What is website hosting?

For people to view your website, you will need to put your site on a server that has a web server installed so it can 'server' your website to the world wide web.

At Impulse, we actually resell hosting plans to our clients. That means we don't actually own or have a server sitting nearby, we let a full time hosting company handle the hardware and we handle the websites. They charge us, we charge the client and we both make a little money.

This method is used by many smaller web companies who can't afford to hire someone to maintain the server - that is usually a full-time job. Another great benefit of reselling is that the hosting company usually has great 24/7 support so they can take care of any problems that may arise. Their facilities are usually super secure and tightly monitored so your website will stay running smoothly.

To find out more about our hosting plans at Impulse, please visit our hosting page.

Link: Impulse Web Solutions - Wilmington NC Website Hosting

What is the web design process?

Here is a breakdown of the web design and development process so you know what to expect:

Communication
This is the most crucial step of the whole project and needs to be documented correctly before any work is done on the site. It is important for us to listen to you and your needs as a client. It is important for you to accurately communicate your goals for the website. Sometimes clients don't always know what they want, so we often ask some questions to help begin effective dialogue.

Website Quote and Pricing
Once we know what you do and don't want, we can provide you with an accurate quote on how much the project will cost. Once the site budget is approved and all documentation has been signed and approved, we require 50% of the site cost up front. Pricing a website is sort of like buying a car, the more bells and whistles you want the more the car will cost. Therefore, the more information about the project we have and know up front, the more accurate the quote will be.

Web Design
Your website design speaks volumes about your business. Think of your website as the billboard on the side of the internet highway as thousands of web surfers cruise the internet on a daily basis. Will they stop and take a look or keep going? The quality of your site will determine if they stay or go. Be sure you have taken a look at the past work of the web design firm you choose and that they can produce the kind of quality your site deserves.

Web Coding and Programming
If your site requires any PHP programming, this is done once the design has been approved. PHP is a dynamic programming language we use to do tasks such as email contact forms, application form processing, content management, e-commerce and database development.

Delivery
Once the site is complete and has been approved by the client, we are ready to 'go live' and put the site up on the web for all to see and explore. To make a site live, you will need a domain name and someone to host the website. We recommend GoDaddy.com for purchasing domain names and we provide hosting for $15/month. Read more about our web hosting plan.

And then....
Well, the site is done, but the relationship is not. Many clients like to do site upgrades in the future, like to purchase other services like search engine optimization or will need technical support. We often check in with clients on a monthly basis to make sure things are still running smoothly and to offer any support they may need.

How long does it take to build or design a website?

I think this mainly depends on the client. Some clients have deadlines and timetables, some don't. Some clients get everything that you need right away and some take their sweet time.

One of the longest periods of time during website development is the initial mockup design phase. Often, I will design 1 or 2 mockups for a client. Sometimes I will do 1 mockup and show it to the client - they like it, but they want to tweak it. This back and forth cycle can take up too 2 weeks easy. Make a change - show it to the client - they get back to you in a day or two - make another change - show it to the client, etc. Some clients are pickier than others. That's not a bad thing, it just means that as a designer I need to try and understand exactly what it is the client is looking for.

Another time killer during web site design is waiting on content. When the website design is complete and then you say, 'ok, I need to know everything you want to say on the homepage'.

Writing copy for a website is hard, I'll admit it. I don't like doing it either. But it is important to say the right thing and so many clients spend a good amount of time thinking over exactly what they want to say.

Sometimes it's not always copy - sometimes it's waiting on images. I did one website for a client who wanted a different header image on every page. So that client went to a stock photography site and hand picked every image they wanted. Not saying that was a bad thing, just saying that kind of stuff takes time. Searching for the right image can take awhile, trust me - been there.

But, I have to be honest, we designers can also kill some time as well. I am very picky about my web designs. If I don't like it, I don't show it to the client. I have to like it too. I often do multiple versions of a design until I get it just right. This can take a week easy.

My general rule of thumb is about a month for a basic 5 - 10 page website. I figure a week for the design phase, a week waiting for content, another week for popping in content and then the last week is for final review by the client and any last minute changes and updates before going live.

How does pricing work?

I normally require 50% of the project cost up front before starting any work. The final 50% is due upon project completion. I send invoices for you to keep for your records.

