How do I communicate what I want my website to be like?   Back To Top

Obviously, after referring to our 'Pricing' page, where there are four standard packages designed to meet the needs of most of the clients we design websites for, you may well see that one of the packages suits your envisaged site set-up. of course, the packages are flexible and can be added to or reduced to suit your needs. Should this be the case, you have a basic idea of the cost straight away. We will advise the cost, if any, for additions to the package, if required.

We may then ask some questions by email or phone, to ascertain more, if needed, about what your web design vision is. When you have made your choice to have us design your website, we will request that you email any images, logos or forms etc that you want used in your web design. 

It is handy to look at other websites, especially if this is your first experience in having a website designed and built. We have past designs that can be viewed and you can even refer us to another website that is similar to what you envisage. We will not copy from other websites, but if you can show us something similar to your vision, we can get an idea of the style or 'feel' you're looking for. Sometimes, clients have simply left it in our hands and we've never had to redesign for these clients, they have been happy with our interpretation of what their website should look like.

We don't use templates like some larger design firms who run a kind of production line (plus we like all our works to be original for each client). However, if you have a template that you wish us to use, we will oblige. 

When we feel we have a good idea of what you are looking for, we will design and submit to you a first draft of the 'Home Page' for you to approve the basic design and then we build the entire site, when you approve the design (the basic design of most websites, i.e. Header, Navigation Links etc are generally the same for all pages. In fact, this 'continuity' is an important part of your website, as it is a more natural experience for your visitors to navigate your website and not have the design or colours change. The content of each page, of course, is the large difference. We are in Sydney, Australia, so if you are in Australia or far off, and you are in a position to phone us, we have no problem with a phone discussion about your website. Contact details are on our 'Contact Page'.

What about the 'Text' on the website?   Back To Top

You will need to send (email) the text you want on your website, page by page. We can advise and assist with the content. In fact, for SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) purposes, the text may need to be edited in order to appropriately optimise the site for Search Engines, with your approval. A good way to determine what text you should use, is to view other similar websites and see what they are doing however, don't COPY content from other sites. Apart from being completely unethical, Search Engines can differentiate 'duplicated text' (believe it or not) and as a result your website could be penalized in the rankings.

Remember, the most effective text is that which clearly and relevantly describes your business or products etc, containing instances of the keywords or search phrases that people would use to find your product or service. However, don't 'spam' your keywords, only use them 'relevantly' as though in normal conversation and writing. Your ranking can suffer if it is considered that you have 'unnecessarily' used a specific word or phrase too often. A good rule of thumb is about 4 - 5 per cent (4 - 5 in every 100) of the text being keywords or search terms. Do not 'waffle on' - be short but informative. As we say, we can help here.

What about images and other 'Non-Text' website components?   Back To Top

We do all the special lettering in the 'header' and navigation buttons (if requested) etc. and we have access to some 'stock images' (no copyright) that can be used where appropriate. If you have any special image requirement such as a logo or product images, aesthetic pictures (like an image of a Doctor and/or Nurse on a medical website), you will need to supply the image in a common image file format (bmp, jpg, gif) and declare that you own the rights to the image.

We can design logos and edit images for size etc. We don't normally arrange artwork for special images as this is a time consuming and expensive process. We prefer our clients to supply whatever special images they may require however, we can arrange this if it's necessary. For instance, with this website you are in now, the only images you would be required to supply would be the 'Search Engine' image on our 'SEO' page and the logo in the top left of all the pages. the rest of the Logos on the Home page are supplied by the relevant organizations we belong to.

How long will my website take to design and build?   Back To Top

There are many variables like, the size and complexity of the site, the amount of text to be transposed, image editing and resizing etc, and some of these are often in the hands of the client. So, it's difficult to say exactly, however to give an example, this particular site you are in (containing about 12 -14 pages) would take about four to seven days. We can often deliver a completed design and website in two or three days.

