Marketing Agency Horror Stories Episode 2: Websites Gone Wrong

In Episode 2 of our Marketing Agency Horror Stories series, we are covering the five most common reasons website projects fail:

1. Timelines

Website projects often drag on far longer than they should. Meanwhile, the business is stuck waiting, often without a clear explanation for why things are taking so long. We have regularly seen companies whose website projects have stretched past a year, and in the worst cases, a company was working with an agency for over two years without a finished website. 

The cost is straightforward: time and money spent on a project that is not moving forward. When a company makes the decision to start a new website build, it’s generally because they believe it will help them grow. So, website projects that take 9, 12, 18 months or longer to finish cause a prolonged delay to a company's ability to generate leads. Depending on the scope and size of the site, most website projects should be a four to six-month process, provided the engagement is well managed. 

2. Scope

Vague scopes are one of the most consistent root causes of failed website projects. When the purpose and requirements of a new site are not clearly established at the start, the project is built on a weak foundation, and the result reflects that.

We’ve seen a company complete an entire website build and finish with a site that was a significant downgrade from what they had before. The strategic thinking was not done up front. The goals were unclear, the priorities were not defined, and the end product showed it.

A new website is a meaningful investment. If the agency you are working with is not doing the strategic work at the front end to understand your target audience, your priorities, and what the site needs to accomplish, the finished product is likely to miss the mark.

3. Functionality

Companies often pursue a new website specifically because they need it to do something their current site cannot. When an agency can’t actually deliver that functionality, the consequences can be severe.

We covered a version of this in Episode 1. An agency agreed to build a website with specific functionality, spent months on the engagement, and ultimately could not deliver. The client had to start over with a new agency (us!) under a compressed timeline, losing all of the time and money invested with the original agency. 

The fact of the matter is that many agencies will say they can deliver functionality even when they can’t. Also, many marketing agencies don’t really provide true development services - whether that be website, app or custom web applications. This is an important distinction, and one you need to get to the bottom of if your website project needs include advanced functionality.

4. Technology

A limited understanding of website technology can leave companies vulnerable to poor decisions, including paying significantly more than a project is worth.

We’ve seen a situation in which a company hired a firm to perform a technical upgrade to its website. While the scope of work was not significant, the price tag was. Without a thorough understanding of the technical work needed, the company agreed to a scope of work that was not necessary for far more than they should have spent.

You do not need to be a developer to make informed decisions about a website project. But without foundational knowledge, companies have little basis for evaluating whether a proposal is reasonable.

5. Post-Launch Support

The end of a website build is not the end of the agency relationship, and companies that treat it that way often find themselves dealing with problems they were not prepared for.

Website support at a base level includes hosting, security maintenance, and keeping the content management system (CMS) updated. For many sites, routine back-end maintenance is not something you should be paying a company $500 to $1,000 per month for. Large, complex sites with advanced functionality will definitely have more to maintain, but in such cases the support contract should be detailed before site launch to ensure expectations are aligned. For you, the client, it is critical to understand exactly what that monthly fee covers. 

To be clear, the above is not talking about edits, updates, or additions to the content of the website. We are speaking strictly to the technical maintenance of the site, hosting and security. Front-end site edits should be something your provider either trains your team how to do or you are paying your provider to do either as needed or on an ongoing basis. 

The problem arises when companies don’t know exactly what their agency is doing after launch, or what they should be paying for it. That lack of visibility is where budgets get wasted on support that is either overpriced or not being performed at all.

What to Evaluate Before a Website Project Begins

Before committing to any agency for a website project, ask the following questions:

• Do they have a defined process and a realistic timeline? Ask specifically how long similar projects have taken and request a project schedule with milestones before signing anything.
• Will they invest in strategy and research before design begins? A firm that moves straight to design without working through the strategic questions is skipping the work that determines whether the finished product is actually useful.
• Can they demonstrate that they have delivered the functionality you need? Ask for examples. Ask technical questions. Do not assume capability.
• Do you have a working understanding of the technology involved? Learn the Content Management System being used, where your site is hosted, and what a reasonable SEO scope looks like. 
• Is post-launch support clearly defined in the contract? Know what is included, what the cost is, and how you will be able to confirm the work is being performed.

A website project is too significant an investment to rush the evaluation process. A few additional weeks spent asking the right questions, reviewing past work, and confirming an agency's capabilities is far less costly than recovering from an engagement that did not deliver.

If you have questions about your current website situation, or would value our opinion on an upcoming project, reach out to us directly — we would be happy to talk through it.