I want an online presence to promote my business in a professional    manner. What do I absolutely need to achieve this?
Minimally, you need a professionally developed website, a domain name, and hosting facilities for your website. You also need the website to be uploaded onto your hosting facilities and then promoted properly to the search engines so that the website is properly crawled and indexed.
Why shouldn’t I just design the website myself?
This is certainly an option. Whether it’s a good one for you depends on the quality of the website you desire and the extent of your skill in this area. If you lack the necessary software or experience in graphic or visual design, it's not as easy as you might have been told. Creating a website can be surprisingly complicated and requires a wide range of skill sets. For these reasons, most people retain professionals who specialize in website design and development.
Can you register the domain name I’d like to use?
Yes. We’ll be happy to check on the availability of any name you’re interested in. If it’s available, we can register it for your use.
My website needs to be updated. Can you help?
Yes, we’d be happy to look at your existing website and give you a quote to update or enhance it.
Will you redesign my website?
Yes. We can either redesign your web site in a way that retains the existing style or we can redesign it to give you a new image. We’ll be happy to provide you with a free website evaluation.
How much will a website cost me?
Our fee varies depending on the size of the website design and its complexity. Unlike many of our peers, we provide set web design pricing options. If you’d like, we’ll be pleased to discuss your website design with you and provide you with a firm quote.
Are there any hidden costs associated with your website design    services?
No. We discuss your website requirements with you and then provide you with a price quote. Once you have placed an order for your website design with us, that quote will be strictly adhered to. If there are changes to the project that necessitate a change in the quote, we won’t make the change until we’ve discussed it with you and have your approval.
Can you provide all our web design and hosting services?
Yes, we can service all of your needs. We can register your domain name, design your website, provide website hosting, and arrange your email accounts for you.
Can I get email with my website?
Yes, we will set up email accounts for you. At the outset, you will probably want to set up several addresses. You’ll be able to add additional addresses as needed.
I want you to design my web site. What’s the first step?
Simply fill our request consulation form to start the process.
How long will it take for my web site to be designed?
The timeline of the project will be discussed with and dictated by you. If you have a deadline in mind, we’ll let you know whether it’s realistic and then work towards meeting whatever timeline we’ve agreed on. That said, we’ve found that the most common pacing factor in the completion of a web design project is completion of the unique textual content concerning your business that you'll be creating for your site.
Will we need to have a face to face meeting in connection with the    website design?
When practicable, we’ll want to meet with you at least once before we start the design process. However, this isn’t imperative. We’ll often work via email and telephone only. In either case, we’ll be posting suggested website designs onto the internet in a private place where only you can view them. We’ll then consult with you regularly to discuss progress so that the completed website design is exactly what you want.
Once my website design is completed, will you maintain the site?
We fully support any website we design and are always available should you encounter any problems. We also offer routine website maintenance so that your website can be regularly updated. We charge a monthly fee to keep your site updated with your new content. This is an optional service. If you prefer, you can perform this task yourself.
What is web hosting?
Web hosting is a monthly fee that you pay someone to have your site accessible on the internet. We provide web hosting for our clients.
Can I choose you to design my web site and use my own web hosting?
Yes, you can use any web host you like. Once your website has been completed, you'll need to provide us with your web hosting ftp login information so that we can upload your website.
What content should I put on my website?
That will depend on your goals. If you run a business website, you’ll want to emphasize information about your products or services. A good starting point in answering this question is to take a look at the websites of your competitors for ideas.
How many pages can I have on my web site?
As many as you like. The nature of your business and the objectives you have for your website will determine the answer to this question.
Will my website be search engine friendly?
All of our websites are created with search engines in mind. The website design will conform with search engine guidelines. It’s a good idea to have your website re-evaluated periodically since the search engines regularly alter their rules and algorithms.
Do I need a database on my website?
You might. The answer will depend upon the amount of information you want displayed. If you have many products/services, then it may be advantageous to have a database incorporated into your website design. We’ll discuss this with you and if a database is required, we’ll explain in detail exactly how this will work. Your website design will be tailored to suit your specific requirements.
Will everyone see my website the same?
Your visitors will see some things differently depending on their browser, screen resolution setting and their individual computer settings and toolbars. We design sites with that in mind and preview them in several browser types and resolution settings.
What are my options for e-commerce or online donations?