Payment is due as soon as possible but I normally give clients up to a month to make payments. After a month, there is a $100/month fee for late payments.

We accept the following methods of payment:

• Paypal
• Cash
• Check
• Visa
• Mastercard
• Discover
• American Express

What is SEO? Do you offer that?

SEO (search engine optimization) is pretty huge right now. Just go to Google and type in SEO and you will get a gazillion companies promising to rank you number one on Google. Truth is, Google keeps their ranking formula a secret, so there is really no one that can promise you that. However, Google does provide some basic SEO best practices on their website.

SEO is a web marketing strategy designed to get your site ranked as high as possible on search engines like Google, Yahoo and MSN. So for example, I own a web design firm in Wilmington NC. When someone goes to Google and types in 'Wilmington NC Web Design', I want my website to come up first, right at the top. At Impulse Web Solutions, we follow the Google webmaster guidelines and implement industry standard techniques to help your site get noticed by your target audience.

Other options for SEO include Pay Per Click advertising and Ad Campaigns. Basically you tell Google what keywords you want to appear for. Then, when someone clicks on your site Google charges you. If you have ever done a search on Google (who hasn't right?) you will notice some links appear at the top in a blue box, then some links appear right beneath that and then some links show up on the right. The ones on the top and right are paying to be there using pay per click advertising while the other ones are what we call organic links and are not paying to be there. Pay per click advertising is great for a new site to get some hits, but eventually that will get expensive and what you want is to be an organic link. You want to rank high because you have a great site, not because you paid to be there.

Less expensive methods include optimizing your page content and HTML code to be more search engine friendly. At Impulse, we provide a basic SEO package that includes the following and is a one time cost of $100.00:

-Site submission by hand to the top 3 search engines - Google, Yahoo and MSN
-Google Account and Webmaster tools so you can monitor your site's progress
-Sitemap development and submission to Google and Yahoo
-Access to monthly reporting tools Google Analytics Account for monitoring site stats
-HTML code optimization and meta tag design for optimum visibility
(Note: Sites over 10 pages will be charged $10/page for HTML code optimization)

For an additional cost, I can also help you setup Adword and Pay Per Click campaigns with Google. Visit my site for more info.

Link: Google Webmaster Guidelines

I want to be able to update the site myself - can I do that?

Many clients come to me and want the ability to update all or some of the pages of the site on their own. Sometimes they may have changing prices, new sales events and specials, they want to display different ads in different seasons or they just want to have that sense of control over their site text.

Many tools are available on the market today for what are called Content Management Systems or CMS.

One method I use is to create a 'backdoor' for a client with a listing of pages. Each page has a content box and that content box is where text edits can be done. They hit 'Update', the data is sent to a database and then the site updated on the front end.

Another option is to purchase a copy of Contribute, a product by Adobe (formerly Macromedia). Contribute connects to your web server, where the files are stored, and lets you edit the content of the site pages using a nice GUI editor, similar to Microsoft Word.

These are just two examples, but I know there are many other type systems on the market today. If you are a web developer and know of another CMS system, please feel free to share your ideas here on this forum.

Link: More about CMS on my main site

How much does a website cost?

The best way to answer this question is to think about buying a new car. The more bells and whistles (chrome rims, 4-wheel drive, spoiler, flames painted on the side) you want on the car the more it costs.

Same goes for web design - the more bells and whistles (Flash movies, CMS, dynamic pages, fancy navigation menus) the more the site costs.

I try to first extract from the client what the basic needs are: homepage, about us, products, services, contact us.

These are what I call the 'Fab 5' - the foundational pages of a website. These type of sites aren't normally that expensive, maybe $500 - $750. But then when you start adding Flash, more pages, the ability for the client to update the site themselves (CMS), etc., the bill starts going up.

Another factor of course is how much the web design firm charges per hour, per page, per mockup, etc. I know one guy who is very good who charges $500 just for the mockup. I know some companies where you can get an entire 'Fab 5' site for $500. But then again, just like everything else, you get what you pay for.

So, how much does a website cost?

1. Will depend on the web design firm's standard charging rates - not everyone charges the same.

2. If you want to pay for what you need as compared to what you want.

3. Do you want all the bells and whistles or will a basic 'Fab 5' suffice?

To get a web design quote, please use our web design quote form to contact us.