I do print as well as web design work, and it all starts out the same with PERCEPTION. How do you want to be percieved? Here are some questions I ask clients so I can hit the nail on the head.
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What are three (or more) adjectives to describe how your business should be perceived? For example, conservative, progressive, casual, serious, humorous, professional, holistic, magical, etc....you get the idea.
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Is this different than the current perception?
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What kind of colors do you like?
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What other websites or print material do you like, what styles?
Contact me by email or phone (561) 715-8262, for an initial consultation. After we talk, I can give you an estimate on cost. Once we have decided to work together, I send you a contract laying out the terms and payment plan. After I receive a signed contract and deposit, I begin working on the layout. I send the layout to you in a jpg format for you to approve. Once I receive an approval, I send you a request for the second payment and work on the rest of the site with your content.
As I am working on the site, I will upload it for you to review per page. You send me comments or changes and I continue the process until your website is completed. At that point, I upload the rest of it to your host and receive the final third payment. You are on the internet and ready to do business!
The same holds true for print work. For logos and illustrations, I sketch it out by hand and work it up roughly for approval.
For print work, it is the same, except we work by email instead of an online preview. I make changes via your comments until the project is complete.
Personal checks, money orders, cashiers checks, Visa or Mastercard via Paypal. Here is a link to my account for Paypal.
What is a domain name?
A domain name is the
actual name of the website...www.yourname.com. It is the address of the site and what people type in when they look for your site. You can buy a domain for around $8.00 or $9.00 a year at www.godaddy.com or www.register.com. Or, you can have me set up the domain name and hosting for a small fee.
Hosting is where you actually put the files of the website when people go to your site on the internet. An example is that the domain name is the address of the place you live, and the hosting is the actual piece of real estate where you build your home. It is the same way with the internet. I refer people to a good affordable hosting company called Applied Innovations.
That depends on the website. Do you want a small, brochure type website that is static and just tells people about your business? Or are you looking to do eccomerce or have a high end flash website? After getting some detail on what type of website you are looking to build, I will give a written estimate on cost. Small static sites can start around $500 and larger and more detailed sites with animation go up from there.
Search engine optimization is using specific keywords and phrases relevant to your business and using them in the title and description tags in the code of your website. I also use those specific keywords and phrases in the text of the webpage and the image alt tags. If you have a specific smaller market, it works pretty well to get you on the first and second page. If you have a wider market; it is a bit more difficult to complete with the top spot. I include search engine optimization when building pages.
With an optimized site, it is easier for your customer base to find you, but another way to get higher visibility is to exchange links with similar businesses. Google places a higher rank to links coming into the site as well as an optimized site. Here is a good article explaining page rank.
You are going to have to use a software program to update your own site and upload the files to your hosting via the software or a separate ftp program. The following software is pretty good and easy to use for someone without a design background.
Contribute
Front Page
Or you can pick through a wide assortment of web editing software on about.com.
Once you have picked an editor, I can give you the user name and password of your site so you can make your own updates.
If you don't have time or just want to concentrate on building your business, I would be happy to make updates to your site at my hourly rate.
I use Constant Contact for email marketing. I can design a custom email for you and send it out through this service. You can sign up for the service, give me the login information and I will design and get it ready for you. I can even pick a good time using my astrology knowledge for abundance and prosperity!
Constant Constact Email Marketing
