Some web 'gurus' and web design seminar attendees mask as web developers, collect projects from unsuspecting clients, mess them up and brace up the worst.
The client hence wastes money paying another web developer, to repair it or do a fresh one.
Most clients believe that asking a web developer to show you their potfolio, is the silver bullet to detect if they can handle the job or not.
Its not enough. I'll let you know ways to spot web rogues and real web developers from a discussion i had with a prospective client .
Here is the brief story, the client (name withheld) , posted here on nairaland, more than a mont ago, asking for a web designer who could replicate the functionalities of a certain foreign web site.
Unfortunately, he gave out the project to the cheapest and first bidder.
Last night, the client contacted me (i also commented on the thread) , we had a chat on whatsapp.
He introduced himself and explained to me that even after one month "some things were still not working and that the web 'developer' " couldn't deliver.
Here is my advice to him,
"give him more time, he may still find his way around the present glitches and complete the project. Maybe its his first time to execute such a technical project. But nevertheless ,mount more pressure on him"
He replied that he had given him 1 week deadline to deliver. He complained that he never knew, the 'guy' was amateur.
[i have the screenshots, but i'll just copy and paste
client: [7:19am, 10/14/2014] ‪ Av list lots of investors who are ready to give me some cash to promote the site
[7:20am, 10/14/2014] ‪+‬:
But I keep given them excuse upon excuse. It's over a month now, the site is not ready...

ME: Ok, just give him time. Its good you have pressured him with a deadline. He will figure out a way to put it all together eventually.

In case of next time, If the designer charges too cheap for an obviously very technical project, he is still an amateur, and lacks understanding of the technical requirements and time frame of the project.

You should also check the portfolio of the web designer before giving out the project. Make sure u are giving out to a web designer who has done something a bit similar before.

CLiENT: [7:21am, 10/14/2014] ‪He charged me I hosted the domain so he charged me 35k
[7:22am, 10/14/2014] : He showed me his profile and I was convinced he can handled it
[7:23am, 10/14/2014] : Every other thing worked except for the major functions

ME: People can download beautiful online templates, tweak it a little and then host it as new websites for their clients. The beauty of a website does not reflect expertise these days, It is the functionality that you should be looking at.
Its the functionality that would reflect the experience of the programmer.
You should always ask yourself or the programmer "what does this website do" instead of "who who was it designed for?"
The answer to the first question will say alot about the extent of work the programmer put in. It differentiates web developers from web amateurs and cheats whose incompetency will end up costing you more.

CLIENT: Pls just be on the standby

ME: No problem. Only thing is that we may have issues with the cost of building the website. Though you can pay in installments over time as you are able to.
CLIENT: its ok

wheww! That was it. I censored a lot to remove any info that will reveal any sensitive information. But hope you get the picture?

hmm. Intresting.... But boss its not the guy fult na. Haba imagine one of our so called web developer (name witheld) lol. Collected 10k fo two e-commarce site. Its so so so pa·thet·ic!
So from own perspective i dont blame the Client nor the coder na condition make crayfish bend. Lol any ways shine ur eye 4 nl b4 u give out ur project o.

But beta people day Nl sha .people like A********k # my brother in d code lol. Omo. I don high 2nyt walai

create a website in 3minis seminer Lmao. Them plenty for my base. Make 1m over nite. Pay 10k to make 1m over nite nd fools go pay any ways. Me sha don take Ogidiga 2nyt lol.

some clients sef can be very funny, dre s dis guy dat want me to build an e-commerce site fr 8k. after explaining wat the site will entail to him, he den confess dat someone contacted him and he had already collected 15k fr d project, spent 5k out of it and d owner is on his neck. I just told him d fact: explain to d owner wit dat amt it can never be possible.

whenever i'm about to take a client job i will do some samples and host it on a free hosting provider so that the client will see am real not only portfolio

maekhel:
some clients sef can be very funny, dre s dis guy dat want me to build an e-commerce site fr 8k. after explaining wat the site will entail to him, he den confess dat someone contacted him and he had already collected 15k fr d project, spent 5k out of it and d owner is on his neck. I just told him d fact: explain to d owner wit dat amt it can never be possible.

lol very funny

Lol that's Nigeria,
When Such client comes I just laugh.
Im :Pagine a client I meet on Nairaland who needs an E-commerce website with automatic payment system (paypal and credit card) installed and many special functions with 7k I was like Oga na wordpress blog you dey find? Lol,
He said that their are some of us that can. even do it at 5k, and that's true I have seen that kind of advert here on Nairaland.
Edited..
Make I use this opportunity place some adverts on FP **winks**
Do you need a Professional website/blog for your brand/business/church/school??
If your answer== yes.
call/whatsapp emmyvetgroup on 07033121121..
OR
You need a customized project on Embedded system(ranging from 7segment or Dot matrix display for your adverts or security systems or any kind of Automated System that runs on micro controllers?)
If yes call/whatsapp emmyvrtgroup on 07033121121 or bbm;32FC16F8.
Thanks as you come in with your projects!

