Picking a Web Designer
There are many web designers available and with so many, you're likely wondering, "How do I pick the right one for my website?". We have some things you should consider:
- Decide if it matters to you if the web designer is a licensed business or simply doing websites as a hobby. Either can be an excellent choice but future availability of the web designer is a key issue. If they are a licensed business, ask for their Unified Business Identifier (UBI) if it's not listed on their website so you can check historic information about them. Look at them the same way you would a contractor who is going to work on your house or car.
- If you want a web designer who will be available when you need them, check their posted hours of operation. If they do not have their hours listed anywhere, that might be a problem.
- Call or email them to see how long it takes for a response. That may give you an idea how they normally operate. Most should respond within 24 hours. When you need changes made right away, quick response time will be an important part of their customer service.
- While paperwork can be a hassle, a contract between you and the web designer makes good legal sense and protects you, as the consumer, in case of problems later. It should provide the services expected, the costs involved and establish ownership when the website is completed.
- Does the designer provide customer service after the website is done? There are always little changes that suddenly appear after the website is uploaded and those should be handled by the designer.
- Is the designer flexible with changes to the website or is there a limit to the number of changes that can be made? Some web designers limit changes, even from the beginning, to two (2) changes before you have to accept what is given to you.
- Will the designer explain in plain English what steps are being taken with the website? Jargon runs wild in the web design industry, such as "Web 2.0", "bandwidth", etc. The designer should be willing to take the time to explain anything you are unfamiliar with.
- Does the designer provide periodic updates as to what is being done during the process? The most frustrating thing is to pay for something and then have to wait without knowing what is going on.
Detailed Description of Our Services
We want to make sure you know what you are getting when you hire us to do your website work. From the time you first contact us, we will discuss and coordinate every step of the project with you by phone and through email.
General Web Design Services
Website Review
If you need a written website review, we will look at your website coding, see how your website shows up on Internet searches, and then provide suggestions on what may be needed. We'll send you an email report on what we find along with our suggested actions.
Website Design
Once we have the information on how you want your website to look, we will plan, setup and design the initial website.
NOTE: We prefer creating a unique website from scratch to meet your needs. However, if you see a specific design template online that you want to use, and it can be purchased, we will do that for you. We will purchase the template, charge you at cost, and use HTML and CSS to finish the design for you. Sorry, but we will not directly copy another existing website unless you own that website, due to copyright infringement restrictions.
Pictures/Images
During the project, we may need to modify, add, or remove images to bring the website in line with your requirements. We use Adobe Photoshop to maximize your photos and images to show their best online. We will also work with your graphics designer if you need to incorporate a logo into your website. (Sorry, we don't do logos.)
Create your website
Once we have created an initial "Home" page for you to review, we will send you a link to review the design at your convenience. You may suggest changes in colors, positioning of images, change in fonts, etc. We will make the changes for you and let you know when the site is ready for your review again. We will repeat the process as many times as necessary until you are satisfied with the design. Your satisfaction and acceptance of the design is our primary goal.
Initial design approval
Once you accept the initial design of the Home page, we will create all of the remaining website pages using HTML and CSS and upload them in a temporary directory. All of the content you have provided will be inserted into the appropriate pages. A link will then be sent to you to review the website when you can make suggestions for changing content, position of photos, add additional images, etc.
Website upload preparation
When you have given the go-ahead to make the website live for public view, we will add the necessary keyword coding for every page, as well as do a final check of every page. Our final checks include spelling, making sure all coding is compliant with current standards, and that all links from and to each page works properly.
Search engine registration
Once the website is uploaded, we will create a site map (.xml file) and submit it for website indexing. If you have requested a visitor's counter to be installed, we will do that as well when we know the website is being indexed by search engines.
Free 30-day follow-up support
After the website is live, we continue to support you. We will make minor changes to the website for 30 days from the day it is uploaded at no charge. We will continue to monitor the website during those 30 days to make sure nothing "breaks".
Update existing websites
We can make changes to existing websites, such as content changes, photo changes, etc. If you require major changes, we may quote a flat fee if we think it would be less expensive for you.
Redesign websites
For existing websites, we can design a new website and transfer over the content, photos, etc., replacing the existing website through your current web host service. We can do either a flat fee or charge under our maintenance rate depending upon the extent of the work and time needed.
Website content assistance
We know people do not always have time to sit down and write text for their websites. If you need help, let us know up front. We will prepare website content with your general input. We will also do research for you if you want us to. We charge, at our maintenance rate, for the time we spend doing the research and writing the content.