How To Get Started

How do I start the website process?
Your web partner should ask you a lot of questions about your small business or service. They should try to identify your target market and required functionality before artistic elements. That should give them the information necessary to provide you an estimate for their services.

How do web design companies charge?
There is not standard in the industry. Some designers offer "packages" that you choose from to best meet your small business website design needs. Some charge per page. Some offer a quote on the entire project. Some charge by the hour. Some bill for the services rendered upon initial completion of your new website. Some forgo the design fee for a monthly service fee along with a contract. We are here to provide whatever works best for you. We are an affordable website designer and want to make sure that, most importantly, you get what you want.

What does a website usually cost?
There are great differences in how much web designers from the same area with similar talents charge. Why? Because they can! Services will sell for what people are willing to pay for them.

You can often get a small starter site for a few hundred dollars. On average you can expect to pay from $800-$10,000 for a standard business website. Whether or not the small business website designer has a store front in a commercial district can mean the difference between a $10,000 and $2,000 fee for a similar website product.

We run our business out of a home office and are very proficient at what we do. As a result, our customers enjoy great service, professional websites, and lower prices.

What is a content management system?
This is a database that runs behind your small business website and allows you to update and manage the site. This is a great advantage for you – giving you control of the content to your website. A good content manager is a WYSISYG (What You See Is What You Get) program that allows you to edit the website using an icon based menu (similar to Microsoft Word) and it converts your information into html (language for websites).

Here's more information about our content management system.

Do I need a content management system?
Without the advantage of a content manager, you will need to contact your web designer every time you want to make a small change. Or you will have to learn FTP protocols and buy a software program like Frontpage or Dreamweaver. Neither of these solutions are very user-friendly and usually leave the customer feeling frustrated. So if you can find a web designer with a good content manager, you will probably be much more satisfied in the long run.

How long does it take to set up a website?
Usually 3-6 weeks, although this depends on your needs and the schedule of the designer. There is usually a "design" phase, a "setup" phase, and a "content entry" phase.

* The design phase allows time for you and the designer to work out the overall look of the site.
* The setup phase is when the designer takes the approved design and creates an actual website.
* The content entry phase is when all the information is entered into your website and search engine optimization is done.

Here's our web design process:

What is a domain name?
Your domain name is your address on the Internet. Something like: google.com. It’s how people reach your website.

What does a domain cost?
The cost of the domain varies per company. $20 per year is an average cost.

Who should register my domain?
All Internet domains are registered through a world-wide non-profit oversight organization called ICANN. Ideally, your web partner should register your domain for you since they will be managing the website for you. They should be in a better position to manage your annual domain renewal for ICANN. Watch out though! Some providers are unethical regarding the domain ownership. Make sure that you own the domain and are not merely leasing it. The question to ask your potential domain provider is “Can I transfer my domain away at any time without a charge?” Transfers do not cost the “losing” provider any money so they shouldn’t stop you or charge you.

What is hosting?
Hosting includes all the computer services to keep your website and email accounts up and running on the public world-wide Internet.

What should I look for in a hosting company?
Obviously, there are many things you can look for to match your needs. But some thing should ask your web partner…

* Do they host the website themselves or do they outsource the service to someone else. Ideally you want a web partner who provides the hosting themselves.
* Do they backup your website? How do they do it and how often? You would prefer it to be backed up to a separate server in a different geographic region every night and viewable online (so you yourself can verify the backup.) Backups are not always restorable so make sure all backups are tested – not just on occasion.
* What is their uptime and downtime? Ask them if their numbers include planned downtime for upgrades. If not, ask what their total downtime was over the past year including maintenance. If they can’t generate specific dates and times, they aren’t measuring it.
* What is their policy on emergencies? If your website is down, do you know how to contact them?