Caveat Emptor

I don’t really like taking a snipe at individuals or companies but I really have been amazed over the last couple of weeks by the service offered by the Ufindus website design service. Since July 2008, Ufindus has been owned by BT and at the time of the acquisition it was stated that “Ufindus will play an important role in the continuing growth of BT Directories' new media business”.

One of my clients has paid Ufindus to develop and host his new website, and I have been working with him to create the sitemap, text, meta-tags and Pay-per-Click adverts that will form the basis of his new site.

To begin with, let’s all understand that Ufindus is an online business directory operation, and BT is a provider of telephone and broadband infrastructure and the use thereof. Therefore it is reasonable that they will be doing all they can to get as many people as possible to buy the infrastructure services and then use them. I can’t disagree with that.

They also provide the Ufindus website design service and hosting service, and on their website they say:

Get a professional custom designed site to your specification, built by our team of professional designers and developers at a fraction of design agency costs.

Looking for a unique custom-designed website that will give your company the professional image that you desire plus an edge over your competition? Our expert designers can create exactly what you are looking for at a fraction of the industry prices. Well don't worry, help is at hand!

as well as being agents for the purchase and renewal of web addresses.

Like any other address selling and site hosting service, they will advertise themselves at a newly acquired address until the ‘proper’ home page is uploaded. Again I cannot disagree with this intention.

However, this ‘holding page’ gave considerable prominence to a link allowing viewers to search for my client’s competitors in nearby and further reaching locations, using the Ufindus directory!

With my assistance, my client quickly sent an ‘Under Construction’ page, in html format, to Ufindus and they merely replaced part of their holding text with his, rather than replacing the whole page! The link to search the Ufindus directory for his competitors remained!

He has now submitted the copy we worked on together for all his pages and Ufindus have constructed a page design that is certainly not in their ‘holding’ format. However, there still remains a link to search the Ufindus directory for his competitors! Hardly a “site to your specification” or “exactly what you were looking for” I contend.

I will certainly be recommending to anyone else not to use this service.