Owning a Website for your Business
Is Owning Right for You?
We offer two approaches to having a great website for your business. With our LEASING PLAN, clients choose between a one, two or three-paged site with limited functions. We design their site at our expense to their specifications; and then publish it to the web for them for a modest monthly fee (paid quarterly).
If your business and circumstances require a larger or more robust website, then owning your site probably makes more sense. With the ownership plan, your site's design is handled with a firm written design proposal that gives you the comfort of knowing exactly how much your website will cost up front. Unlike leasing, ownership means that when your design is finished and paid for, you'll own the files that comprise your site, including whatever copyrights we ourselves own on the content (see "What About Copyrights"). The owning alternative also includes the availability of:
- Unlimited pages
- Motion graphics such as slideshows, thumbnail image displays, videos and flash animations
- Multiple email accounts: eg. "sally@yoursite.com"
- Shopping cart and credit card processing functions for e-commerce
- Advanced SEO (search engine optimization) strategies
- Up to 30 minutes per month of free design time for changes in content (service hosting level: some limitations apply)
How to Own a Great Website
Owning your website not only gives you access to the kinds of features and functions that are expected on full-service websites today; but it also gives you more control over the content of your site, as well. The process begins with a phone call to discuss your project, and to get answers to whatever questions you may have. When we know just what features and functions you want to see on your site, we'll prepare a detailed written proposal with exact specifications including number and titles of pages, number and location of slideshows, photography details, etc. Usually we'll prepare a comp representation - or "sample page" of our vision for your site for you to consider. This isn't a "take it or leave it" image; but rather a starting point in our discussions that will help us to know your preferences.
Once we have an agreement, the actual design of the website can begin. The time required to complete your site will depend on how large and involved the site will be; and on how quickly the pictures, graphics, permissions from copyright owners, etc. can be collected. For most sites, two to eight weeks is about right. You'll find that we communicate often while progress is being made, as we're careful to not design very far in any direction without your approval as we go. We're always conscious that though our name is on every website we design, in the end it will be YOUR website, and not ours. Let's begin today to build a web presence for your business that we both can be proud of!
