What do I need, or need to know, to start my website?

• What are your current and future goals and objectives for developing a website?
• What is your initial budget for website design?
• A registered domain name (www.mycompany.com).
• Your company logo.
• Company business information and history.
• Company contact information (names, addresses, phone numbers, emails).
• Existing marketing materials such as brochures, flyers, sales letters, etc.
• A descriptive list of your products and/or services.
• A price list of your products or services.
• Digital photos of products, equipment, personnel, buildings, etc. that you may want to incorporate in your website.
• Any information pertaining to corporate memberships, certifications, licenses, awards, etc.
• Any ideas you may have related to your website's layout, color scheme, functionality, etc.
• A designated internal contact person who will gather required information, approve mock-ups and proofs, and guide the developer during the development and implementation phases.

what does it cost to develop a website?

Every website is different, so costs will vary based upon the size (number of pages) and functionality. We custom tailor all websitess to your specific needs and budget, and provide you with a written proposal outlining all of the objectives, key requirements, development approach, scheduled implementation date(s), and all associated costs. You may want us to create something from a simple web presence to a fully functional e-commerce site that integrates with your current in-house software systems, therefore costs can range from a few hundred dollars to thousands of dollars.

We also offer a number of rapid development website templates to further reduce your cost.

How long does it take to develop a website?

Because every website is different, development and implementationtime framess are outlined within our written proposals. You also have a direct affect on the development time and delivery dates because we count on you to provide us with required information and approvals on a timely basis. Delays in providing this information, and changes in website content are normal and should be expected in every website project. Because of this, a typical guideline for an Informational or Marketing website is 3-5 weeks. Corporate, E-Commerce, and Custom websites will take longer in relation to their complexity.

Can I start with a small website and add to it later?

Absolutely! Many of our clients do exactly that, but when doing this, it's good to know your long term goals and objectives so the design will be flexible enough to allow for future enhancements with minimal costs to you. Additionally, starting small can give you an opportunity to utilize your website quickly and understand how things really work to benefit your organization. This would be very helpful in analyzing and determining future enhancements, and the methods to develop and use them.

Can my current website be improved?

In almost all cases, YES! We will be glad to do a website review and provide you with a written report outlining our recommendations and suggestions for improvement along with any associated costs. You will be amazed at how some relatively simple, inexpensive changes can make your website take on a fresh new look, become more efficient, and attract more visitors.

How can I update my website content?

There are two ways to do this:
1) If you have a website that requires very little changing from time to time, then your developer could do this for you very economically. Most changes require an hour or two or even less, and an on-going maintenance rate can be established in advance.
2) If you have pages on your website that will change often, such as product/item lists, special pricing/sales, or news articles, then we would suggest making these pages database driven. We could then develop an Administrative Module that would allow you to update the page content yourself, without any programming knowledge. This would save you the cost of paying a developer every time something changes.

How do I get listed on the search engines?

Once you establish a site and domain name, your domain name is initially propagated through all the search engines to inform them of your presence. Search engines constantly change their algorithms and can drop your listing because of non-compliance or because your site remains unchanged for a length of time. When designing your website, we first make sure that the page content and the meta tags for each page are unique and relate to each other. This will result in higher listings from the search engines. In addition to that, we partner with a search engine optimization firm that can further optimize your site by performing monthly resubmissions to the top 20 search engines to ensure that you are always compliant and registered within their databases, and are receiving the highest listings possible. Of course there are costs to optimize your site, and through proper planning, this service can be affordable to most organizations.

Can I generate income with my website?

You sure can! If you have any type of item or service to sell, you can promote it on your website. Along with this, you can generate orders for your items/services by use of a simple e-mail back to you, or through an on-line store utilizing a "shopping cart" process. Secure payments can also be included via credit card processing, if desired. Please keep in mind that the more sophisticated your site becomes, the more investment it will take to implement it.

How do I market my website?

We recommend that you include your website address on all of your corporate literature, business cards, stationery, brochures, fliers, handouts, invoices, purchase orders, yellow page ads, newspaper ads, job applications, promotional items, etc. The more visibility you create, the more chances people will visit your website.

How do I know who is visiting my website?

Web statistics are available for all websites we host on our web servers. These statistics can give you information on who is visiting your site, how they found your site, when they are visiting, and how they utilize your site.