OP, the scenario you created above really is so close to home because I am currently involved in a project of 35k for a fellow nairalander.
Since you said you have the screenshots why not mention the developer username, the project url and the client. It could be mine and besides we all could find out whether scam, incompetence or any other thing is going on with the project or with the people handling it.
Please no need removing names, if there is something fishy going on with any nairaland involved, we need to know the persons involved and the nature of their involvement.

onyengbu:
OP, the scenario you created above really is so close to home because I am currently involved in a project of 35k for a fellow nairalander.
Since you said you have the screenshots why not mention the developer username, the project url and the client. It could be mine and besides we all could find out whether scam, incompetence or any other thing is going on with the project or with the people handling it.
Please no need removing names, if there is something fishy going on with any nairaland involved, we need to know the persons involved and the nature of their involvement.

Thanks a whole lot, but the aim is not to point fingers at people, but to educate clients here.
With the scanty details of the discussion i posted in the OP, whoever is involved will decipher that they are the one involved.

moderatorr:

Thanks a whole lot, but the aim is not to point fingers at people, but to educate clients here.
With the scanty details of the discussion i posted in the OP, whoever is involved will decipher that they are the one involved.

Na waa for you ooo. You titled your thread "how to spot a rogue developer" and you claimed the rogue developer is here among us. What is the point of educating clients if you know a certain rogue developer and cant point him/her out to them. It makes you an accessory to his/her rogueness.
If you dont name the parties involved in your story up here, then I and probably many others here will be forced to conclude that you are roguish yourself but I dont want to do that yet.
Please name names NOW!!!

onyengbu:
Na waa for you ooo. You titled your thread "how to spot a rogue developer" and you claimed the rogue developer is here among us. What is the point of educating clients if you know a certain rogue developer and cant point him/her out to them. It makes you an accessory to his/her rogueness.
If you dont name the parties involved in your story up here, then I and probably many others here will be forced to conclude that you are roguish yourself but I dont want to do that yet.
Please name names NOW!!!

Am the guy the Op is talking about. I gave out the job to @onyengbu and he did a perfect job and has also delivered the project. Will be launching the project soon. Thanks

payne4real:


Am the guy the Op is talking about. I gave out the job to @onyengbu and he did a perfect job and has also delivered the project. Will be launching the project soon. Thanks

OK. You rushed to it a bit. You should have waited some more for this crook of guy guy calling himself moderatorr to finish making fool of himself before coming in.
Again, you should have explained to the house the misunderstanding you and I had about the "major functions" not working which you told the guy that gave him the guts to come here under the guise of "educating clients" to malign me simply because I exposed a simple lie he told on the other thread.

onyengbu:
OK. You rushed to it a bit. You should have waited some more for this crook of guy guy calling himself moderatorr to finish making fool of himself before coming in.
Again, you should have explained to the house the misunderstanding you and I had about the "major functions" not working which you told the guy that gave him the guts to come here under the guise of "educating clients" to malign me simply because I exposed a simple lie he told on the other thread.

Of all the persons who have read this post and few who have commented, you are the only one feeling aggrieved.

How did you even know that you are the one when neither you name, the name of the client, nor the name of the project was mentioned.

If you feel so certain that you are the one, even with all the scanty details, it means the story is true.
I need not post any screenshots. You always jump into my threads and take things personal. Please stop commenting on my threads.

Others are commenting freely and you are carrying the masquerade on your head when you should be coding, if you feel the story points to you in anyway or paints the exact situation you are facing with your client, why not post a link to the 'completed' project and save your face and walk out of thread,

instead of staging a market fight?
Pls don't derail the thread. This thread is about educating clients, not picking a fight with someone.

moderatorr:

Of all the persons who have read this post and few who have commented, you are the only one feeling aggrieved.

How did you even know that you are the one when neither you name, the name of the client, nor the name of the project was mentioned.

If you feel so certain that you are the one, even with all the scanty details, it means the story is true.
I need not post any screenshots. You always jump into my threads and take things personal. Please stop commenting on my threads.

