For other design businesses/agencies here, how many of us are facing the possibility of losing our businesses as a result of the loss Muse? For my business, it's not that my entire business was built around Muse (and thankfully, we never used Business Catalyst at all), but all of the sites that we have built for our clients over the last 5 years have been in Muse. Over the course of the next few years, updates to browsers will eventually cause all of our clients' websites to no longer function (or lose elements of functionality over time). I, for one, have no idea when and how this will all unfold. I would like to be optimistic in thinking that browser updates (and, most likely, releases of new portable web devices) over the next 2, 3, 4+ years MAY not sharply/critically affect the sites that we've built. But, of course I have no idea. The way that I understand this: As of May of 2019, any release of any update to any browser, at any time (could be within weeks or within years), the sites that we built for our clients will begin to lose or will suddenly lose partial or all functionality on the web. Obviously, my clients will not tolerate this and will hold MY BUSINESS responsible for selling a website that was not sustainable on the web. If our most recent websites can survive 4+ years, it may be easier to convince those clients that the lifespan of their website has reached its end and it's necessary to rebuild. (Most of my clients expect their website to have a lifespan of at least 5 years.) However, if sites that we've just launched become defunct in a year, those clients are going to potentially take legal action against my business if we do not get ahead of this. I am very curious to know how many others are in similar situations. Do you feel that your business/livelihood is in jeopardy? What are some of your initial ideas for protecting yourself (legally) through this? What are some of your initial ideas for breaking the news to clients? Do you plan to charge your clients to rebuild their sites on another platform? If so, what are some of your thoughts on how/what to charge for that service? Do you plan to rebuild your client sites on a different platform at NO CHARGE? I have done a bit of math as the numbers relate to my business and have determined that rebuilding all applicable websites for my clients onto a new platform will require 3 years worth of work!! Not only and am I, personally, not physically or mentally up to that kind of challenge, there's obviously no way that I can work for three years to re-do what we have already done for our clients at little to no compensation! However, charging clients to rebuild runs the risk of seeming opportunistic through this and/or putting us MORE accountable than we already feel to our clients through all of this. Any suggestions/advice that you can share related to your own situations, as a business or freelancer whose livelihood has relied on the services that you've provided through Muse, would be really helpful to me - and others, I am sure, as we go through this madness together. At this point, I am just not sure that my business can survive. I am trying to be optimistic and open-minded, but I also want to be realistic as to the mindset of my clients and their expectations...and understand my legal obligations to my clients based on the services that I have sold. (For my business, I do have some disclaimers in place, but that doesn't always help protect against legal threat or action and certainly doesn't work to manage expectations). I have worked extremely hard for the last 25+ years to provide reliable, reputable services, and now my entire reputation as a professional, feels like its on the line. How I handle this situation with my clients is going to be extremely important. Any advice, suggestions, personal stories, or guidance from others in this same or similar situation is very much appreciated. Thanks!
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