You can take payments online in a number of ways. The best known is method is PayPal. This is an inexpensive way to start taking payments quickly, especially if you don't have a merchant account. With PayPal, your visitors can pay you with a credit card or by sending a payment from their checking account in the form of an echeck. PayPal provides a shopping cart and many other free services that are helpful to sites that are starting out. Another inexpensive option is a free solution called Mal's e-commerce. Mal's is a shopping cart system that is remotely hosted. With the free version, you can accept PayPal, offline payments like checks, and credit cards if you have your own way to charge them already. You could also decide to create a full e-commerce solution. This will involve many different components - a merchant account from a bank, a payment gateway service that allows you to accept payments into your merchant account from your website (this is often bundled with the merchant account), a shopping cart or payment script that integrates with your payment gateway, and certain elements of the server environment like having an SSL certificate and a static IP. There are some shopping carts that are available as pre-packaged scripts and can be customized for your situation, or a custom payment script can be developed that exactly matches your needs. Full e-commerce solutions are much more expensive and time-consuming to develop than PayPal or Mal's, but they can be integrated into your website for a truly seamless payment experience
When can I update my website content?
If your website includes an on-line content management system, you’ll be able to access your administration areas and make updates as frequently as you wish. If your website has been designed without using this type of system and you don't have html. skills, we’ll be happy to update the website for you. Our management fees for performing this service are very reasonable.
How do I update my website?
There are a number of methods which can be used to update websites. The method you choose and the functionality we build into your website design is up to you. If you have a small website consisting of just a few relatively static pages and will only need to make infrequent changes, it’s probably more cost effective simply to ask us to make them for you when desired for a very reasonable monthly maintenance fee. Other methods which are frequently chosen are largely dependant upon how much data you have and how you store this information. We can design an on-line content management system that will allow you to update individual products/pages/services or particular sections of your website dynamically. We can also provide functionality that allows you can upload your entire product complement to the website in one action using spreadsheets. The updating process can be tailored to suit your particular needs.
Is there any training necessary to work with a content management    system?
No. Content management systems are relatively easy to use. We’ll run through the administration screens with you when we design the site. If you get stuck, we’ll be available to run through the procedures or answer any questions you may have.
What is the difference between a "static" and a "dynamic" site?
A static site is one that is written in HTML only. Each page is a separate document and there is no underlying database. What this means as a practical matter is that the only way to edit the site is to go into each page and edit the code. You either have to do this yourself or ask us to go in and perform the edit each time you want something changed. A dynamic site is one that is written using more complex code. We create an area where you can log in and change various parts of the site, such as adding information or products. You can do this because each page is constructed based on the information in a database and the information in that database can be changed via another interface. Dynamic sites can reduce ongoing maintenance costs. However, they cost more to design and implement because they require more complex coding and a content management utility needs to be developed to help manage website information. Many websites have some dynamic areas, such as a product catalog where there is a need to change information or pictures regularly, and other areas that are static.
Can I see how many visitors I've had to my website?
Yes, we can provide web tracking software that records where you visitors are coming from and which pages they’re looking at, which search engines are being used, which phrases are being typed into which search engines and many more interesting web tracking facts which you should find useful in your marketing efforts.
Should my website be full of animation and complex visual effects?
If it doesn’t detract from what you are trying to accomplish within the website, animation and visual effects can look great. However, all too often gimmicks like this have the complete opposite effect and end up distracting visitors from what you are trying to accomplish. Another negative effect of high-tech gimmicks is that they take longer to load. The key to good web site design is to achieve a good balance between form and functionality.
Who owns my website once it's completed?
The website belongs to you.
I don't sell products online. Why do I need a website?
A professionally designed website will benefit any type of business. No matter what industry you participate in, the internet is the best place to reach a broad audience. Without a website, you may be depriving your business of an effective means of expanding your client-base and increasing profit. Increasingly, the internet is the only tool people are using to find the products and services they need.
Does it really matter what my website looks like?
It’s critical. You want to put your best foot forward when you decide to market your company online. The best way to do this is by creating a website that makes a good first impression. Your website should not only impress visitors aesthetically but it should also instill confidence in the product and/or service that you offer.
If I have a first class website, should I still invest in on line marketing?
Even a great website won’t guarantee an influx of new customers. Once your new website has been posted and indexed by the search engine companies, we encourage you to consider the online marketing options available. Special package offers are available if you’re interested in purchasing both our website design and marketing services.