Others are commenting freely and you are carrying the masquerade on your head when you should be coding, if you feel the story points to you in anyway or paints the exact situation you are facing with your client, why not post a link to the 'completed' project and save your face and walk out of thread,

instead of staging a market fight?
Pls don't derail the thread. This thread is about educating clients, not picking a fight with someone.

of all the people who has read or has been commenting, i know you are attempting a jibe at me after all you and I have been through on the other thread. The client knows it too. Your problem is that you cant see that your badly thought out mudslinging will only end up ruining what is left of the little reputation you have on this board. My exposing your petty lie on the other thread shouldnt have been a big issue if werent more than a lier. Come on, you told a simple lie people tell sometimes to make themselves feel good about themselves. However, your actions since my little exposé is somewhat alarming. From modifying your posts to cooking up half truths on this thread tells me you might be more than a petty lier.
Your senseles vendatta thread will only end up denting your image further rather than achieve the aim of creating it.
To break it to you, you claimed you dont do less than 100k job but I do sometimes. This particular one is done, the owner has said something too if you need the link before he launches, request it from him here. The link is not mine to give.

My only advice to you is to let this your vendatta thing go or your evil machinations will consume you.

onyengbu:
of all the people who has read or has been commenting, i know you are attempting a jibe at me after all you and I have been through on the other thread. The client knows it too. Your problem is that you cant see that your badly thought out mudslinging will only end up ruining what is left of the little reputation you have on this board. My exposing your petty lie on the other thread shouldnt have been a big issue if werent more than a lier. Come on, you told a simple lie people tell sometimes to make themselves feel good about themselves. However, your actions since my little exposé is somewhat alarming. From modifying your posts to cooking up half truths on this thread tells me you might be more than a petty lier.
Your senseles vendatta thread will only end up denting your image further rather than achieve the aim of creating it.
To break it to you, you claimed you don't do less than 100k job but I do sometimes. This particular one is done, the owner has said something too if you need the link before he launches, request it from him here. The link is not mine to give.

My only advice to you is to let this your vendatta thing go or your evil machinations will consume you.

You do sites of 35k, i do sites of 100k and above, when we get sites of less than 100k we refer then to a sister company and monitor it till finish, we are not mates, So i accept, you have won, leave this thread.

emmyvet:
Lol that's Nigeria,
When Such client comes I just laugh.
Imagine a client I meet on Nairaland who needs an E-commerce website with automatic payment system (paypal and credit card) installed and many special functions with 7k I was like Oga na wordpress blog you dey find? Lol,
He said that their are some of us that can even do it at 5k, and that's true I have seen that kind of advert here on Nairaland.

You are actually correct. There are threads all over Nairaland now of clients complaining of web 'gurus' not being able to finish their project even after 4 months. One thing is common in all of them if you observe, they all underpaid for the project. how can you pay someone 10k to build a social network for u lol.
By the time the designer buys modem subscription, the money is finished, how will they purchase domain name and host it?
Most traffic demanding sites need to be on a vps, which clients and some web 'gurus' don't understand.
The project can still fail, even after it has been completed if its not on the right host.

moderatorr:

You are actually correct. There are threads all over Nairaland now of clients complaining of web 'gurus' not being able to finish their project even after 4 months. One thing is common in all of them if you observe, they all underpaid for the project. how can you pay someone 10k to build a social network for u lol.
By the time the designer buys modem subscription, the money is finished, how will they purchase domain name and host it?
Most traffic demanding sites need to be on a vps, which clients and some web 'gurus' don't understand.
The project can still fail, even after it has been completed if its not on the right host.

Lol,
That's why I like pay me let me go and lock my self in the room and die with your project!!!

Wao...a lot as happened since my absence here oo, so there is still site of 5k I thought those guys have repented ni onyengbu please no vex, I don't think the Op meant any harrn on you

When I was still active in freelancing I don't buy domain nor host for the client, I no fit shout, although I do advice sha

moderatorr:

You do sites of 35k, i do sites of 100k and above, we are not mates, So i accept, you have won, leave this thread.

Over and over, I have proved to anyone who care to listen that your above claim is a petty lie.
You have begged for 35k job here in nairaland and it is there for everyone to see. I saved it for you.
Ok, i don hear we are not mates but how come you are going all over this board begging for jobs including 35k jobs.

onyengbu:

Over and over, I have proved to anyone who care to listen that your above claim is a petty lie.
You have begged for 35k job here in nairaland and it is there for everyone to see. I saved it for you.
Ok, i don hear we are not mates but how come you are going all over this board begging for jobs including 35k jobs.

