How much does a website cost?
That depends. (You knew that was the answer.) I charge by the hour but I expect you will want an estimate. When I know the specifications of your project, I will give you an estimate of the number of hours and cost. If there are changes, that could affect the final cost. If there are unforeseen complications, I will alert you before we reach the estimate. Please ask me if you have any questions.
Do you require a deposit? Yes I do. You can expect it to be about 30% of the estimated final cost.
What are your hours?
The virtual doors are open from 9 am – 6pm, Monday through Friday.
Except for site emergencies, don’t expect timely replies on weekends, holidays or after hours.
What about emergencies?
I take a laptop with me when I travel and should be able to fix most issues with it. Since opening our doors in 2001, there has not been one emergency that was not resolved within 24 hours.
Is it really true that your accounting department does quarterly billing?
Yes it is. I think it is because they are always at softball practice or doing volunteer political work, but they maintain that this is the most cost effective way to do business.
Is it true that you do not have a cell phone?
As of this writing, it is true. I am always at my computer. I never leave. (Except when I do.) I need a cell phone about twice a month so I have not purchased one yet.
You mean you have always been on a Mac and you don’t have an iPhone?
Gottme! Okay, I do plan to get one–especially now that the G3 has been announced. I think that there will be more and more web surfing from smart phones and I need to inspect my sites on those browsers too.
What about weblogs?
I think smart phone usage, social networks and blogging are all going to grow rapidly. I am concentrating on blogs as developing all aspects of them.
Can a website be made using WordPress blog software?
Yes it can. Of course it depends on what elements are in your website. Here is a link about using WP as a content managing system or CMS. That might be a bit technical, but consider the answer to be yes.
Are you building WordPress websites?
See awaytogarden.com and openyourhands.org. These sites were the first sites I built using WordPress themes. SteveBrodner.com and JaneBlack.net are conventional websites powered by WordPress software. I have also designed sites that have WordPress blogs incorporated into them using my design. See kurtandersen.com and jamiemalanowski.com. The thesisterproject.com is a multiuser or Mu site.
So, WordPress is the best solution for editing my site?
In some situations. It depends on the site content and the client’s computer skillz. I have clients who use Adobe Contribute with good results. Kurt Andersen, Jamie Malanowski, James Collins and TCAP Assoc. are all using Contribute. It is available from Adobe for about $170.
What about SEO? I am not an expert on Search Engine Optimization (SEO). What’s more, I am dubious about the lofty claims made by vendors hawking their expertise. Fortunately WordPress has many SEO features built in or I add them through plugins. To take advantage of this, I am collecting SEO 101 articles that I think explain “best practices” here on my delicious.com account.