Q: How much does it cost to design a website? Determining flat rates for website design projects is challenging due to the fact that no two websites are the same.
Static sites require far less labor than interactive sites and therefore are less costly to produce. Web ready content, submitted by the customer, will also require far less time to integrate into a website than content that needs to be researched, developed and formatted by the designer.
Promotional ads, original graphics and add-ons such as image galleries, slide shows, video and rollover buttons will also contribute to the increased cost of the final project.
AVERAGE COST PER CUSTOM WEB PAGE
The cost for the first page of the "average" site hovers around $200.-$250. Once the initial design is developed, additional pages can usually be created at a lower cost averaging $100. per page.
Note:Costs mentioned above are based on generalizations. They serve as estimations and should not be construed as price quotes.Cost estimates for a job are based on the information available at the time of the estimate. Final project costs are calculated using an hourly rate.
If the initial job quote is for a 4 page site and the end result is a 6 page site, the customer will be billed for the additional hours required to produce the extra pages.
The final cost is dependent on how many hours are spent working on a design and how many times the customer asks for changes to it.
Q: In addition to design costs, are there additional expenses to consider?
Yes. There are 2 additional expenses: hosting and credit card processing charges.
(1) HOSTING
In order for the public to view your website online, you will need to acquire a hosting service and domain name (www.yourbusinessname.com). BLUEHOST
I recommend hosting plans offered by BlueHost .
They offer:
• Full range of services and 24/7 technical support
• FREE domain name comes with a competitively priced hosting package that includes FREE script installs and log programs
• Log program that tracks how many visitors search your site and what pages they view
• HTML Editor that allows customers to manage page text. The HTML Editor has an interface similar to Microsoft Word.
• Secure file transfer option that helps minimize malware risks. Note: Kweb1.com is hosted by BlueHost and is not an affiliate... just a satisfied customer!
(2) CREDIT CARD PROCESSING CHARGE
The standard rate for receiving PayPal credit card payments is 2.9%.
Q:
Once my site is up and running, are there monthly charges?
No.
Contracts are not required and customers are billed for services as they are rendered.
Q: What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?
SEO is the use of various techniques to improve a website's search engine rank with the hope of attracting more visitors. Examples of effective SEO strategies include: well written content, relevant keywords, links, social media and successful marketing approaches.
Q: Why Social Media?
Integrating your website with social media such as Facebook, YouTube and Word Press are ways of encouraging incoming links, increasing traffic and improving search engine results.
Facebook and YouTube
Harness the power of social media to increase visitor traffic to your site. Linking to a Facebook business page and integrating YouTube videos is especially important.
Facebook was the #1 search term and #1 most visited website for 2011.
YouTube was the # 2 search term and #3 most visited website for 2011.
Word Press
Link your website to a Word Press blog. This allows you to have full control over content so you can keep customers up to date with the latest promotional offers, new products and special events.
Q: How will my site rank with search engines?
Since Google is the number one search engine, I follow guidelines as discussed in the video, How to Get Better Visibility on Google, by Matt
Cutts, Google Engineer.
Websites are designed to be search engine friendly using Google Search Engine Optimization (SEO) guidelines. Note: Once your website is uploaded to the server for the public to view, it will take search engines time to crawl it and index your information. For example, it may take Google days or weeks to
index new sites.
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Consider the impact of Facebook, YouTube, WordPress, Twitter and other social media in terms of improving page rank and increasing the number of visitors to your site.
Effective December 2010, Google uses "signals" from social media in ranking search results.
Create original, high quality content rich in key words.
Keep your content fresh and updated.
Create a blog or Facebook business page. Join an online forum or Twitter. Make a YouTube video.
Integrate your site with social media and share your experiences. Offer special promotions.
Create your own, one of a kind, email marketing list. Send personalized newsletters and promotional offers.
Book mark and share your site.
Personalize each visitor's experience and encourage interaction. Engage visitors with questions, contests and giveaways.
Create internal links between your own website pages. Get high quality incoming links from other websites. Flash does nothing for your SEO. Google cannot read it.
