Thanks CC and Jerry. You both make good point. Keeping it in house seem to be very troubling and I'm getting the feeling that most of you recommend going out for a website.
I can get in and manage most of the website, just a few advanced things he did that I can't update. Very frustrating that he's gone cold. I've even recommended David for other projects, but not anymore. Nor will I write anymore reference letters for him.
Jerry, I'd offer to help you no charge, as I do HTML, and can do some website work, but depending how advanced it is, I might not be the man for the job. Let me know what exactly is wrong and I might be able to put you in touch with someone who could change it if he doesn't show up again.
I can get in and manage most of the website, just a few advanced things he did that I can't update. Very frustrating that he's gone cold. I've even recommended David for other projects, but not anymore. Nor will I write anymore reference letters for him.
Ah... very similar to Wordpress. Well, if it is WP we can help even more. It is not to hard to learn, oreven for you to just start from scratch then upload to the server in exchange of the existing one once is ready.
From all these responses it's fairly clear that for the absolute majority, an automotive web company is the way to go for a platform.
I see a possibility of testing out a few microsites using a plugin like Car Dealer Press as a stepping stone to possibly one day running a dealer site.
I think one of the most important take aways I've had working with the 5 different automotive website companies we've used for our dealer sites is to treat them as good as you can. Forge a quality relationship, make sure to say thank you when they go above and beyond and don't bitch. The better the relationship you have with them the better they will make your site!
My apologies Jerry, I've been a little sideswiped and preoccupied with some personal issues that were beyond my control. I did notify a bunch of people of my hiatus, but I guess you didn't make it to the list. Again, I'm sorry.
This is why I always send off original artwork, etc. when a job is complete.