How much can I expect to pay for my website design and creation?   Back To Top

Obviously, those who chose one of the standard Packages on our 'Pricing' page, the price will be as advertised. Sometimes there are extras you may want, but these packages are designed to supply all your average business website need contain. For an exact idea of pricing for a specific, non-standard website package the average is generally around $AU600. Again, it is difficult to say, as it depends on a number of variables, some in the hands of the client however, if we again, use this website you are in as an example (with 12 - 14 pages, two images and one logo supplied by you) you could expect to pay approximately $AU900 - $AU1,000. Our website design includes advice regarding domain selection (domain purchase is at your expense, if required - approx $AU15 for .com, .net, .biz etc type domains and about $40 for country specific domains e.g. .com.au). We also arrange 12 months FREE Premium web hosting on your behalf with an award winning Web Host with every design we do, package or otherwise. Also, each web design includes our special ebook entitled "Website Maintenance and SEO". Once your domain and hosting are arranged, we will publish your website. So you need not worry about anything. Our free ebook will tell you where to go from there and we will continue to support you by email for a reasonable period after you are up and running.

When do I pay for my website design an creation?   Back To Top

Payment occurs in three stages:

1. We require a 50% deposit of our quoted price in order to begin work on your web design.

2. Then, we will make the finished Home Page draft available for you to view as it will look online (the rest of the website pages generally follow the same design and layout with different information) and you approve the design.

3. When we have finished the website based on your Enquiry Form requests and email or phone discussions, we will email you a URL (Internet address) where you can see and inspect the full website and navigate it as would your site visitors and request minor changes or adjustments. When you are satisfied, payment of the remaining of the quoted price, plus any extras or adjustments agreed to, will be required before we deliver or publish the website. If you prefer, we can send it to you, via a .zip file, for publishing yourself, but all our packages include our publishing to your Host server if you have a domain and hosting organized (all our Standard Packages include 12 months FREE Hosting, which we organise for you). We will also arrange domain purchase (at your cost) and direct it to your Host Server for you. (Australian specific Domain names, that is those ending in '.au' are presently $37.50 for TWO years registration). International Domains (i.e .com, .net, .biz etc) are generally in the order of $12 each per year. Other 'country specific' domains are quoted at the time of purchase.

What can you do for me with regard to a Domain and Hosting?   Back To Top

We understand that those who a new the Internet, especially in the area of owning their own website, can sometimes be a bit lost when it comes to understanding domains and web hosting etc. In order to help, included with every website package we design and build is advice about domain selection and purchase and 12 months FREE Web Hosting is included. We take care of all this. You need worry about nothing, except choosing a domain name and we direct you to where you can do this (for which we receive no commission or reward). We will advise you about the best domain name for your website, while considering any benefits in Search Engine Rankings that may be gained by using certain types or names..

What about Search Engine Rankings etc?   Back To Top

You're talking about what's known as 'SEO' (Search Engine Optimisation). This is applying strategies and methods to help your website to gain favourable rankings in the Search Engines (like Google, Yahoo. MSN etc). We have a more in depth information page on SEO at 'What Is SEO'. Firstly, we design and build your website in such a manner as to make it Search Engine 'friendly', using HTML code (the most common and preferred by the Search Engines). This is the first and major step towards good rankings. We also 'optimise' your website in the best way, using our tried and successful methods. However, SEO is an ongoing and never-ending task for a webmaster, so in order to acquaint our clients with a basic understanding in the principals and methods of SEO and the maintenance of their website, we include with each website design our ebook entitled "Website Maintenance and SEO".

We also supply an ongoing service, for a monthly fee, where we continually optimise your website and make sure it retains the best ranking possible in the particular category in which it competes. Obviously, some categories are far more competitive than others and results are not as easily gained as in others. However, you can be assured of our best attention and the best possible rankings. The price for this service is 'on application' depending solely on the category and size of you website.

Please see our 'Pricing' page for our 'Standard Packages' or go to our 'Initial Enquiry Form' if you would like a quote for us to design and build your prospective website. Remember, we are completely flexible, so any additions or changes to our web design Packages are possible and we will also build to your specifications.