Your First Website Primer

Having your first website created can be a difficult and confusing path. Its hard to know what to look for in a website designer for your first website right out of the gate.  That’s why I created this website primer, to help determine who the right website designer is for you and a little about what you can expect.

Do I need a website developer?

If you are technically minded and have a few months to study up on website design, there are plenty of books and tutorials online that can show you how to create a website on your own. However, There are a large number of things that play into designing a website. Technical knowledge of HTML, CSS, and PHP, Image editing software programs, and a strong familiarity with the web. There are website templates that you can buy, but setting them up can be difficult and time consuming. Your business is important to you and so should your website. I believe creating a custom website should be done by a professional, but its entirely up to you.

How do I find a web designer?

The most popular method of finding a web designer these days is Craigslist. You can also do a search engine for a local web designer or web design firm. And yet another option would be to check social networking sites like Deviantart and Dribbble where you can see recent work and projects a web designer is working on. But since you are already here, and the incredible effort it would take to draw you away from my website might be too much, I suggest filling out the contact form and then we can talk about your options.

What is the cost involved with getting my website off the ground?

Depending on the web designer and the quality of work, you can expect to pay between $900 – $3000 for your website. It depends largely on what you will be using your website for, and what functionality you want integrated into your website.  There are many different kinds of websites from Blogs to Custom Websites; And there are Integrated turnkey websites that include shopping carts, Classified ads, and social networks. Most businesses will want a Custom Website with options for a contact form, mailing list subscription, Location map, and some pages to describe their services. This kind of website is available for $1200 through my website.

What other costs are involved other than the website design?

I design WordPress websites and that means that once the website design is completed and live on your web hosting, you can update the website on your own (even from a mobile phone), and there are no additional costs. The only other aspects that require any kind of cost will be your web hosting and domain name registration. Web hosting and Domain name registration (http://www.yourname.com) can be purchased through the hosting service of your choice, but I prefer GoDaddy.

Whats all this talk about search engine optimization?

Search Engine Optimization or SEO is a way of getting listed higher in search engines. There are many ways of achieving this, and many of these options are included in the organic code of your website. There are little tricks you can do to help achieve better results, but it is my suggestion to simply focus on creating unique content for you website and update and add content to your website frequently. If you have a blog or an online store, this will help your website just by adding relevant unique content to your pages.

Do I need a logo designed for my website?

A logo is helpful for brand recognition, but its not absolutely necessary for your website. Many businesses use a header that includes the company name and some relevant symbols or images. When building your website, I will include a custom header with your website that reflects the values of your personality and your business.

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