How to stay within your estimated costs…

  • Email or Fax your copy and changes – A written copy helps us have a record of what you want and lessens the likelihood of errors.  Even if you ask for something on the phone, please email with the information to confirm. Faxing is OK too, though you may be charged if retyping is extensive. A fax works best when you have small changes all over the page. Usually I will respond to most messages within 24 hours or less. I check email constantly throughout the day so it’s actually a better way to reach me than by telephone.  If you don’t hear from me within 24 hours, there is a chance one of our Internet providers is down or blocking email because of spam issues, so if that seems to be the case, please call.
  • A contract and written sign-offs are for your protection as well as ours. Try to be on time sending  signoffs, content, or payments when due.
  • Use email as much as possible. The first hour of consultation is free if you contract to do a site with us, otherwise time is charged at the hourly rate. If you require personal visits to explain changes, additions, etc. it will be at the hourly rate plus drive time. Rush service is available at premium rates. There is never a charge for emails or local phone calls.
  • We typically provide one design concept as a starting point, sometimes with variations. If you need additional choices or combined choices there is an additional cost. If I build the project in your web program (ie. Front Page, etc.) it will incur an extra charge. Please give us good direction as to the colors, style, theme, font type you would like before we get started as this minimizes changes and saves you money.
  • Try and estimate your needs as accurately as you can.  You may tell us you need a 2-page site and we may estimate the cost as such, but if you send us 10 pages of text or photos to put on it, it will end up costing you for 10 pages.  The closer we can estimate your needs, the fewer change orders, unexpected charges and fewer delays in completing your project will occur.
  • We need any preexisting host or domain user/passwords early to make sure the design will work with the host, if you set that up yourself.  It’s important to know for coding purposes.  If we code the site and the host doesn't support it – recoding or domain/host transfers are additional. Let us help you choose an appropriate host for the best value for your dollar.  We are aware of several low cost sources of domain names and hosting that provide generally the same services as more expensive hosting.  We also give you the option to maintain your own hosting/domain services or you can let us take care of it for a small annual fee. If you choose to maintain your hosting/domain yourself, after setup for the first year, you will be billed directly by the hosting provider – however, if you let either lapse, costs to get these services reinstated can be costly.
  • Fancy effects are usually done using scripts or Flash. Flash, Scripts and Programs that run on the pages are charged at the programming rate.  If there is a free or inexpensive version of a script that will work for you, I will use what is available to keep your costs down.  Examples of programming scripts are shopping carts, blogs, content management systems, or falling snowflakes on the page.  Shopping carts come in many versions and there can be a wide variation in cost and function.  It’s not possible to know every cart, it’s limitations, or strengths (there are thousands) so it is more difficult to estimate for a cart (or other feature) we have not used previously.
  • We bill monthly once the retainer is used up and for hosting/domain expenses.  Software your site requires is billed in advance.
  • Foot dragging and “extras” can become expensive so watch these areas. Gather up your content and begin sending it as soon as possible.   Projects are subject to a continuation fee for every month they continue because content isn’t supplied or sign-offs aren’t promptly returned.  This helps us schedule our workload for everyone’s benefit.  It is not fair to be expecting your content, refuse other work to make sure we have resources available, and your content never comes.
  • Provide me with your FINAL copy – if we must spell check, edit, make changes, remove, reword, reorganize, rewrite, retype or tinker with it at your request – it will be at the hourly rate and may put you over the total estimated amount.  Copy should also be submitted in a digital format such as .rtf, .txt, or .doc.  (Word, Word Perfect or Notepad files are best).  If you use another program, often it will allow you to save a document in one of these formats. Sending it in one of these formats saves me time and you money. Files saved in Microsoft Works are incredibly difficult and sometimes not possible to work with, so another format is much better.
  • If you don’t have a digital camera, the photos will need to be scanned.  Clear, sharp photos scan best. It is not a problem to scan photos, but it’s much better to submit them already in digital format.  Your estimate is based on photos submitted digitally.  Scan them at approximately 150 dpi for optimal web results.
  • Changes from your original instructions or conflicting instructions that must be redone are charged at the hourly rate, and may put you over your estimated cost, so keep these to a minimum.  Know what you want done and try not to change your mind too often – particularly once the item has been added to the site.
  • There is a charge for extra photos or images over the contracted amount.  Make sure photos are sharp and clear so we won’t have to make them useable by fixing the color, straightening, improving clarity, cropping, “red eye”, etc.  On the other hand, it is more expensive to fix your retouching errors.  If you aren’t an expert at photo retouching, don’t do it.  Please provide photos in .jpg, .bmp, .gif or.tiff format and slightly larger than you would like to see them on the site.  All web photos are optimized to 76 dpi for fast load times, but submitting them slightly larger allows for better quality when optimizing.  They do not have to be larger than 300 dpi and are actually more difficult to work with as extremely large files.  Setting your digital camera at it’s lowest or second lowest quality setting is best.
  • Long distance phone calls to clarify information is charged, email is free. Please make sure your instructions are crystal clear. Tech support issues such as viewing problems on your own browser, viruses, spyware that interferes with viewing, teaching you to use software or using the Internet is not included. I may help you with these issues, but it will be at the hourly rate.  Consider getting good virus and spyware programs to clean your machine as this will solve many viewing problems. Also, AOL and some other ISPs store pages so you may not always be seeing the most up-to-date version.  AOL also compresses photos which can cause pixalation that may blur or distort an image – unfortunately the web designer has no control over these issues, they will have to be addressed with your ISP or AOL.
