trend we have seen is for excessive fees to be charged by website vendors. Call them and ask them how much a corporate website costs – “oohh it depends they say”. Companies are forced to sign up not knowing what the final costs are. Changes are done on a per minute charge out rate basis, or if its something VERY IMPORTANT like the annual report then the charge goes up because the file size is bigger. Some vendors charge on a per file basis.
These higher charges are a result of the absence of skills. Fair enough but here is the thing. The technologies out there now are so cool and progressive that if the owners of these website businesses took some time off to find out about new technologies they would realise there is a whole new way of doing business online. Bring down the charges, do more proper websites and dont “do websites” as a business, “use websites as a business” to offer clients what they want.
We use corporate websites to communicate to the investment community. It doesnt work. Because all stakeholders use our interactivity to communicate with companies not just investors. In truth we offer a stakeholder community communications platform but I am not going to admit that online.
By the way I do this blog all by myself and I am an accountant (by qualification, not in spirit).
The nice people in the picture you saw, the ones with smiles on their faces are the website vendors by the way. The ones that charge silly prices.
Related Posts
- iPaper online annual report from African Sun Limited: 2010 annual report
- Electrolux: 2010 best annual report in the World
- Should you get your annual report printed in Zimbabwe?
- National Bank of Malawi posts 198mb annual report on corporate website
- African telecoms statistics: Zain annual report released