Web Site Design and Development FAQs

Some frequently asked questions on web site development...

If you still have some questions after reading through the web site pages it may be answered below.

Why are your web services so cheap?
Why are your web services so expensive?
Why is there a minimum set-up charge?
What constitutes a web page?
My friend's 16 year old son does web sites - why should I use you?
How do I start to plan my web site?
I need assistance with writing my site content.
Can you help with particular requirements I have for my web site?
Would I be able to maintain and update my web site myself?
Do I really need search engine optimisation for my site?
Can you help with optimisation on my existing web site?
What web services don't you offer?
Can I access information about my web site visitor traffic?
What's the sequence of events from start to finish?
How do I contact you?
What are your terms and conditions?

Why are your web services so cheap?
I concentrate on developing straightforward web sites, free of the more time-consuming elements that more advanced sites contain. I also have a small advertising budget, preferring to work on recommendations and business generated via this web site. Furthermore, I don't need to charge VAT owing to the type of my business, thereby saving you 17.5% at a stroke.

Why are your web services so expensive?
All I can say is take a look around and compare with comparable web development services offered elsewhere. My prices are extremely fair in the industry for the level of service provided.

Why is there a minimum set-up charge?
For a web site to be assembled properly, they're certain elements that have to be provided irrespective of the number of pages. This includes layout, heading logo, menu navigation, any background images and a style sheet. The set-up cost is to offset the not inconsiderable time all this takes. Some web design businesses will charge a higher cost per page to offset this, which means you pay more than necessary for a larger site of, say, 10+ pages.

What constitutes a web page?
Whilst a web page can be as long as you like, it's generally regarded that it shouldn't be much more than the length of an A4 sheet of paper. Consider a full screen as half A4 size, that equates to around twice as long as what's seen on the screen. Of course, some pages may need to be longer (like this one!) and some shorter, really depending on subject matter. Additionally, the longer the page, the more potential search engine issues that may be encountered.

My friend's 16 year old son does web sites - why should I use you?
Undoubtedly some talented young designers can produce great looking web sites, better than I can do sometimes! However, I do this as a business, they're probably doing it in their spare time between studies and/or work. Would they be able to complete a project within a reasonable time scale as you probably don't want it dragging on for months? Another consideration is would they know enough about coding compliance and search engine marketing to produce a site that's going to work to increase your business? Check out the issues I consider in web design.

How do I start to plan my web site?
I suggest you download my web site planning document from the downloads page, print it off and complete the sections which should help to focus your thoughts.

I need assistance with writing my site content
I can either act as a guide or produce your site copy from your notes. You'll need to provide me with a good insight into what you want to say of course!

Can you help with particular requirements I have for my web site?
I'll certainly consider your requirements and if feasible I can quote for their inclusion. Please remember that I specialise in straightforward sites to keep prices low and therefore don't offer some aspects of web design and development.

Would I be able to maintain and update my web site myself?
Although I don't provide any CMS, on completion I provide you with all the technical details you need to access your site and maintain as you wish. Macromedia Contribute is a product which doesn't require technical knowledge and will allow you to edit your site 'live' in much the same way as a word processing program. Alternatively, I can maintain your site with web site management.

Do I really need search engine optimisation for my site?
Basic optimisation and search engine friendliness is built in to all sites I develop. If you want to use your site as a marketing and advertising tool it's rather important for businesses to be high up in the search engine rankings, therefore optimising your web site for the search engines is vital because a higher listing means more visitors and potentially more custom and profit. After all, you wouldn't print a load of advertising brochures and not distribute them would you?

Can you help with optimisation on my existing web site?
I can take a look at your site with a view to carrying out optimisation and report its feasibility to you. Most sites with at least six standard content filled pages would be suitable. Sites in frames or with non search engine friendly linking or constructed entirely in Flash would require extensive front end work before optimising.

What web services don't you offer?
My policy is to develop relatively straightforward sites at low cost.  As such, they're some aspects of web design that I don't currently offer that would significantly increase costs such as:

• flash animations
• sites requiring a complex layout
• database driven web sites
• content management (CMS)
• forums, chatrooms and IRC
• ASP coded sites
• SSL sites (e-commerce)
• multimedia intensive sites
• WAP (cellphone)

Can I access information about my web site visitor traffic?
You can have anything from a simple page visitor counter to more advanced visitor statistics. This can give useful marketing information such as the web site visitors were on previously, search words used in a search engine, most popular days and times your site is visited, geographical location of visitors and type of computer and web browser used. This information can help to evaluate the effects of search engine optimisation and adjust your site over time to make it even more visitor friendly. Depending on the system used, the information generated can be set-up so you can view it yourself or I can forward it to you regularly as part of web site management.

What's the sequence of events from start to finish?

• You contact me via the contact page
• We meet up if you're local to discuss your web site project
• I send you a proposal for you to sign and return
• You send me your web site content
• I build your site
• I upload it to a temporary URL for your evaluation
• I arrange the hosting and domain registration
• I publish your site at your domain for the world to see!

How do I contact you?
By e-mail, phone or the enquiry form, please see the details on the contacts page.

What are your terms and conditions?
These are downloadable from the downloads page.