  • Generally changes or additions requested just require an email or fax saying you'd like something done.  Changes that add to the actual scope of the project or add significantly to a site may require a formal change order.  Later, upon completion of the site an email or phone call (with email/fax follow-up) is sufficient to add a page or make a change
  • We require a design acceptance sign-off.  Your actual content won’t be placed in the site until the acceptance is received.  We also require a final sign-off saying the site is complete.  The site will not be placed on the hosting server without this, and in those rare circumstances it is, may be removed without it. Please give us your changes or revisions and then sign off quickly to keep the site on track.
  • Fonts can only be seen by a site visitor if it is on their machine.  If you desire a font for a heading that is not common, an image is sometimes the only way to do this.  To keep graphic creation costs down, it is best to stay with common web fonts.  Basic fonts for the web are:  Arial, Comic Sans, Verdana, Courier, Times New Roman.  If you want a font we don’t have, it may be purchased. Often we can find a similar font for no charge.
  • If you require research such as what kind of websites or content the competition has, needing a specific font, keywords, searching for a script or program, researching how best to modify a cart or forum, or searching for a specific photo, it is charged at the hourly rate.  Search engine optimizing and submission is also a form of research. I would suggest you visit sites such as keyword.com for keyword ideas.  You can keep your costs down by doing much of this research yourself, we’ll be glad to guide you with this.  If you prefer not to delve into the world of SEO, we have affiliations with top-notch professionals that do a fabulous job and can arrange for their services for you.
  • Because I work from my home office, I am available for a longer day and I don’t mind answering questions or helping with problems “after hours” when needed.  My prices may be lower than a competitors because my overhead is less.  However, actual work is typically done Monday-Friday, and it’s very appreciated that you don’t send your info on Thursday or Friday afternoon and expect changes over the weekend. Please allow time for me to fit your changes into my schedule, as you are not my only client.  If you must have changes immediately, it may be completed as a rush service, otherwise, allow at least a week for a page or two of changes.
  • Phone calls and emails are chargeable - use them judiciously and only as necessary.  If you send 10 emails with 1 change each it will cost more than one email with 10 changes (assuming the changes are similar).
  • You must provide legal photos, images, etc. that you own the Copyright for or have permission to use.  You should have a model release for every person in a photo, particularly children. Once your site is paid in full, you get ownership of the site AS A WHOLE but not necessarily specific elements that may be copyrighted to a third party. Workup files may be purchased at an additional cost if you need them. Music presents unique problems in that many arrangements require royalties for each view of the page. Midis are sometimes possible to use when Mp3’s are not.  Let me know your needs and we can determine what is possible and what is not, within your budget. 
  • A content management system is an excellent way to be able to make changes yourself to keep costs down.  There are hundreds of CMS systems out there, and I would be happy to recommend what I feel will work well for your needs.  The down side of a CMS however, is areas of the site are “locked” or if you attempt to make your own changes and mess something up, you will be charged at double the hourly rate to fix it, though this doesn’t happen very often. 
  • Please pay your bills on time or I may have to remove the site for non-payment or charge late fees for late payments. There will be a re-setup fee if the site must be removed, so keep your account current. 
  • The reason for a retainer payment is, and unfortunately, theft. Once the site is on a server it is easy for an unscrupulous person to steal. Also, the most significant amount of work is done first, often 80% of the cost of the site is in the initial design, unless the site is quite large.
  • I invoice everyone on the 1st, payment is due by the 15th. Late fees are charged immediately once a payment is late on the 16th and every month it's late. Be familiar with our billing policy – we don't want to have to charge you late fees.  Once you are late it is required that payment be made in advance or a credit card is on file for further work to be done.
  • Payments are due when invoiced, whether or not you’ve sent me the content or have changes you want to make. Invoices over 45 days overdue WILL be sent to a collection agency with significant fees added for preparation.
  • Two months without sending content will kick in a monthly continuation fee until you get going on the site again.
  • Please don’t tell me “make it nice” – I appreciate something more specific to what you have in mind.  Changes are chargeable so make sure you are clear about what you desire. Color & Graphic changes are MAJOR changes - tell me what you want NOW. To change it later will cost you more and make it difficult to stay within the estimate.  Changes are charged at a 15-minute minimum, so send more than one at a time if possible.
  • Do not  send customers to view the in-progress site because it may not have been completely checked, may still have typos, or the ecommerce may not work reliably yet. 
  • I code for the most common browsers - IE 6 & up, & Firefox.  I try and accommodate less popular browsers such as Netscape, Opera, AOL, Safari or Web TV if possible, though this may increase your costs.  If you have dial up, the more advanced features (streaming video, audio) may not work as well, also unusual browsers and excessive amounts of pictures or scripts or music on a page will slow load times or make pictures occasionally refuse to load. These are browser issues, you will find there are many browsers and no matter how hard you try, not all will view the page exactly the same.
  • Search Engine submissions don't guarantee others will find you - you need to advertise your site as well…put it on your car, include it in your paper and radio advertising, tell your customers, put it on your business cards, paint it on your store window, tell everyone you can think of, and refer customers there for information. I do submit you to the most important search engines and do basic optimizing as I build the site.  If you want more than this, it’s available.  I would suggest you put something fun or interesting on the site so people will want to visit, and change your content often (Google for example, will re-index you more often if your content changes regularly).  Sites that are indexed best are updated regularly and have good text content.  You cannot expect good rankings if your site consists of mainly pictures and a little text on a couple of pages.  Flash intro pages are fun to have, but are not search engine friendly if they take up the entire page, though this is changing.  Write articles, change content, embed your Flash movie into a text heavy page.  Keeping the content fresh and changing is the best way to get high rankings in the search engines.