Yes, I make a point of listing many of the businesses and organisations that I have worked for on my website and I have been independently reviewed many times by real clients on Which Web Design Company's independat review site , these are real clients, running real business's in the UK, USA and around the world, that you are welcome to contact for references. These range from website design clients to search engine optimisation clients to business's I have helped retrieve their domain names and so on.
Will my website work on tablets and smart phones?
Yes, all of the websites that we build these days are all built to be 'mobile responsive', this means that the layout of the website changes automatically on mobile devices such as smart phones and tablets as well as working beuatifully on full screen devices such as desk tops and lap tops allowing vistirs to your website to engage with the content no matter what kind of device they are using.
Do I get a written quote?
Yes, when you first contact me for a quote I put everything in an email to you, including the cost, payment terms, timescale for building your site, suggestions, references, examples of existing work etc. One you have your quote I won't badger you for days afterwards! You can read through the quote at your leisure, check out my work, take references and if and when you want me to work for you just give me a call.
Are there any ongoing costs for website maintenance?
No, the cost for designing your website and doing all of the work necessary to get you a top website with top search engine presence is all included in the initial fee.
I can design your website in line with your budget and any tweaks, routine updates etc are all done for you with no additional cost.
This is of course good will based, so if for example you decided you wanted another 100 pages adding to your site we may have to have a conversation about the time involved! But for routine updates, SEO tweaking, security updates etc there are no ongoingfees.
Who owns my website when it's done?
You do of course! The domain names are registered to you, the content has a copyright statement on each page saying that you own the copyright, it's all yours. There are of course hideous stories of some website designers shutting down sites, registering your domain names to themselves and charging stupendous annual fees! I've helped several businesses out of such arrangements. If I create your website for you, its yours, yours yours!
I already have a website, can you take over hosting and maintaining it?
Yes, absolutely, I would arrange a domain name transfer and a new hosting account for you, if required, the process usually takes around 24 hours to complete and I give you all the details and costs in writing for you to consider before you make a decision. We handle the transfer for you so you do not have to do anything technical.
I already have a website but am not happy with the design can you change it?
Again that's a big yes! As long as I can access the hosting account and work on the web pages I can get it sorted out for you. Even if you don't know your hosting account details don't worry, I can usually help you retrieve these quickly and simply.
I already have a website but it performs really badly in the search engines, can you help?
Yes, I have taken over a number of poorly performing websites and transformed them into top scoring sites. There are many businesses's that will give references for this and I give many many examples on my website of sites I have worked on that are getting outstanding local, national and international search results.
I don't know much about the Internet or computers, is it complicated?
No, not at all, 'I'm a nerd, which means you don't need to be!' I believe in making the whole process as simple as possible for you, I will register your domains, set up your hosting, talk you through all the information I will need and then I do the hard work and you just review and enjoy the outcome. If you need any one to one time to understand how to send and receive email, process online payments etc that's all part of the process.
What if I don't like my website once it's done?
To be honest, because of the way I carry out the design process where you get to review everything as it goes along, the end result is usually something that you have an input into creating anyway. But, if you totally hate the design, that's cool, it's your website at the end of the day and the end result has to be something you are 100% happy with.
There are lots and lots of websites I don't show in my portfolio because I think they look pretty hideous, but that's exactly the point of "bespoke website design", what you think looks stunning I might see as ugly and what I think looks fabulous you might think looks horrendous, like I said, it's your website, so it gets designed the way you want it.
And don't worry if you don't have a clue about how you want it to look, that's why I'm a nerd remember!
Do you set up domain names and hosting?
Yes, your domain names are registered to you or your business so that you maintain full ownership of the domains. If you already have domain names and website hosting we can either work with what you already have or we can transfer things to our own hosting service. I am very proud to boast that our hosting company use eco friendly green servers thereby protecting the environment.
The design process very much depends on the type of website but as a guide, a simple site to give you a presence on the internet, will take around a couple of days to a week, more complicated sites, e-commerce sites, online shops etc could take anything from 5 to 10 days or more. When you first contact me for a quote I will give you an estimated timescale for building your website.
No, my charges are actually very competitive and I have many many local and international business, charity and private clients listed on my website that you can talk to about this. I very much believe in charging a one off fee with no additional extras and I always put quotes in writing so that you have written confirmation of charges. All of the business's I have worked for will, I am sure, be happy to confirm that the cost is exceptionally reasonable and always as quoted.
Am I guaranteed to get top search engine listings on Google etc?
Anyone who guarantees such a thing may be leading you up the garden path! On my website I say you must ask three questions of anyone you engage for search engine optimisation, can you provide references? Can you provide examples? Can you provide proof? Any search engine optimiser capable of getting you the best results on Google and other search engines will be able to give you this information and reassurance. On my website you will find lots of examples of local business's getting outstanding local, national and international results and lots and lots of references for you to contact.
Can I contact you out of hours for support?
Yes you can, all of my contact details are on the website, I run a 24 hour operation and can often be found working late into the night when the kids are in bed and the house is quiet (best time to work with no interruptions and no little ones shouting 'dad can I have a drink!) There will be occasions when you can't get me, I am a retained fireman as well as a computer geek, so every now and then you may have to leave a voicemail but I will call you back. I don't have 'opening hours' you can call any time, any day.