Recently we have been working on a website for a consumer product for a large client. Part of the website entailed the use of a web form to collect visitor information of which the client planned to utilize future marketing purposes. We were faced with the ever so common cross roads of many web companies.

Do we build it ourselves or utilize a third party application?

IT’S IN OUR BLOOD

As web designers and/or developers our first instinct is to take the path of building the form, notification, and reporting tools ourselves. It is this very instinct that leads us in the career path we choose. Many web designers and developers, like us, began their careers because they were inspired and intrigued by the challenge of building a better mouse trap…And then feeding the inner ego by proving that we can. We are all basically web grease monkeys with a core DIY mentality. But this tendency and frame of mind is not always what is best for our client’s interests.

THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED

For many of our clients we opted for the road less traveled (Trust me, we have learned this skill over time. We have been guilty of taking the DIY path in the past). In the project mentioned above, we used a great service called Wufoo. It has all of the features our client needed and more (But not too much more!). Yes, the form application was a perfect fit for the client’s goals and cost them around just $9 a month. Needless to say, this amount is a small fraction of the cost to build a form tool with notification and reporting features such as Wufoo with a great User Interface to boot.

MONEY MONEY MONEY

Let us not forget the almighty dollar. Yes, we could have made more on the project if we had pitched the custom application. Too many times our industry is focused on our own budget goals, not our that of our clients. So much so, that our clients have become used to it. We really have to explain to many of our clients that services like this are not taboo. If we can truly provide value and exceed our clients’ expectations they will come back for more.

MOVING FORWARD

We are not trying to toot our own horn here. What we are trying to do is pass along a lesson learned: Be open to the possibility that the most simple solution can often be the best.

“All other things being equal, the simplest solution is the best.” - Occam’s razor

A short list of services to try on your client’s next project:

Photo gallery:
Flickr can be good for SEO over a typical website photo gallery.

Video:
Unless you have been stranded on a deserted island, you of course know of YouTube, but also check other services like vimeo and viddler.

Online Surveys:
If you’re looking for a great survey tool and don’t mind a minimal appearance take a look at Surveymonkey.com.

Share your knowledge, chime in with your favorite third party services and/or application.