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General & Technical Questions
Why do I need a web site?
How much is it going to cost?
Can you modify an existing site?
What is a domain name?
'Web Start' Questions
What quality of hosting will I get on the 'Web Start' package?
With the 'Web Start' package, can I use the domain name I have already?
Is your 'Web Start' package 'good value'?
What is the distinction between the 'Web Start' package and a 'Custom-built' website?
Can't find the question you want answered?
Contact us on our e-mail form and pose the question there
Why do I need a web site?
There are many reasons why people build a web site for their business, hobby or service.
- Online promotion of their service or product
- A huge cost-saving over sending out glossy brochures by post
- To save time by handling simple queries online
- The ease and speed of e-mail communication
- Sharpening a business image
- ... and many others
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How much is it going to cost?
If you opt for the 'Web Start' package then this question is easy to answer because the package provides a pre-set site size at an 'all inclusive' price of £375. However, if you require a custom-built site then the truthful answer is: "We don't know." It depends what you ask us to do. The more you request, the more time it takes, so the more it costs. We've had web sites that we've created for less than £150, and other sites where a starting budget of £5,000 was required.
What we can say is that the 'average' custom-built website can be designed, developed, finalized, and then hosted for 12 months, for between £450 and £700.
If you are after a simple, static website with up to 6 pages and a simple design, we are able to keep our own costs down and we can provide this within the cost of a 'Web Start' package at £375. However, if you want something with a lot of pages and graphical detail, we are typically able to provide that for £500 - £600. For websites where database development, or 'serious' amounts of graphics or pages, or client tuition in FTP or database management, are required, we typically start our quotes at £1,000 and work up from there, depending on your needs.
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Can you modify an existing site?
Yes, although extensive remodeling of an existing site can very occasionally be so time-consuming that it is cheaper to rebuild it. We will advise you about this when we've had a chance to examine what you would like us to do. For the most part, however, modifications to existing sites are easy to undertake and cheap to implement.
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What is a domain name?
A domain name is the unique identifying name for your web site. You will already be familiar with dozens of well-known domain names (Amazon.com, bbc.co.uk, etc.) and registering your own domain name is usually a straightforward process. We will help you with this.
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What quality of hosting will I get on the Web Start package?
We will negotiate web space for you on the same servers we use, or servers affiliated with them, or in the same geographic location, or on the same network, so your web site access speed and reliability should be similar to those of Total France. In addition, there will be no irritating pop-ups, adverts, or unwanted banners.
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With the Web Start package, can I use the domain name I have already?
In the vast majority of cases, the answer is: Yes. We will assist in transferring your domain name to your new web site. We make no additional charges for this, but your existing host or registrar might. This is outside of our control. Many hosts and registrars allow free and easy transfer, but there are still some hoping to retain customers by fining them!
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Is your 'Web Start' package 'good value'?
That's for you to decide. If you look around the Internet you will find charges for small sites (of around 5 - 6 pages) ranging from £150 - £1500!
At first glance it may seem like a 'no brainer' to decide which you should go for, but with web sites you often get just what you pay for. Many of the cheaper sites are mass-produced on poor WYSIWYG* software, by amateurs with limited web and design knowledge. Frequently, they are easy to recognise due to garish colours, typefaces that display poorly on-screen (Times New Roman is a favourite, usually in odd sizes and with no margins) and graphics that seem to be stuck on haphazardly. Other identifying features are large (now 'old fashioned') rollover buttons with ugly, jagged text produced either on poor quality graphics software, or by someone who couldn't find the anti-alias tool. Such sites get you a web presence on a shoe string budget ... but may 'turn off' potential customers who judge the quality of your product, service or accommodation by the quality of your web site!
At the upper end of the price range you get crisp and beautifully-produced graphics, fine designs with an integrated and often 'delicate' feel, and sometimes the latest in display technologies. Although such sites may well have been designed initially on top-quality WYSIWYG* 'web software', they will often have been re-coded manually to reduce page-load times. Many such sites are things of beauty, the products of good design professionals using top-level graphics software such as FireWorks, Flash and PhotoShop. On the other hand, in terms of value for money where business image is concerned, many clients paying £1500 passed the 'positive return on investment' point a long way back!
Our average estimate for a small site for non-TF members is probably around £500 - £600, so we think that the 'Web Start' package, at only £375, is excellent value indeed.
(* WYSIWYG = 'What you see is what you get', software that allows you to place elements on screen in the position they will (hopefully!) occupy once your site is published.)
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What is the distinction between the 'Web Start' package and a 'Custom-built' website?
The features and services included in the Web Start Package are aimed at the client who wishes to weigh design complexity against cost.
It strikes a good balance between the two. It is suitable for a vast range of information-based sites, yet enables us to reduce costs because we impose limitations that help us to forecast the amount of time the site will take to build. The further we move outside those limits, the closer we are to a 'custom-built' site.
There are 3 dimensions to be considered in the equation:
- Quantity: the 'Web Start' package includes up to 6 pages, up to 8 graphics and standard communication tools (like an 'email us' form and a range of email addresses to match your domain name).
If you just need just one or two more pages, which look similar to the others, than we can cost them per page. The same applies to additional graphics. But if we are talking about 20 more pages, with many hierarchies and including different features and tools or graphical elements, than this is a 'custom-built' site. The same applies to a site that requires a range of graphics that form an integral part of the design.
- Features: the 'Web Start' package includes a range of standard elements within the 6 pages, like text and graphics (including your logo), standardised colour scheme and navigation tools, visitor statistics, and a 'contact us' form. If you require a basic additional element, then that can simply be integrated into the design. If you need us to put in extra pages, then we can cost these on a page-by-page basis. But if you require the integration of databases, or booking software, or photo galleries, then this constitutes a custom-built site, which we need to cost differently.
- Design Complexity: unless you specifically demand them, we are not using publicly-available templates for our designs. We will work with you to define your taste, ideas and visions, and will then work up a proposal on which we will consult you. The clearer your ideas, the faster this process can be; the more uncertain you are, the more complicated and time-consuming it gets for us.
The 'Web Start' package costing is based on a 'notional' amount of time we will take with a client to go through the discussion, design and implementation stages. This takes into account how much our clients usually 'bring to the table', and where we can fill in the gaps with our expertise and experience. Clients on a 'Web Start' package will often have a certain 'look' in mind, or will be happy with a layout that allows their visitors to navigate in a simple and intuitive way.
However, if you are very unclear about the design, and want to go through many tests and mock-ups, then this constitutes custom-building.
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