I have witheld valuable information way too long and all you do is keep throwing insults and attempting to derail my threads, i am protecting your clients' interest name and reputation that's why i have not given the full details of their disappointments towards your work.
But if your client can come here and quickly agree that you have 'completed' the project without posting the link or asking you to keep quiet , i would be forced to post screenshots here and in the other thread where i allowed you to get away with your ignorance.
The next shi.t you post about me here, i would add screenshots to the threads.
If i say i dont accept web design of less than 100k and no client has come here to ever disprove it, is that not enough justification?

Your client is dissatisfied with everything you have done, you have taken longer than you promised to deliver, he tried to be professional and cover up your mess by coming here within 2 hours to say that you have magically completed everything.

He is trying to save is personal relationship with you not that you have done any thing.
You are one of those people who under charge for a project and end up not delivering.
Like i predicted in the other thread, you will mess up the project and you did. if you say the job is complete , then post the link simple.

I am not your mate in web design. see, its not about the money. Its about the quality of dispensation and complexity.
.
Your client wants a heavy traffic generating app, you charge 40k then accept 35k from him so he can buy domain name and hosting with the remaining , you are so desperate that you decided to hide information about the kind of hosting it would need, not a 5k shared hosting.
You probably don't know, that the project would fail even after it has been hosted.
That site you are mimicking was built by a new York based development team, and you want to build it in 3 weeks for 35k? 3 weeks has long since passed, why do you think you have not delivered?
You will still end with beautiful and non functional rubbish

onyengbu:
... It could be mine and besides we all could find out whether scam, incompetence or any other thing is going on with the project or with the people handling it. ...

wait, You actually outsourced it again! heheheheee

The thread did not make reference to you but you jumped in, i don't know what you think you are doing, but if your client can come here and attempt to cover your mess without telling you to shut up and stop disgracing yourself here, i would be forced to ignore his relationship with you and the words he has told me in private and post screenshots of everything.
mtcheeeww

moderatorr:

I have witheld valuable information way too long and all you do is keep throwing insults and attempting to derail my threads, i am protecting your clients' interest name and reputation that's why i have not given the full details of their disappointments towards your work.
But if your client can come here and quickly agree that you have 'completed' the project without posting the link or asking you to keep quiet , i would be forced to post screenshots here and in the other thread where i allowed you to get away with your ignorance.
The next shi.t you post about me here, i would add screenshots to the threads.
If i say i dont accept web design of less than 100k and no client has come here to ever disprove it, is that not enough justification?

Your client is dissatisfied with everything you have done, you have taken longer than you promised to deliver, he tried to be professional and cover up your mess by coming here within 2 hours to say that you have magically completed everything.

He is trying to save is personal relationship with you not that you have done any thing.
You are one of those people who under charge for a project and end up not delivering.
Like i predicted in the other thread, you will mess up the project and you did. if you say the job is complete , then post the link simple.

I am not your mate in web design. see, its not about the money. Its about the quality of dispensation and complexity.
.
Your client wants a heavy traffic generating app, you charge 40k then accept 35k from him so he can buy domain name and hosting with the remaining , you are so desperate that you decided to hide information about the kind of hosting it would need, not a 5k shared hosting.
You probably don't know, that the project would fail even after it has been hosted.
That site you are mimicking was built by a new York based development team, and you want to build it in 3 weeks for 35k? 3 weeks has long since passed, why do you think you have not delivered?
You will still end with beautiful and non functional rubbish


wait, You actually outsourced it again! heheheheee

The thread did not make reference to you but you jumped in, i don't know what you think you are doing, but if your client can come here and attempt to cover your mess without telling you to shut up and stop disgracing yourself here, i would be forced to ignore his relationship with you and the words he has told me in private and post screenshots of everything.
mtcheeeww

Dude listen to yourself, my client is dissatisfied with everything I did, none is working and yet he comes here to protect the relationship we have. Are you dis dumb?
If you paid a total stranger money to do a job and he failed, will you have time to come to a forum to save "the relationship you have" with him?
I dare you to post whatever you have.
The client had a misunderstanding of how the site should have worked at this stage and when it was cleared he understood. Details I am going to give when I finally succeed in making you sing. I need you to post whatever you have and I accept he told you those things but I want you to post them so as to set the stage for what is to follow. Whatever you sought from him to use against me at the time I had misunderstanding with him will consume you. Whatever he told you there no longer hold any water since he now understand the situation and will be more than happy to come here and say it. You will loose and I promise you that.
Post the screenshots now, if you dont, I will make sure I use the mods to force you to.
Stop claiming you are witholding anything cos whatever you have does not prove I did not execute the job I was paid for. I am sure the client wont mind if you post them too. The only thing is he will go public with his project earlier than scheduled. You dont seem to realize thats what I have been trying to make you do all this while?
I never advertize my works here on nairaland but it seems you will end up doing the free advertizement for me.
I created a sucb classy and complex web application (which is being tested and launch to follow) and was able to veer of and execute a much better paying and but smaller job (with the permission of my client) all in less than 3 weeks, phew!
New York based team created the other one and Nigerian based me created this one... lol.

