Building your website — costs and considerations

"How much does a website cost?"   Ask this question of a few web designers, and there might be a hundred answers. Here are the ones we think are important and what considerations will go into getting your site from the drawing board to the internet.

Fees

Building your site requires time and TLC. Let's just say that we are probably among the cheapest in the country, unless you consider quotes from others who lack experience or whose work is less than professional.

A basic site costs $700 and consists of design and coding for an ample number of attractive web pages. An unlimited number of email addresses are included at your own domain (such as john@johndoe.com). A basic site would consist of the following:

• Home page with essential elements, site format, and navigation to other pages.
• About page with information explaining who you are, your business or endeavour, and contact information if you so wish.
• Dedicated contact page with a script that obscures your email address so that spam robots don't harvest it and perform their evil deeds.
• One or more content pages that follow the site's format and contain site content such as text, links, or photos.

Our basic sites are by no means second-rate. They are professional and functional in every way and satisfy the needs of many of our clients. Since no two websites are alike, it's essential that we understand your expectations so we can determine if the features you want meet or exceed that of a basic site.

Example of a basic site (with optional slideshow)

Parallel branding

The basic site outlined above uses your existing design or one that we create for you as part of the package at no extra fee. Since image is the platform for your entire company, you may also want business cards or other design applications that are a trademark of professionals. Print design services are a Flyingdogz specialty. Whether you need a business card or a wider range of print materials, ask us about this important component of your business image before we begin. You'll find that the cost of graphic design, at least in our company, is surprisingly affordable.

Please read our information page about graphic design and image-building for your business. There are also numerous examples on our sliders at the links on the right of this page.

Copy writing and editing

We always notify clients, without charge, of typos and grammatical or spelling errors in any text they provide for construction of a basic website. We can't, however, write or edit additional content for commercial presentation without spending professional time above and beyond the standard website-building task. That's not unreasonable.

At Flyingdogz Creative, we are authors, ad writers, and proofreaders of the most annoying kind. And we're happy to assure your readers that the language in your website or brochure is completely professional. This comes at a fee, and that is added to the cost, should you decide on our help.

Feature-rich website

Your website begins with the basic site outlined above and grows with extra features you'd like to see. Now we look at some of the bells and whistles that increase the labour and complexity involved in building your dream site. Probably the most popular facet of modern website design is the use of javascript to create beautiful navigation menus, slideshows, special effects like fades and scrolls, and many more features that are both eye-pleasing and lend functionality. Their full descriptions are far too lengthy to state on this page, but here are some of the more visible ones that might already be on your list of must-haves:

• Navigation effects:

  These are common and not usually expensive to incorporate. Necessary? Absolutely not. Here's an example of a basic site with a horizontal menu and drop-down effect that we created in 2009.

• Forms:

  Using javascript to drive your forms is standard today. Often it takes many hours to set up scripted forms depending on the complexity of features yours might offer. Javascript can also be used to control the security of your forms, that is, to keep insidious spam robots from using your online form to solicit links to B-rate websites. Commonly this is avoided by using a "captcha" method where visitors are required to fill in a series of letters and numbers thus proving that they're human participants. There are other methods as well.
  
  This is a standard form we created in 2008 that requires the gathering of specific information for a client who provides an obscure product or service. It also contains a captcha security feature.
  
  Adding features such as math computations, continuing pages, and database manipulation requires some serious scripting and can keep a developer busy for many days.

• Slideshows:

  Presenting your photos with grace and movement has become a much more exciting approach than the old click-here-for-enlargement methods of yesteryear. Slideshows require a greater investment of time in preparing photos for internet publication and streamlining for your specific look and purpose. In general terms a slideshow needs a full day of coding. You may have fewer images than the average — or the opposite. So if a slide presentation is high on your priorities, we need to talk to get some idea of the time needed.
  
  This example of a slideshow we provided in 2006 demonstrates the beauty and functionality of modern-day javascript.

• Media players:

  Streaming sound and video are not uncommon requests when they enhance your site's effectiveness. There are many methods to present media in ways that don't risk annoying your visitors. We're experienced at incorporating these features and are happy to discuss them with you. This example is a recent addition that demonstrates the usefulness of streaming audio in a simple website that has everything to gain by doing so.

Other common features you might consider

• Shopping carts allow you to offer your stock online and receive instant payment in your bank account. If you want control over the entry and description of items you're selling, another important function is required, that is, a CMS, a content management system. With this in place, you can administrate your own e-business through software and post changes to your site without necessarily needing a webmaster.
• Google maps (or other types) show visitors exactly where you can be found on planet earth.
• Sign-up features and password security allow some or all of your website to be password protected.
• Blogs, forums, and guestbooks involve your visitors socially in your website's purpose.
• Scrollers display information or images vertically or horizontally.
• Calendars and date-pickers diarize bookings and show times or dates that may be available for the service you're advertising.
• Site searching allows visitors to find content not otherwise visible in menus.
• Tooltips invoke "balloons" or other info boxes at the cursor when a user's mouse hovers at prescribed page elements.
• Social networking access widgets for Twitter, MySpace, and any others you choose, will direct your page to that respective network.
• Form validation assures that your forms are properly completed.

These features are all commonly requested, and there are many others. Of course each addition to the basic web package requires labour, some very little, others more. If there are add-ons you'd like to see for your website, let's discuss them to determine their cost.

Search engine optimization

Simply having a website does not get you on Google's first page. Unless your site is meant solely for acquaintances and you don't care how you may rank in searches, you will undoubtedly want some level of SEO (search engine optimization) after your site is launched.

If your site is unique, let's say that you have the only laundromat in a small town, it's unlikely that you'll have trouble being found by any search engine shortly after we publish your site. But chances are that you have competitors or that your sales area is much larger than your city boundaries.

We use the most ethical "white hat" SEO techniques that will not get your website banned or penalized by search engines. (Yes, this happens!) If you'd like to be involved, we'll show you how to save several hours of our time. Unless your site was built by someone else, some standard SEO procedures will already have been done when we wrote your code.

The majority of work that remains in getting your site to rank well is in wording your pages and establishing their importance through links from other related sites. Here is where it's critical to understand keywords and strategies of the right variety.

The quest for ideal SEO is almost limitless, so we start with the most important aspects and work within your budget. SEO is charged on an hourly basis.