WEBSITE DESIGN

Steps involved in setting up a website:

1. First step is to decide on a domain name for your site and to see if it is available. A domain name is (www.______.com) . The cost of registering a domain name varies depending on what hosting service you use. (See #2) Right now the hosting service I use usually charges less than $10.00 to register a domain.

2. The hosting service is the company that hosts or “rents” you a spot on the internet for your website. I use GoDaddy.com for most clients; their prices range from $4.00 month for a 12 month period down to $3.65 if you contract for a 36 month period. These steps are required for setting up all websites and take a day or two to process.

3. Steps involved in designing a website:

1. First objective is to determine the reason you want a website and who your audience will be. Will the site be to give out information, to sell products, etc.?

2. Then the “look” of your site needs to be determined. This is usually dependent on your audience. Many sites today are full of lots of flash but I have found that if your objective is to give your visitors information about products or subject matters, a clean simple design works best. Most viewers want to read the information online so too much flash makes it difficult on the eyes. But simple doesn’t mean boring. Clean lines, complementary colors, particular fonts and image placement give your audience your information but in an easy to read design. If you like flashy design, keep it just on your home page.

3. A basic size website should have a Home Page (which is the first page a visitor sees), which can include information about you or your company or a brief summary of your service. If your company has a logo it should be featured on your site; if not a graphic should be used to illustrate your concept or product. Another basic page is a “Contact Page” and/or a “Where We Are Located” page so the visitor knows how to get in touch with you and/or where your business is. All additional pages would depend on how much information or how many products/services you wish to offer on your site.

4. Every page will include navigation buttons to access all pages of your site and your business name and address and email.

5. If you are selling products, please be able to supply digital photos with a resolution no less than 72. If you have not yet taken your photos please use 72 for resolution and make the size no larger than 700 wide and 600 high. Images will be used for a small photo (“thumbnail”) on a product page which a viewer can click on to see the larger size.

PRICING

1. Pricing is based on the number of pages of the website and number of images included. Fees are approximately $100 per page (as of June 2007).

2. After initial creation, all revisions are done on an hourly fee basis billed at 15 minutes increments. Hourly rate is $50.00 per hour (as of June 2007).

Renie McCarthy
516.965.7317