Thank Good you called it beautiful, the part about not working will also be proved here. Did you say outsource? Not me, i dont do that and I hope you are not creating an exit point when I finally shame you. This is notably a project you also begged to do with 35k, belatedly and no ond listened to you.
Please post your screenshots.
You are just a butthurt fellow on a stu.pid revenge mission that will consume you.

P.s:
for small paying jobs, i dont host for clients, it is an unnecesary headache.

Why are you guys dragging this issues, am the owner of the project and I said am ok and satisfied with what my developer did.
If he (my developer) did not do my job to my satisfaction, I will say it here. I told op when we were chating that he (my developer) did a wonderful job, that few functions are what is delaying the project. And my developer has since fixed the. The true is I was the one that caused the delay somehow, out of ignorance. I was suppose to get something which I didn't get on time.
Pls back off my project OP and use someone else as examples ok


Note: you will get the link as soon as am ready to lunch ok

The bold text below should be the core of this discussion and I'm glad I was able to spot it from the original post. So lets work along that line my people.

moderatorr:
The beauty of a website does not reflect expertise these days, It is the functionality that you should be looking at.
Its the functionality that would reflect the experience of the programmer.

ZinoFego:
The bold text below should be the core of this discussion and I'm glad I was able to spot it from the original post. So lets work along that line my people.

Bro, what you said is the plain truth if only this thread is created for discussion purposes. However, if you read between the lines in every reply between myself and Mr. moderatorr, you will realize it is much more than that. He simply brought a lost and forgotten fight we had last week here and masked it as an educative topic. He has been foaming on the mouth since our fight. I will "expose" the details again when he throws the first punch. So far he has been warming up and I am waiting eagerly.
He was going to keep making it look as if a fraud or incompetence has occurred and he is protecting the perpetrator then after persuations from people who wil reply, he will "expose" the perpetrator (me in this case).
I am waiting...

@moderatorr its over 24 hours and you are yet to expose me.
I have to let this matter go simply because I think it is no longer an issue.
Stop feeling hurt unnecessary because I said something that even though was true, was not a serious matter and was not meant to make fun of you. If it ended up producing undesired result for you, I apologise wholeheartedly.
However, next time you have to embark on a revenge mission please think over your actions properly.

Thats it for now, if there is no new development. Take care of yourself.

Lastdon02:
hmm. Intresting.... But boss its not the guy fult na. Haba imagine one of our so called web developer (name witheld) lol. Collected 10k fo two e-commarce site. Its so so so pa·thet·ic!
So from own perspective i dont blame the Client nor the coder na condition make crayfish bend. Lol any ways shine ur eye 4 nl b4 u give out ur project o.

But beta people day Nl sha .people like A********k # my brother in d code lol. Omo. I don high 2nyt walai

10k for two ecommerce sites? lol
Well its true though, clients who pay that low should not really expect much from the web developer, because the developer may likely run out of funds mid way and be unable to deliver or deliver such a poor quality that project may be rejected.

payne4real:
Why are you guys dragging this issues, am the owner of the project and I said am ok and satisfied with what my developer did.
If he (my developer) did not do my job to my satisfaction, I will say it here. I told op when we were chating that he (my developer) did a wonderful job, that few functions are what is delaying the project. And my developer has since fixed the. The true is I was the one that caused the delay somehow, out of ignorance. I was suppose to get something which I didn't get on time.
Pls back off my project OP and use someone else as examples ok


Note: you will get the link as soon as am ready to lunch ok

What u re getting is just d beginning , when u launch d project it wld be a total flop filled up with errors .

This is what u get when u give out projects to the lowest bidder .

When good developers charge u , you wld be complaining and shouting .

payne4real:
Why are you guys dragging this issues, am the owner of the project and I said am ok and satisfied with what my developer did.
If he (my developer) did not do my job to my satisfaction, I will say it here. I told op when we were chating that he (my developer) did a wonderful job, that few functions are what is delaying the project. And my developer has since fixed the. The true is I was the one that caused the delay somehow, out of ignorance. I was suppose to get something which I didn't get on time.
Pls back off my project OP and use someone else as examples ok


Note: you will get the link as soon as am ready to lunch ok

What u re getting is just d beginning , when u launch d project it wld be a total flop filled up with errors .

This is what u get when u give out projects to the lowest bidder .

When good developers charge u , you wld be complaining and shouting .