1. Why
should you choose me over other web designers?
If you know what you want,
and you are able to pay whatever it takes, then getting the site
up and running can probably be done just as well by anybody. The
important thing that I can offer you though is that I
will still be around after your site is finished. I
can answer your questions, make minor changes, make major changes,
add pages, renew your hosting and domain registration, help you with
your email, give you IT support, whatever you need. All of the sites
you see on my portfolio are customers
that I am still in contact with and I regularly speak to them and
make changes to their sites. There are short quotes
on the portfolio but these customers would be willing to give more
information if you wish.
2. How much does it cost?
You need to pay for 3 things - registering the domain, hosting and my design
time. The domain and hosting are fixed costs (see later questions), and my
time is £37 per hour. How many hours design time is really up to you
.. we can do a simple site for as little as £100, yet they can end up
being nearer £800. The average for the sites on my portfolio is about £400.
3.
What is domain registration?
This means choosing a name (for example www.charlotteduff.co.uk) and registering
it in your name. I can organise this for you. For .co.uk addresses it currently
costs about £6 for 2 years registration. I can also set up email addresses
for you at your domain. Dot coms normally cost a little more, but still only
about £20 for 2 years.
4. What is hosting?
This means paying for somewhere to put your website files on the internet.
I use 3 different companies and would choose the most suitable depending on
what kind of site you're creating. I can organise this for you so you don't
have to worry about it. It costs around £25 per year.
5. I have a website already but want to make changes?
If you have the ftp username and password for your site and they are small
changes, then this is fine. If however they are more complex changes or a complete
redesign, it is likely to be more cost effective to start again from scratch
as it often takes longer to pick apart someone else's HTML code.
6.
I had a website but have lost my web designer?
If the domain and hosting are in your name, then I can sort this out for you.
If however it is all in the web designer's name and they have disappeared,
then its probably easiest if we start again from scratch with a new name.
7. I haven't really thought about my company logo yet - is this something
you can do too?
I am not a graphic designer, but I do create simple graphics. If you have a
rough idea, I can create it for you.. or sometimes a logo will evolve as we
embark on the design process. If you want something more complex, or if you
need someone to help you with ideas, I have an excellent graphic designer
colleague who we can subcontract to.
8.
I'm finding it really hard to write the text for my site
- can
you help with this?
I certainly can .. although I'm not a copywriter, I have had
lots of experience and may be able to help you fine-tune your
ideas and can advise you on how to best to structure your content.
However, if we can't get it right, I have a local freelance
copywriter that we can subcontract to.
9. How long will the website take to create?
We can get a temporary holding page up and running in a matter
of minutes, enabling you to start using the site address
straight away. If you are clear
with your ideas, there is no reason why the whole site couldn't be up and
running in 2-3 days. In practice, however, most sites tend
to take place over a period
of 1-2 months, involving emails going to and fro as we refine the design
and make changes as the site evolves.
10. What happens if I don't like your design?
The design is a 2-way process and I will try to never do too much in one
go without showing you and checking we are thinking along the same lines.
11. I want to be able to update the site myself - is this possible?
It certainly is possible, but I will talk to you in detail about what you
want to do and whether you really do want to update it yourself. Some people
do
(for example football team managers may want to regularly amend fixtures
and write match reports), but others prefer just to send me a quick email
whenever
they need to make a change. We need to weigh up the pros and cons for your
particular site. I can explain this to you.
12. Can you help me get a good ranking on search engines?
Yes and no! I can help you improve your chances and talk to you about your
particular business and give you pointers in the right direction. But I do
NOT offer a guaranteed high ranking. Be wary of those who do.
13.
Can my site have a blog?
It certainly can .. and its very easy. You (or I) just design
one using one of the various free options around and we link
to
it from
your
site. Here's
an example that took about 10 mins to create:
my example blog
14. Can I put video clips on my website?
Have a look...
[Incidentally, this was created just for an example by my sons
.. the reason there is text super-imposed on the video is that
it
was
converted
using
a trial version of software. I don't do editing myself, any clips
you want on your site would have to already be in the correct format]
15. Can I have sound tracks on my website?
Yes .. look at this example
16. Can I sell on-line using my site?
No. Although technically this is easy, I am a freelancer
working on my own and I am not prepared to take on the level
of responsibility for your
business
that allowing you to do this would entail. However, some of my sites do
have downloadable booking forms and email enquiry forms.
17.
Why should you choose me over other web designers?
Hang on, haven't we already
had this question? Yes, but I really do want to make this point
clear. If you know what you want, and you are
able to pay whatever it takes, then getting the site up and running
can probably be done just as well by anybody. The important thing
that I can offer you though is that I will still be around
after your site is finished. I can answer your questions,
make minor changes, make major changes, add pages, renew your hosting
and domain registration, help you with your email, give you IT
support, whatever you need. All of the sites you see on my portfolio are
customers that I am still in contact with and I regularly speak
to them and make changes to their sites. There
are short quotes on the portfolio but these customers would be
willing to give more information if you wish.
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