Procedure

Things to consider before starting a site

Do want your own domain name? There is an ongoing cost to have this, however, it is not terribly expensive and I highly recommend having your own domain name. (See How do I choose a domain name? under FAQs.) If you really don’t want it, generally you can have a free subdomain included with your web hosting. (See “subdomain” under “domain name.”)
Expect to pay yearly or monthly for web hosting.
Will your site strictly be to provide information, or are there things you’d like visitors to be able to do on your site?
It’s important to remember that a website is not an end it itself; rather, it’s a form of publishing. You wouldn’t publish a book if you didn’t have anything to say. In the same way, there’s a lot to do before the actual creation of a website.
Do you have a pre-existing logo, company colours, etc.? We’ll need copies of whatever you have. (Electronic files are best if you have them already.) If you don’t yet have a logo or company colours, we can come up with those.
You need content! Content includes text, pictures, and whatever other sorts of files you’d like to share. If you need help coming up with website text, you can hire a professional copy writer. We may be able to provide a recommendation. If you want to do the writing yourself, please see What should I put on my website? on the FAQs page. Your content needs to be together before we start the design process.
We recommend visiting sites of similar businesses to yours and making a note of the ones you personally like the look and feel of. You can tell me about them before I start designing so I have an idea what you’re expecting.
Think about how people will find your site. Should they be able to find it using search engines? Through links on other sites? Will you need an active internet marketing campaign? Or will people usually be visiting your site after they’ve already been given your web address (for example, they have your business card with your web address on it and want more information)?
How often will you want to update your site? Do you want to provide articles or tips that change frequently? This may affect how the site will be structured. There are several maintenance options we can discuss depending on your needs.
You are welcome to a consultation with me before, during, or after completing the above.

Design Process

First, download and fill out my Web Estimate Request Form. I will get back to you with a contract and estimate. Once I have received those back along with the initial payment I will get started.

If don’t already have one, we will first secure your chosen domain name for you.

If included in the estimate, we will help you find stock photos and other design elements. Files already in your possession may be transferred to me electronically or by mail.

We will come up with a working design based on your input. You can email your feedback to us and then we will arrive at a final design.

We’ll always get your approval before going ahead on new work. This will save you time and money; but remember that this means it’s important for you to get back to us if you want your work done quickly.

Post-Design

When the design is final, we will test the site on multiple browsers and platforms.

The site will require some kind of ongoing maintenance. If you aren’t going to use in-house site maintenance tools, you can either sign up for an ongoing service package, or simply contact me on an as-needed basis.

Tips for saving money

If you’re on a budget, you may wish to do some extra work before coming to me. Think of it like going to an accountant. If you go to him with a big bag of receipts, he can certainly sort things out for you, but it’ll cost you more than if you have everything neatly added up already.

Here are some things you may be able to do yourself:

Register your domain name. I recommend Bare Metal for domain name registrations.
Write your own content.
Take your own pictures to include on the site or find stock photos (be sure you have permission to use them!)
Decide how your content should be separated over the pages of the site. The front page should be an explanation of your business and should contain the terms you would expect people to enter into a search engine.