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Monday, February 06, 2012

Pricing

Pricing for a website is one of the most difficult tasks to complete for any web designer. Do you charge by the hour or a fixed fee? Do you charge extra for revisions or include it in the price?  A website by nature can become very time consuming and with some companies which work (and charge) by the hour, things which look great value to start with can end up being quite expensive if you do not have everything to hand and ready.

I charge per site with a price which is agreed upon at the start, with a spec to work to which can be subject to a little bit of flexibility.  I am not a large group of web designers in corporate offices, I am a freelance hobbyist,working from home who has constructed quite a few websites and would like to continue earning a little money doing what I enjoy.  I like to think that my websites are functional and competant, ie do the job they were built to do, without breaking the bank.

I have broken my charges down into two categories;

  • Standard Joomla Website - from £70
  • Ecommerce Site / From £250

Standard Joomla based Website

This is a 5 or 6 page website with functions ranging from blogging and interactive maps to guestbooks and sleek looking photo galleries. These are mainly to advertise your products

E commerce Website

This would include the setting up of the joomla website and shopping system. It would include some support showing how the system works and helping to get the website populated with saleable products. Once the shop is set up, it is handed over to the client, however, I would continue to work with the client to make sur that everything is working smoothly and help with basic advice and training. This is the most challenging kind of website as e commerce can be complicated, especially if client has never had a website before.

I pride myself on my customer service and will continue to assist and advise on whatever issues arise from e commerce sales

This is just a guide like I mentioned as there are many variables within the building process, do you have a domain name? do you need a host? Logo design?

Some people have given me a spec such as - I want a website like this one...http://www.somewebsite.com - which is great as it gives me something to work with, what it might look like, what function does it serve, does it need any specialized functions incorporating into it.

Anyhow, bottom line - if you let me know what you want, I will try to give you a really competitive quote.

Slideshow

  • Sunflowertouchsupply.com

  • Plumasysinamay.com

  • Adstestwebsite.co.uk

  • Lakesideholidayhomeforsaleinspain.com

  • Visitalham.com

  • Casalacuesta.co.uk

Quick Contact

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Ask the Question

Questions

General FAQ

How do I pay?

I only accept payment through Paypal, which can incorporate credit card payment

What do you do exactly?

I will design the web site, the layout etc, and make sure that it works. You, the client, need to provide all the content, the wording, the photographs which are to be displayed on the website. If you wish for a logo, I can design a basic one free of charge. If you need some generic photographs in the theme of your website, I can also aquire these for a small charge
How long for Website from start to finish?
This depends on many factors – If all photos and info are ready from day 1, the initial sample is deemed acceptable, around 3 – 4 days after full payment. 7 days would probably be a realistic target (although you will be able to see the site from day 1 as it is developed)

Are there any ongoing costs?

Once the site is “signed off”, you will only need to pay for the domain name and hosting costs, usually annually. The costs involved for the domain name and hosting can vary, however, these will be stated at the start of the project.
What if I need something changed or help?
Send an email, most small changes can be done quickly and free of charge, obviously if you would like major changes done, there will be some charge ( depending on the amount of change.
If you need some technical help or advice, just send an email.

Search Engines like Google,Yahoo,Bing etc

I will submit the site to the major search engines (so it can be found) on completion of the site. This does not mean that you will be guaranteed to appear on the search engines, just that you can be found.

Simplified Web Design Terms

Web Page

A page is a single scrollable space, which appears on your computer screen.

Domain Name

My domain name is www.adswebsolutions.com . You can think of this as a home address – it is where the website lives. You normally buy these for 1 or 2 years depending on your preferences. Sometimes can be included free when you buy hosting.  I arrange this for you.
Hosting
While you may have a domain name (an address), you will also need to pay for the hosting of your website at that domain for people to be able to use it (the house it lives in). I include free basic hosting for the first year on my preferred hosting, however, if your website is going to be e-commerce (online shop) or an intensively used web site – I would recommend your own hosting (which I can organise from start to finish)

Contact Form

A contact form is a way of allowing people who browse your website contact you in a similar way to email but is more structured as you can decided what fields(boxes) it will include. Fields can be absolutely anything you want but typically include things like; name, telephone number etc.  You can normally have a basic contact form which asks for name,  telephone, email address etc included and it is far easier for clients to send you messages than opening their email to send a message.
Email Address
An email address is the letterbox to your web site. It is a unique address where your messages etc are sent

Database

A database is like a telephone directory – it is a structured way of storing information. The CMS sites I build use a database to draw and store information, which is easily changed by website owner or authorised person. This is ideal for items which you want to change frequently, rental rates, restaurant menus.  To change these things you just need to log in to a part of the website and change them.

CMS Joomla Website

I use Joomla to create my Content Management Sites – it is free software, very powerful, very flexible and one of the most popular CMS programs available. All of the website is stored on a server (the Host) and can be changed by the owner from any computer. There are also Static Websites which the web designer keeps under control and any changes need to be done by him, normally at a small charge

I want a Website - What Next?

Step 1: You send some basic Information

The first step is for you to send your idea for the website, colour schemes, logos, number of pages, page titles. If there is a current website that you like the look of, the address of that website and also an idea of what the website will need to offer, for example

  • Photo Gallery
  • Booking System
  • Contact Form
  • Blogging Capabilities
  • I like the following site style: http://www.adstestwebsite.co.uk
  • The domain name you would like

Once you have provided this basic information I will prepare a sample web page which will show you  the basic style of your new website. You simply need to look at it and say if it is the type of web page you had in mind.
If you think that the web page looks good – I will invoice you via Paypal, an invoice for 25% of the websites agreed fee.

 

Step 2:  I build your sample Website

On receiving the 25% fee,  I will build a functioning web site, with sample content, logos etc so that you can see how it fits together. 
You will need to send all of the content of the new website, photos (JPG´s), details to be included, the wording and descriptions to be included (Microsoft Word, Wordpad etc)(this can be done via email or on a CD/DVD
Once ready, I will send you an address for you to view the sample web design/website for proofing.

Step 3: Finalising Everything

You have now seen a basic idea of how the website will look. It is now time to replace any sample information with actual information.
VERY IMPORTANT – You will need to send the content for your website, which you have prepared.
The sample website by now should look something like the finished website.
Have a good look as the next step is payment....

Step 4: Payment

The website now looks like the finished article – before it is hosted or submitted to the search engines for listing, you will need to pay the remaining 75% of the fee.
That done – site will go live to the whole world

Step 5: Is that the end?

Not really the end,  I like to make sure that my customers are happy with the goods, so if there are any problems, amendments etc, I will be on hand to help and support with the new website to ensure that it runs fine.