1.
What is the cost of a custom designed website?
The cost is completely dependent upon what you want for
your online presentation. The more graphics and pages you
require, the greater the time required to construct the
site. Generally speaking, we find that most websites for
individuals starting out on the internet will run between
$500 and $1600 (this is a one-time fee). We will give you
an estimate after you indicate to us what elements you
wish to include.
If you are working within a very limited budget, then
you should begin with a strong foundation, and
subsequently add more pages & graphics as your online
sales increase. We can create a fully functional e-commerce
enabled site for you (multiple pages), presenting your
best 10 selling items, for approximately $775. Or, if you
need more than 10 items, you may add as many as you want on
a per page basis.
In addition to the cost of constructing your site, the
other charges you will incur are for your site's hosting,
domain registration and any scripts or programs you want
within your site. Your hosting and domain registration
fees are paid by you directly to the provider of that
service. Scripts and programs you wish incorporated when
your site is built, are purchased and installed by us. We
will charge you the actual cost of the program plus our
installation and configuration fee.
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2.
What is the first step I need to take for my website?
First, gather together the graphics and text that will
make up the content for your various pages. Your website
is a reflection of you and your business, therefore only
you can determine what is most important to present.
Simultaneously, determine your budget, and
realistically assess the extent of your own initial online
presentation.
.
3.
Who will make changes to my site after it is online?
You
may
either outsource the job to us to make the changes for
you, or you have the option to make those changes yourself
if you have the necessary equipment and expertise. If
you'd prefer to have us process your site content changes,
we will present you with a Maintenance Package fee
schedule, applicable to your specific needs.
.
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4.
Is the cost of a website a yearly fee, or is it one time
only?
The
cost of site construction (our design services) is a
one time only charge. As mentioned above, you will have a
monthly fee that you will pay directly to your site's
hosting service, and of course if you want us to make
ongoing updates to your site, then there would be a charge
(based on the extent of the changes), but that is it. If
you do not make any changes for awhile, then there is no
more expense.
.
5.
Where should my site be hosted?
We
can set you up with an affordable and dependable hosting
service if you have not already selected one. The cost of
the hosting runs between $10 to $50 per month, and depends
upon how much traffic you expect your site to receive and
whether or not you want a shopping cart. Once the hosting
account is set up, they will bill you directly.
Be
aware that hosting services are not created equal. We
recommend
HCT
Hosting,
as their pricing is very competitive, plus they offer FrontPage
extensions, a cgi-bin, formmail and a shopping cart program that is excellent.
You can register or transfer your domain at
HCT
Hosting and sign up for hosting in one visit. If you have concerns
or questions about the hosting of your site, please email
us.
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6.
Will the costs go up every year?
The
cost of website hosting has been very stable, so it is
unlikely that the expense would rise significantly.
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7.
If you design my site, will my graphics be fast loading?
We
use software and file compression techniques to keep the
total size of graphics on each webpage to a minimum
(without sacrificing quality), so consequently the pages
we design download as rapidly as possible.
.
8.
Do I need to accept payment by credit card for my products?
Yes
- if you wish to sell directly via your site. People who
use the web for the purchase of goods and services expect
to be able to make payment by credit card.
The best approach is to have your own "merchant
account" to accept Visa & MasterCard. We
recommend
Authorize.net.
This cost is minimal and their service will pay for itself
ten times over.
Email
us if you would like additional information, as we
will refer you to a reseller that can get you approved
quickly.
If your site is not for direct sales, but rather is
meant to be a personal page, then accepting credit cards
is not an issue.
.
9.
Should I have a secure shopping cart?
Again, if you want to make direct sales, then you
definitely should include a secure cart. One of the keys
to making online sales is to make it as easy as possible
for your customers. When they see something they like,
they want to buy it at that moment, and a secure shopping
cart makes that possible.
If we design your site, and you select
HCT
Hosting as your host, (choose the plan that includes the shopping
cart) and Authorize.net as your merchant account, we will
set you up with a fully integrated shopping cart so you
can accept credit cards, checks, money orders and PayPal.
This cart has no monthly fee, so the only extra charge to
you is for the time it takes us to construct the pages and
configure the coding.
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10.
How are most people finding web sites on the Internet?
We
construct sites that are "search engine
friendly", and upon completion, we register every web
site we design with the top search engines that are still
free. This helps to make your Internet address available
to anyone looking specifically for you, your services or
your products.
Many of the larger search services - such as Yahoo and
Looksmart - now require payment if you want to be included
in their databases. You should give serious consideration
to Yahoo, and eventually sign up for several of the others
as well.
Also, it is essential that you promote your unique web
address by adding it to all of your advertising, mailings,
and literature - including business cards, brochures, etc.
Finally, you should develop linking relationships with
other web sites where potential customers are most likely
to visit - if you'd like, we will include a "Recommended
Sites" page on your website where these reciprocal
links can be placed.
.
11.
How long will it take before sales begin from my site?
There
is no way for us answer that. Some clients make sales
within their first month, and others take a year. But one
thing is for sure - remember this above everything else -
you will only get out of your website what you put into
it. If you take the time to perform steady
promotion, then you will be far more likely to see
favorable returns.
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12.
Should I have my own domain name?
Yes,
because a good domain name is very important to online
success. Ideally, it should be reasonably short; should be
easy to spell; easy to remember; and have some relation to
what you do. Register your domain name at
HCT
Hosting,
as they offer some of the lowest rates for domain
registration and domain transfer.
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13.
How can I get my graphics and text content to you?
You
may send your graphics to us via email, as attachments.
Or, you may snailmail them to us on a CD. If you send your
photos to us via snailmail for scanning, we do charge $5
per scan.
Your text content should be sent to us via email,
either in an email message, or preferably in a Word .doc.
We will edit and spell check, but most of the actual
descriptive phrasing should be worked out by you - after
all, no one knows better than you what to say about your
own business.
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14.
How do we make payment to you?
Prior to us starting work on your site, we require 50%
(of total proposed cost) in advance, 25% at the 3/4 point,
balance upon completion.
You may remit payment via credit card, check or money
order.
Checks should be mailed to:
BasketMagic
POB 11084
Tacoma, WA 98411
Credit card payment, eCheck payments and direct fund
transfers should be processed through
PayPal,
and sent to email:
payments@mochabaydesign.com
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15.
How long will it take before my
site is active?
That
depends on how well you have organized your materials and
how full our own schedule is at the time. The best thing
to do is to first contact
us as soon as possible to initiate the process.
Once we begin work on your site, then things move along
steadily. It is more important to do it right than to do
it fast.