SOAR WEB DESIGN & GRAPHICS WEBSITES 101

Steps Towards Your New Website

Decision / Planning
Graphic Design
Website Development / Coding
Testing

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Hosting & Addons
- Hosting
- Optional Addons
Website Launch
Project Completion

This is the time for you to think about what you want to accomplish with your website, if you haven?t already done that. If you have any special functions you want performed on the site or have an idea what design style you like, just let me know what appeals to you so we can realize your vision. Are there websites that you like that may give me a better idea of what you want? Jot down the URLs. Be as detailed as possible.

When you are ready, please request your free, no-obligation website design quote.

Based on the information you provided when requesting your website design quote, I attempt to determine your needs, what you are expecting from your website, and try to get a feel for your business or organization.

Once we have come to an agreement on project details, timeline and price, we will prepare a website development contract for you to review, sign and send back with your deposit.

The signed contract and 50% deposit (on websites under $600 the full amount is due prior to work beginning) required before we schedule a time slot for your project. The remainder of your balance will be due upon project completion. Once we have received your 50% deposit and signed contract, we will provide you with a copy of the fully executed contract, a receipt for your deposit and your project start date. All projects are scheduled on a ?first come, first served? basis.

If needed, we will help you secure your desired domain name (pending availability) and hosting service. If you require hosting services, we recommend Bravenet hosting services. Many of our clients host their websites with Liquid Web and they have great server uptime, lots of features as well as good customer support. ˄

Upon receipt of your deposit and contract, I will email you to confirm receipt of your deposit/contract, and provide a list of items which will be needed from you over the course of development.

You will need to let me know the navigation links you would like (such as home, about us, services, etc) and supply all text and/or product information to be included on your site. In addition, you may also supply material such as company logo, personal photos, etc, if desired.

If you have any guide sites you would like us to refer to when designing your site or if you have any preference as to colors, style, etc please offer that information as well.

For E-Commerce sites that require us to enter products for you, we will need you to supply an Excel spread sheet listing the following: Product Name, Unique Product ID Number (if any), Product Description, Options (if any ? size, color, etc), Price, Approximate Weight, Number in Stock, as well as the product photos named in correspondence with the Product ID Number on the spread sheet.

I will start work on your scheduled start date and will contact you on that day to confirm that we are getting started.

I will provide two possible home page concepts for your project based on the preferences you expressed to me. In most cases, I will be able to provide these designs within 2-4 business days following your start date.

After you have reviewed the designs and decided which one you would like to use, I will continue to make modifications to the design until the final desired look is achieved. Once the final desired look is achieved, I will create the interior page layout, convert the design to HTML, add programming, etc.

In Progress Viewing

I will set up a private directory for your new website on my testing server so that you can view the website development progress. Next, I will let you know via email when I have made extensive updates to the site so you can review the most recent progress.

All projects include use of professional stock photography images from my current library. If a client requires onsite photography, photography services may be added at an additional charge. ˄

All website development programming/coding to run any special features/visitor interactivity on your website is completed and tested.

Based upon your contract and the final design you selected, we create as many static or dynamic pages as needed to complete your site.

Navigation links or drop down menus, and rollover effects, if desired, are completed.

Incorporation of your logo, photos and text content is included in all projects. Custom logo design is available for an additional fee, please inquire if interested.

A favicon is a small image that displays in the address bar and on the favorites menu when someone bookmarks or adds your website to their "Favorites". Creation of a favicon is included in all website development projects with the exception of a brochure site.

I recommend at least one contact form for your visitor?s convenience. Using a contact form, a visitor can email you directly from your website without needing to open their email program. This is especially convenient if a visitor is not using their own computer when their email program is not available. ˄

Meta Tags, Page Titles, Page Heading, Alt Image Tags, Link Text, and Page Body Text evaluation and adjustment where needed throughout the website. I cannot guarantee when or where the search engines will place your website within their search results or directory.

Your website is tested on a variety of operating systems and browsers to insure proper display and functionality.

Before the website is launched, a grammar and spell check is performed to insure there are no mistakes.

A thorough check for misdirected links and missing files is performed just prior to as well as after the launch of the website.

Any email contact forms and/or programming features included in your project are tested to confirm they are functioning as required. ˄

Final payment is always due before I take the website live on your domain. Upon receipt of final payment, you will be emailed a final/paid in full receipt.

After the website is live, any interactive programming and scripts are tested to verify proper function. Since the design and testing phase often occurs on a different server, it is very important to once again verify that everything is working correctly after taking the website live.

After launch and testing of the website, you are provided with a zipped archive of all website files.

When necessary, any documentation needed to use the administration functions of your website is included in PDF format.

Hand submission and automated search engine submission occurs after launching, testing and fixing any issues there may have been. ˄

Minor adjustments to the website are included at no charge for up to two weeks after the website has launched (maximum of up to 3 hours labor). Minor changes include adding changing text, adding or changing photos, etc. Any major revision requests will require additional discussion and possibly incur a fee .˄

I recommend Bravenet hosting services. Many of my clients host their websites with Bravenet and they have great server uptime, lots of features, very cost conscious, includes domain registration in most packages, as well as good customer support.

Optional add-ons pricing will vary. To obtain pricing, please inquire about the specific add-on you wish to include. ˄