Acro.net – Technology Rants & Raves by Acroplex®

It’s really a shame seeing AEIOU.com pull out of the minisite business, simply because it appeared that the company – led by Rick Latona – had a streamlined process in place and many satisfied customers.

The truth is, Rick’s statement that “there is no money in web design” is incorrect. The domaining market with its small returns for PPC and non-development is not ripe yet to follow closely the high standards and expectations of web development for general, non-domainer clients; and that’s where the money really is.

Therefore, there is no money in web design for domainers that aren’t willing to understand a few basic principles:

1. You get what you pay for
2. Design requires time
3. Monetization is an extra step to tackle

In other words, anyone offering any type of serious “minisite” or full-fledged web design is doing so on the basis that the clients are willing to be aware of these steps and that are willing to invest time and money into development.

Anyone who promises “push button” web development with instant results and revenue is simply after your money. So use professional services, instead of someone that has no qualifications, no portfolio and no willingness to work using proper methods and standards in web design.

Tia Wood already has a development system in place, catering to domainers who are eager to develop their web sites with dynamic content – for more info visit her web site – a great sample of the system is at Candy.ca

Personally, at Acroplex LLC I offer full-fledged web & graphics development, logo & identity design, print design and consultation on how to best proceed with your existing or future projects.

The Bible tells us of God resting on the 7th day of his creation of the world – if only God was aware of the way things would evolve.

Life no longer holds a resting moment, as every instance of the seven-day week is filled with work of some kind.

If it isn’t the newest trends and events we need to keep up with, it’s projects that have tight deadlines and “want it yesterday” attitude from the clients.

The Internet solidified all the liquidity of life, shredding our privacy, our private time, our resting time – forever taking away whatever piece of Eden was left in the human nature, several eons after its exodus from the proverbial garden.

On the 7th day, God rested – apparently he laid down with a good book in hand, not interested in reality show television, not having peer pressure to attend the NFL premiere, not eager to participate in online drama about minisites versus full scale development.

God knew better – and us, humans created in his image, should learn to rest too.

After reading Rick Schwartz’s latest blog post about how Google AdSense closed down his account over minisite content, I had an obvious question: why did Rick pay TENS of THOUSANDS of dollars for 10 minisites?

The term “minisite” was coined as an obvious bait for the domain community, sometime in the past year and a half. It indicates a quick and dirty development of a web site, often with no graphical user interface, with no custom images and with content of dubious quality. Creation of such “mass developed” minisites is aimed at those with a very small budget that want “something” to go live, in order to monetize it via the placement of AdSense ads or ads from other networks.

There are several such firms that provide development of small web sites, catering to the “minisite” domain gang. Quality of work varies – however, a minisite is a minisite and it does not really qualify as true web development.

With parking revenue dwindling, panicking domainers often opt for the cheapest alternative, not considering long-term results and consequences of pushing out badly executed content. The alternative option would entail the following elements:

• A proper business plan
• A budget
• A development expert
• Time

However, all these elements can be addressed, as long as there is proper focus on what one is trying to achieve.

If the need is for short-term cashflow, minisites *might* work – until Google pulls the plug as in Rick’s case. If the need is for long-term revenue from the development of web sites that actually provide content and add value to the Internet community, the answer is simple: full-fledged web development.

So get your paper pads and pens out and start outlining your next project. Big or small, it does not matter. What matters, is quality of work and control over its execution. So hire a true web development professional. Mass developed mini-sites stand no chance.