When / how do you tell your website developer the relationship is over?

Question

I paid a significant sum to have a website developed. It contains a custom built application that is written in ruby on rails, and has other systems plugged in as well. The site is now live and works well most of the time, however I am now experiencing bugs and other issues that require immediate attention to remedy, as the site is in production and the issues are affecting users.

It seems that now that the site is live, my requests for support from the developers has been reduced dramatically. We had a big issue on Saturday that affects all the users, and I can't get a solid response time yet from them about when the issue will be fixed. They are paid (well) by the hour but I suspect other, perhaps more lucrative projects are taking their attn.

As it's such a custom job, I am worried that if I break away I will not be able to find a group to do the work well and understand what the original coders wrote. But my users (and my site's reputation) are suffering. What do I do?

Answer 1

You find someone who is willing to do the work. It would probably behoove you to find a young, up and coming website developer to do it. He would be eager and more than willing to get it done and make a good impression. Sometimes it's more difficult to get the seasoned veterans to do stuff when they have much more on their plate.

Regards,

Brandon

Answer 2

There are so many developers out there, you do not need to deal with people like that. As you said, your reputation is on the line. One piece of advice is to tell them that it would be a shame if they could not use you for a reference because they are slipping at this late hour.

You should review the terms of your contract so you know exactly what the specific deliverables are and to find out what the ownership, intellectual property and confidentiality rights are for this project. The contract should also have response times for bug-fixes.

If they are not spelled out, you're situation is precarious. Make sure you get a contract like that on your next project.

If you don't already have it, I would tell them that you need all source code and images (in their original format) and a complete description of the development environment used along with any third-party tools or libraries used.

Meanwhile, try to find someone who can take over for you. Go to monster.com and specify web and ruby on rails and you should find plenty of folks.

Then cut them loose and notify the BBB.

Answer 3

I am a web developer. Any web developers worth their salt should be willing, AT A MOMENT'S NOTICE!!! to give you a CD of your website files. But, frankly, that doesn't matter: you SHOULD have access to your website files, yourself!!! by virtue of the fact that you have the FTP userid and password to your host! Immediately, and at once, toot sweet, go make a backup of all your files!

Then go change the FTP password to something yer web developer doesn't know.

Then notify yer web developer(s) of termination of contract.

All this within a relatively short period of time. It is a service, after all. You're paying for it. You deserve satisfaction for your money.

(If the web developer, on the other hand, had gotten fed up with your constant persnicketiness, the web developer could have done the same, so it's a two-way street!)

A contract is just that. Say bye!

Answer 4

well you could search the net for ruby and rails forums its just coding and probably have a code that needs edited. more like they have new jobs and they don't want to go back and edit yours because building a new site is more money.
i would just tell them it would be nice if they looked at the site withing the next 72 hours with a report of what they think is wrong. if they fail to do so and you paid them for support along with building the site. i would file for a return of partial monies for non rendering of services. this is done through the credit card or payal you used.