Let's face it - every industry has it's set of red-headed step children that ruin it for all of us, web just seems to be taking it to a new level.

What do I mean?

Web is a REALLY easy industry to get into. Anyone with a copy of Dreamweaver can build a website. The problem is that these websites bring upon a myriad of issues:

• The Three-Quarter Conundrum:
  "I paid my web guy 6 months ago and he says the website is done, but nothing works". This isn't just something I hear from clients who hire their cousin's husband's dog-sitter, but something that I constantly see 'firms' doing. If you hired a lawyer that didn't show for closing arguments you'd be a little upset; don't take it from your web guy.
• The SEO Slam:
  "We can make you #1!" - yeah, then what? SEO is a hard work and frankly a term I'd like to see dissappear. Web-visibility is a long-term, ongoing process that involves building a large network and gaining followers. You don't just get a site up the rankings and wipe your hands of it, this is a constantly changing, high-competition field. Loading up the web with press releases, purchased back-links and duplicate content may bring you up, but it sure as hell won't keep you there. Getting up there is good, but what about customer retention? Engaging the audience you have? I've done enough work to know that SEO has a much lower ROI than building a digital footprint that brings in customers from multiple networks.
• The Code Killer:
  Like I said - anyone with Dreamweaver can build a site. The web is the wild-west as far as code compliance, but there are standards. These standards not only help your site perform well and help with compatibility on different devices and browsers but they can have a major impact on how easily web-crawlers (like Google) can index your site. You website should be free of most validation errors, but this is a rareity. Most developers never check. Here's an example of correct validation. Try your own site...
• Slipshod Security:
  This one absolutely amazes me (though I've been at this long enough it shouldn't). Websites, by default, are security nightmares - they're public-facing and easily accessible. The good news - fixing most security holes is simple, the bad - just about every firm I've seen doesn't even have a "Security" step in their process.

I Could Go On...

While I don't loose sleep at night over it I do feel bad for clients. I constantly hear nightmare stories about flakey web design firms. These clients are now scarred and lack trust and faith in our industry.

The web is awesome, I love everyday I get to wake up and work on sites, deliver new and exciting approaches and work with clients. But these web firms are 'pissing in the pool' and ruining it for the rest of us.