Recently, I had a potential client tell me that another website provider offered to "give" them their website on a disk if they ever decided to cancel their contract. Really? Give?

Sorry, but this is misleading. Unless they are providing a non proprietary, open source solution like we do the disk is worthless.

I am familiar with the company who made the empty offer. They use Flash and Flex content management system (CMS), both proprietary technologies. The CMS is the foundation websites are built on top of. In layman's terms the website and CMS are one. You can't have one without the other.

So in the case where a website driven by proprietary technology is "given" to the customer on disks does not really offer them much of anything. You get the siding, doors and windows, but not the house.

Lets say your former provider gives you your website on a disk.

The big question then becomes: do you have access to the source code? If the answer is yes , you might think you can alter the website, think again. In the case of Flash, the .swf file format is not the source code. You must have the raw .fla and uncompiled components. There are many variables. It all depends on whether the website was created on acceptable standards or not, the language it was written in and the complexity of the system.

The discovery time of a contract programmer to figure the system out could very likely exceed the cost of building a new website from scratch. Why? Because programmers range in price: HTML is at the low end, Flash and FLEX is at the top. Programmers are a commodity. HTML programmers are a dime a dozen, quality Flash and Flex programmers are rare.

OK, best case scenario. Let's say you have jumped that hurdle. You are given your website on disks, its proprietary system has been unlocked, you have hired a programmer who has figured the system out and can modify the code. You now have to contend hosting the site.

Depending on the CMS, the complexity of the hosting environment may require web hosting on a dedicated server that you would have full control over. That requires that the company who has "given" you your website to honestly, provide you detailed hosting specifications.

Now let us say you are given your website on disks, its proprietary system has been unlocked, you have hired a programmer who has figured the system out and can modify the code and they have provided detailed server requirements to host the site. The next hurdle: security monitoring, bug fixes, updates and support.

The unique website you've been "given" now has this one developer who understands the details of your one unique website and who can support it if anything goes wrong. You better keep him very, very happy. With a CMS like the one leveraged by theWEBcentric, volume of usage of a technology is critical to its security and long term success. Thousands of developers use this system and freely share their experience with one another. We call it the many eyes approach. The more eyes you have on the technology, the more likely vulnerabilities will be identified, bugs will be addressed and therefore security of the system remains high. As with many legitimate open source solutions, you have hundreds and in our case thousands of programmers supporting the system; adding features and executing updates.

In the case outlined above the company that you severed ties with would have to share security, updates, bug fixes and feature additions with you for the life of your website. Ask yourself, will the provider you fired give you this information for free? Not likely. And, if you do get what you need your new programmer will have to understand the technology to implement those updates.

Companies, like the one anonymously referenced, try to equate the ownership and support of our product as a "gift" website on a disk. Gift is far from accurate.

And, even if:
Your former provider gives you your website on a disk
Your former provider unlocks their proprietary CMS
You find a programmer to take your project
You accept the cost of the programmer performing a "discovery" process to understand the system
The programmer figures the system out
You pay the programmer for changes
Your former provider gives you detailed server specifications for hosting the site
Your former provider shares with you upgrades you will need to perform on your server
Your former provider shares with you security updates, bug fixes and feature additions
You pay your programmer to implement these updates

But who owns the design?
Check your contract. Do you own the sources files to the design? Will they give you those files? Will they charge a licensing fee for the design? They can do this. Do you have the staff or a contractor that will understand how to modify those files?

Make sure you ask these questions when deciding on a website provider. Like winning one those free vacations where you end up sitting across the table from a high pressure time share salesman, it is likely, being "gifted" your website is a manipulation that will, in the end, isn't worth the plastic disc it was burned on.

TheWEBcentic is different. Ask how. Ask why.

If you do not understand what proprietary technology is, it is important for you to read this article.
First, let’s start with a simple definition courtesy of Wikipedia: The word "proprietary" indicates that a party, or proprietor, exercises private ownership, control or use over an item of property, usually to the exclusion of other parties.

COMMUNICATE TO THE RIGHT AUDIENCE
Make sure the messaging on your internal signage communicates to the customer in the building. Getting caught-up in your global messages is easy to do but effective marketing is all about targeting a specific audience. If the average age of your visiting customer is 65+, then messaging about your iTunes checking account may not be the best use of the few seconds of attention they may give your LCD display.