Durban Website Designers

In Durban here we have a ‘municipal magazine’ that was foisted on the ratepayers a few years ago. The crowd downtown couldn’t even get the launch right. It was “FREE!!” but our electric accounts were debited an extra $1 for it and of course you couldn’t unsubscribe from this thing.

The most interesting pages of course were (note: were) the letters sent in by the punters. Most were critical to varying degrees of everything from dog crap to potholes. Each was followed by a reply from those responsible - all well and good.

For a very long time now those with the temerity to put pen to paper are totally ignored in favour of ‘What a wonderful bobby at the junction of Bellair Road’ signed Mavis Arkwright, 106.

Now, for the same length of time, as both readers of these columns will know, something called an ‘airport’ has been built in north Durban. Eight billion rands worth of new airport. Bigger than Heathrow.

It opens tomorrow.

The papers are full of it. We’re very proud. It was even on Sky News bless it. TV has extensive coverage.

Although I am now off the ‘preferred ratepayers’ list and do not get the Metro magazine I have been told that there is not a single mention of the biggest, longest, most prestigious project that has ever befell Durban.

Not a  single bloody word. Now isn’t that strange?

I also understand that Municipal Manager Comrade Michael Sutcliffe has never set foot on the new airport during the five years it has taken to be built. Now, the new FIFA 2010 soccer stadium (above) - you can’t keep the man out of it. He even bungee jumped off the span - I would have taken my knife if I had been there. His backside protruding out of the centre spot could be used as a kicking tee. I would have had to stand in line behind most of Durban with their knives.

The producer of the MetroBeat is a Peter Bendheim who apparently spends most of his waking hours with his camera in his hand. You’d think that the building of your new airport would make an interesting project wouldn’t you?

Incidentally, any of the locals who have the misfortune of using the Bellair Road / Edwin Swales Road (or whatever unpronouncable its’ called now)  intersection will know that the sight of a Metro traffic cop is about as likely as the sight of one of the dwarf chameleons that live nearby. In the long, frequent interludes between the short, infrequent interludes when the lights are working the junction is manned by the hawkers that ply their trade at the junction. And they do a bloody sight better than the incompetents in blue.

I’ve gone on about this at some length but I am mildly (only mildly) surprised that within a day of the transfer to the new airport, there’s whingeing from various quarters as to the need for the thing. This after it was mooted in 1973 and after a construction period of several years.

The existing Durban airport was commissioned in the 1950s and in the 60s, the Nats (unlike the current bunch) knew that they had to plan for the future and knew that that airport had a lifespan of 50 years. So, they expropriated cane fields north of Durban and levelled it. And that’s where it stood since.

Since the 1950s aircraft have got a LOT bigger and the fact of the matter is that it is impossible for a fully loaded jumbo to take off from Durban. The runway cannot be extended because at the one end is a petrol refinery and the at the other, a huge industrial estate. Jumbos can land but not take off more than half full. This has meant that a lot of charter traffic never arrives at Durban. The new airport site is 20% larger than Heathrow.

‘Why don’t we keep the old airport open for local flights?’

Right, that’s going to please all those who come in on international flights and need to connect with local puddle jumpers. That’s all they need after a long flight, a 50km transfer - probably with their luggage still stuck at the new airport.

‘Its costing a lot more’.

Its costing some more, true, but the facilities are ten times better and the airport is an impressive introduction to Durban.

And finally, despite the extra travelling to get to the airport (and toll), the skies above this house will be free of the din of aircraft and we don’t have to arrest a conversation until the 5.50 to Joburg goes past - all the green roofs with their little Tuscan ceilings can have the noise.

I have a client for whom, many years ago, I put a site together very cheaply as a favour. It did well on Google and was updated regularly. Unfortunately, the client now expects to have everything done at ‘el cheapo’ rates. He went off and had the site redesigned a couple of times and the latest attempt is quite good.

He contacted me after hours recently out of the blue and asked me to look at another website of his and what would I charge to do it properly this time. Here is therefore another problem. He has spent some cash on this thing and either is not satisfied with it and/or b) the designer has got fed up with his demands but consequently, in addition to having everything done cheaply, he is reluctant to spend a single cent on this thing.

‘How much would you charge to finish this off?’ - it’s only three pages but needs a setup etc. ‘Oh and by the way, I need Flash’ - well, how much and where? Would it be just a slideshow? - Yes but go to this site to see. So I visit the site and there’s a full blown Flash animation on the header. ‘But this is not a slideshow” - ‘Yes, but I want something like that’.

So, you want a nice site? ‘No, I want a perfect website’.

Well, that’ll cost more for the extra work.

‘Oh, and I need the logo redesigned’.

That’s more work.

“Oh and finally, I need a business card’.

You see the tactic here? It’s to trivialize what is a fair sized job and then argue the toss about the quote for such a piffling job. This character is the only one who tries to beat me down and he does that because I did him a favour years ago.

“You see my other site? It only cost RX,000′.

Well why don’t you go back there then I think, the site’s not too bad. So, I think what has happened there is that they underquoted, got beaten down and then peppered with requests so that now they have quoted some huge figure.

I’ll send him a quote and then within ten minutes there will be a call to try and beat me down. He may succeed but the quote will be adjusted upwards accordingly before he gets it. Incidentally, he is the only client who, the day after his site was put up, complained that he couldn’t see the thing on Google.

The moral to this tale is ‘Don’t underquote’. What you do has value which is translated into the quotation and the client needs to understand that. If it is too much for them, they must go elsewhere.

Years and years ago, I started to develop a website for a fellow who - like hundreds of others in this country - wanted to make a buck out of FIFA. I forget what the domain name was but I think it was fifa2010.co.za. He didn’t get very far and, also like hundreds of others, was told that he was infringing the ‘reserved phrases’ rule (you should have seen all the cancelled fifa2010 domains on coza) .

I had something about 2010 on one of my websites years ago and got ‘the phone call’ from the FIFA attorney in Joburg, pointing out to me very politely that I was a naughty lad and I must remove the reference. I told him that he was going to have his work cut out - as would seem to be the case given the multitude of references to 2010. I digress . . .

This fellow that wanted the site got as far as a parked domain so I thought I would put together a piccie as a ‘parked’ page so I combined a football with a spherized South African flag.

I have see this wretched graphic of mine on I don’t know how many websites. The first was on an immigration website for New Zealand and then on several SA2010-oriented websites. The other day, I was idling watching one of the local channels for a change and what do I see flash on the screen - my graphic on some cellphone - ‘download FIFA ringtones’ or somesuch ad.

I’ve just seen it on www.accommodationsinsouthafrica.com reeeaaallly mangled and obviously a copy of a copy etc. So, if you’re in charge of this domain, contact me and I’ll GIVE you a decent (1000px) copy.