Today I made yet another starting discovery at how bad the Hong Kong web design and development scene is, and no, I don't go out of my way to look for them, but I do believe I have seen a case of bad web development and design in Hong Kong almost once every month.

This example I am happy to list as it isn't discovered due to me working on a client's website or a propsective site. The company in question is Advitor. http://www.advitor.com

If you go onto their site today you'll see a really nicely designed and impressive home page. But upon closer look, many of the menus doesn't work as it should - coming from a good designer. And if you really look into the source code you'll notice this line: <!-- Mirrored from www.zaum.co.uk/default.htm by HTTrack Website Copier/3.x [XR&CO'2010], Wed, 26 Jan 2011 11:00:44 GMT -->.

Upon some deeper research. I found that the entire source code was ripped by HTTrack from a Zaum & Brown agency in the UK which has now gone under. This is what Zaum & Brown's site looked like http://creattica.com/css/zaum-brown/21854 

Needless to say, the very act of ripping and then claiming as your own using HTTrack if proven to be without the consent of Zaum & Brown is illegal as it is. 

Even if I give them the benefits of a doubt and assume they have consent. Why does a supposedly capable web design and development company feel the need to rip of other's source code?

The fact is. If the perpretrator is a talented company, they would have been able to write that from scratch within 4 hours.

So bewarn.

These people who feels the need to rip are exactly the type that cannot provide reliablility, security, quality and more importantly real return on investment to clients and undermines the entire web design and development industry in Hong Kong.

They're not the only ones who're incapable. In the past year, even though I have quit the agency scene for over a year, I have personally seen unencrypted checkouts, unencrypted passwords, illegal storage of credit card details, super slow product search pages just a few that I remember off the top of my head. (which btw, has limited memory capacity)

Well, rounding this post off with a little bit of shameless plug. If you are in need of a quality and reliable partner to expand your business online in Hong Kong. Please let us know at Farfuture.hk (contact hello@farfuture.hk). I run this with my artistiic partner whom graduated in Art in Paris who is an avid digital techie with the same values I do as well. 

Until next time. Stay tuned in on my twitter. ;)