Hello Daisy May,

I don't post here often, but your woes hit home. I'm a web developer and I clearly see both sides of the story.

First, let me say, your expectations are not out of line. If I knew what you spent for this work, I would have a better understanding of what you should expect from the designers. However, by any amount, you should at least get a functional site to the specifications you both agreed on. It sounds like you are getting neither.

On the other side of the fence, I have to say that the bar is set very low for website design. This pains me, but it is what I've seen on the web for years. There are many people who give you junk and expect thousands for it, and there are people who will give you a great site for a very reasonable rate. Usually though, if you want quality work, you will 99.9% of the time be paying what feels like an unreasonable amount for it. If you broke it down to an hourly rate, very often the designer is making less than a waiter at a decent restaurant.

What is not known to non-designers is how many details go into creating a site, especially one with special functionality like you need (even when its out of a box, it involves a lot of work that you will never see or know about).

I know of no industry etiquette that says you shouldn't share the current state of the site you are paying for. So if you want to post a link--go ahead.

I don't know if this post helps in any way? Let me know if you want me to take a look at your new site and provide unbiased feedback about the quality of what you are getting. I don't know about the merchant software they are using, so I can't help you there, I can see how standards compliant it is and how usable it is (or not). This might give you some ammunition for recourse in bartering with them to get your money's worth. They are most definitely relying on the fact that they have specialized knowledge that you don't have.


Good luck,


Kevin
kdouglas@satarah.com
www.satarah.com