The Web Design industry is still an extremely random and fragmented industry – full of industry mavericks. And unfortunately, for the unsuspecting small business owner, they usually don’t find out that they’re dealing with one until they have paid all their money and been given a website that is not up to their expectations. Or they find themselves becoming the owner of a website that will actually turn potential clients away from their business rather than creating for them potential business opportunities.

One of the worst scenarios that I have noticed is when a small business owner discovers that their web designer has disappeared, even possibly with the ownership of their domain name, or that they are stuck with a design company that has a central Content Management System in place that makes for impossible transfer of a website to a new web host. And the list goes on and on.

Unfortunately for the small business owner, in the web design industry we have seen graphic designers, technicians, university students, school students and even the occasional brother-in-law dabbling in web design. At times this has caused grave problems for the uninitiated.

Hence the rise of the web design franchise model.

It is now time for the small business owner to recognize that they have the opportunity of dealing with a business, that because of the franchise model, is forced to develop systems, excellence, consistency, customer support built for the long haul and not necessarily for the ‘quick buck’. The very process of franchising a web design business drives the business owner to improve their business continually on all fronts. These are all very important parts of any good franchising business model.

Now don’t misunderstand me. There are still some great web designs that are produced by those who do not own a franchise. But for the peace of mind for those parting with money, when it comes to web design, search engine optimisation, social media marketing etc. – there is appearing more and more on the horizon of Internet land the added choice of dealing with reputable web design franchises.

So what do these franchises look like?

Well firstly the franchisor should be providing all the support networks which include, design, technical support, seo specialists, online marketing specialists, professional copywriters, graphic designers, customer support provisions and even lead generation and marketing support.

And then when it comes to the franchisees. These should be people with exceptional people, sales and marketing skills who engage with the clients. They are neither web designers nor web technicians, but have enough knowledge, because of the training provided by the franchisor, to discover what the client’s web needs are and to then provide web solutions that will assist the small business owner to effectively market their business online. They are then backed up at head office by a superior professional force of specialists in their respective niches to fulfil what the franchisees have promised their clients.

The very presence of more and more Web Design Franchises on the horizon globally is going to be great for the industry – demanding systems, professionalism and a whole lot more so that the customer is provided with the best possible service and thus position small business owners to reap the greatest rewards from the online world – that is becoming a vital arm for business success in the 21^st century.