How to convince clients that they need to entirely redo their website?

Question

My company is following a bunch of clients and one of them has a terrible legacy website from another century. We did some updates on it and we are in charge on maintaining it even if we didn't created the website in the first place.

Code sample?

<TABLE bottommargin="0" topmargin="0" rightmargin="0"><tr><td><br><br><table> <tr valign="top">
  <td align="left" width="13%" valign="top" colspan="1"><p>Address&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
<td align="left" valign="top" colspan="2"><input type="text" name="address" size="20%" class="forms" style="paragraph.css" tabindex="3"></td>
   <td align="left" width="25%" valign="top" colspan="1"><p><font color=RED>*</FONT> Date of Birth(MM/DD/YYYY)</td>
<td align="left" width="39%" valign="top"  colspan="1"><input type="text" name="DateofBirth" size="20%" class="forms" style="paragraph.css" tabindex="9"></td></tr>
</table>
</td></tr>
    </TABLE>

... not fake.

I've seen up to 8 nested tables to handle the simplest design.

The backend is a weirdly design access database connected to a classic ASP application that is really really WET. The database is filled with corrupted data. The dates are not real dates but strings, so the system is parsing them in order to sort!

It's just pure madness.

The client keeps on asking for new features and every time we do it using terrible hacks. Seriously, I'm ashamed of the code I have to write, but there's no other way since the system is not meant to evolve like this.

I do refactor some pages as I go when this is possible, but what the website needs is to be re-done from scratch. And of course I can't spend too much time refactoring since I need to add the functionality as fast as possible.

The problem is that the client don't want to. They rather spend a lot in maintaining this than spend a little more and get a new website. In 5 month they spend like 40% of what a complete redesign would cost.

This is the kind of client that don't want to understand that, even with a website looking ok, the code could be totally wrong and bad. They don't think ahead, and if I keep on having to maintain this website I think my head will explode within 2 months.

We've tried a lot of methods explaining why a redesign is necessary but they just don't listen... Stop to support the website is out of question since the company I work for don't want to lose this client.

Do you have a killer idea that would convince them right away? What would you say/do in such a situation?

Answer 1

Have you considered turning down business?

As long as you continue to patch it, they'll continue to ask you to patch it. As long as you tell them how bad it is, but keep delivering at the agreed price, it will continue to continue.

You could be better off this way. How successfully do you think you could spec and deliver a new site design at an agreed price? And then continue to be stuck with supporting a great piece of software to a miserable customer?

Answer 2

We had a similar situation with a client asking for lots of innovative features that weren't easy to implement with the existing code base. So after two years of them not doing anything we did a three week sprint (on our own cost, which they then paid for) and built the base to show off all the features they wanted. They have now started a full rewrite of their site.

Answer 3

Just show that each time the request a new feature for a horrible mess of a code that it is going to continually take longer and longer to implement until the code is refactored.

Netscape at one point threw out all their code and started again from scratch and it was basically what killed them. I would recommend against throwing everything out and just refactoring A LOT. It will be faster (what the client wants) and probably easier for you (what you want).

Plus when you do the redo, it's always easier to add new features then so make sure the customer knows this so they can get new features in at a prime time.

Businesses are interested in the bottom line. You have to show them that the cost of you refactoring and later implementing new features will be less or nearly less than want it would cost for the increased development time for the current situation. i.e. if it takes 30 hours to reimplement the design and (just throwing out numbers) another 3 hours per feature OR if you don't refactor it will take 6 hours of development time per request plus whatever the time is increased by for added complexity. Then show them where if you request X number of features, it will cost less to do it when refactored than it would when it's not.

Answer 4

Just bring out numbers. There is nothing a boss likes more than revenue. Don't show initial expenses. It will always be more on the short time. Try to put together estimates for the next 5 to 10 years. Those numbers will end up showing a reduce on their expenses.

In the end, the only language your superiors or their clients like is $$$$$$$

Maintenance for one year of current < Refactoring expenses for the first year alone

But...

Maintenance for 5-10 years of current >(>>>>>) Refactoring expenses after 5-10 years.

Once again, just talk numbers. All you have to do is prove your case.

Answer 5

It all boils down to ROI to the client. If you can genuinely and objectively illustrate that the cost of maintaining the application in light of the updates that your client wants and or the cost of dealing with potential risk will be more expensive than the cost of performing a rewrite then you can usually get buy in. You do need to present the ROI analysis in a format that is understandable and clearly objective.

Ultimately, the client isn't going to care if you are embarrassed by writing the code or even if performing the work gives you a migraine headache. Your client will care about cost savings, risk mitigation, and time to market.

Answer 6

Good luck with this one.....I don't think you are going to make headway. If you don't want to work on the code, I would walk away. The simple truth is that the code works as far as they are concerened. Rewriting the code is a convenience to you without them getting any benefit. It sucks the position you are in, but I guarantee that is how they see it. ROI really is the only way to approach it, but I am going to guess that you are low in your estimation as to how much money it will cost them (or you if you fix bid it) to rewrite the site. Rewriting something is always a major undertaking.

Playing the devil's advocate. I am not saying this is true in the least, but this is one way they could counter your ROI: The counter argument to your desire to rewrite is that maybe you are charging them too much if they need to pay you to rewrite the site to save them money. Your necessity to rewrite the code shows that maybe they need to find someone with a stronger skill set or you should drop your rates.

Answer 7

From the corporate point of view, you point out that the codebase is deeply flawed by charging more to change it, and offering to clean it up for a reasonable amount of money. That's how to convince the client (or, at least, if the client is not convinced you get a lot of money for unpleasant work).

You may have trouble convincing your higher-ups. Try to quantify the issues as much as possible. Document as accurately as you can how much extra time and effort it is to change this codebase, and provide an accurate an estimate as possible for cleaning it up.

Talk to your boss about your dislike of working on that codebase, if you have any sort of good relationship. Your boss may be able to help in doing the above. In any case, you might get some assistance, so your head will last most of the rest of the year without exploding.

Answer 8

I agree with the cost approach. Tell them that well-structured markup can reduce bandwidth costs, improve usability and allow their website to reach more customers. Log your hours and let your boss know how much time these enhancements are taking up. Demonstrate for him that if the site was redesigned, you would be able to log less hours and get more done faster.

Show them numbers that prove a redesign is worth their money. If you can't do that, you're just complaining that you have to work with a poor code base, which is irrelevant to them and everyone else more or less.

Money talks.

Answer 9

Make sure they understand (read: bear) the cost of working on the existing code base. I.e., CHARGE them according to how big a migraine it gives you. BILL every second of the five hours* you spend implementing feature X that would only take five minutes if things were well written. Subcontract a high-school kid who's interested in learning code to do whatever menial stuff you can't quickly automate and MARK UP their time 20% (don't forget to to include overhead costs--accounting, facilities, taxes, etc. before the markup).

If the client is convinced, great! If not, they'll either take their monstrosity to some charity or you'll have a new lucrative line of work.

*Some of this time should be spent refactoring the relevant parts into maintainable code.

Answer 10

ROI tells that if you invest this ammount, you'll get this ammount as payback in this timeline.

If ROI doesn't work... then maybe the calculations of costs of maintaining the current site might convince. So additional reason:

If you don't rewrite the site, the maintenance will cost you this ammount over this timeline.