The cost of a website is determined by what you want your website to accomplish. Here are the questions you will need to answer before I can give you a quote.
| 1. |
What are the short term and long term goals for your website? |
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How many pages will be required? |
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How important is a professional appearing design and layout? |
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Do you have graphics and pictures or will you need to purchase these from outside sources? |
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Can you provide the text content or will you need to hire a content writer? |
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How important is it for your website to appear at the top of the Search Engines? |
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Will you require special features like password protected pages, submission forms, database integration or a shopping cart? |
It is impossible for anyone to attempt to quote an accurate price for a website without knowing the answers to these basic questions. If you would like us to provide a quote , please contact us to schedule an appointment.
Domain Names
A domain name is the unique Internet name that identifies your website and tells the Internet servers where your files are located. For example, the domain name of this website is FlaWebmaster.com. Domain names are rented on an annual basis from an Internet Registrar. Some Registrars offer discounted domain names, with the most common fee being about $40 a year. The choice of a specific domain name could be advantageous to the success of your website. One of my services is to assist my customers in the selection and purchase of a domain name.
Hosting Accounts
In order to be viewed on the Internet, your website files must reside on a web server. Large companies can afford to purchase their own web servers and high speed Internet connections. Most small companies rent this service in the form of a hosting account.
Hosting charges vary depending upon how much traffic you expect to have, what special features you may require and the services that are bundled into your hosting account rental agreement.
My basic bundled website hosting fee is $25 a month including personal email and technical support. It is common to bundle other services such as maintenance, website optimization or consulting into a hosting fee. How much you will pay depends upon the services you require.
Website Files
These are the computer files that make up your actual website. A website designer arranges the files based on a design. The design includes graphic images, photographs, navigation, text and a great deal of programming. How these components are arranged makes up the majority of what you are paying for and the results should perform the tasks they are designed to do. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of making specific modifications to a website in an attempt to influence Search Engine ranking in a positive way. If the primary goal of your website is to create sales leads, this requirement needs to be built into the design in the initial stages.
Optimization
A website that can not be found is practically worthless. Most Search Engines rank your website by the quality of your content. Google also takes into consideration the number of in-coming links pointed at your website. Search engines can and will bar you or knock down your ranking for errors, attempting to stuff your pages with repetitious keywords, using copy from another website or allowing your content to become old and stagnant. Search Engines optimization is making specific modifications to a website that influence Search Engine ranking in a positive way. Read more…
How can I reduce the cost of my website?
With today’s economic challenges, successful Internet professionals work with their clients to deliver quality products and services at prices they can afford. Website design fees vary greatly depending upon the amount of creativity and labor involved. Creativity is the most expensive component in any website. If you do not know what you want and do not have useable graphics, photographs or text content, you can expect to pay more than someone who has everything ready to go. A good way to reduce these costs is to invest time looking at other websites before requesting a price quote. Do you see any designs you like? Do you have company brochures or printed sales material? Often these items can be the catalyst that leads to a good website design for your company.
What if I need to change to my website?
A website designed to attract and keep customers needs a consistent flow of fresh content. In addition, your search engine ranking will fall if you do not update your website frequently. I am very flexible when dealing with website changes and updates. One option is to pay by the hour only when you need a change. This works for companies that require infrequent updates. Another option is to negotiate a flat monthly fee which includes a predetermined number of labor hours at a discounted rate. A third option is to negotiate a standard amount each time a specific update occurs, such as the posting of a quarterly newsletter.
Quotes
If you would like a quote for any of my services, please contact me by phone or by email. If you use email, please include your contact phone number and a best time to reach you by phone. I do not provide quotes without discussing your project before hand. I want all of my customers to be pleased with the results of my work and it is important to define your expectations and requirements before quoting a price.
Thank you for taking the time to visit my website. I am here to help you in any way I can and want your business Internet project to be as successful as possible.