I once worked for a very small startup company that thought they could just keep bootstrapping their way to success, without any real investment in the company. They exaggerated their staff count in meetings with potential customers, they were incredibly tight with money for supplies, equipment and salaries (except when the company’s owner decided to built a brand new state of the art outdoor kitchen at his house, to “entertain clients”), and they hired the worse person in the world to do their website: me.
Not to say that I didn’t have talent, ambition and drive… I just wasn’t a graphic designer. I knew enough about graphic design to be dangerous, but I was still very young and very inexperienced. I did my best, and… Well, in hindsight, it wasn’t very good.
And it’s still on the Internet. And no, I won’t post the address. I’m too embarrassed.
The point is that while I got better, investing in myself and improving my capabilities and also learning that “a man has to know his limitations,” my former employer did not revisit their site and refresh their web “business card.” So, I guess it DOES reflect their company… And their credibility. They are still at it, still bootstrapping themselves along… And probably still being cheap with their employees and their customers.
If a company doesn’t sweat the details and keep in top of thier web presence, they are probably not going to take care of their customers and be professional.