Website Design & Development FAQ

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How much does a website cost?

It depends. Websites can cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars to several hundred thousand dollars. In order to provide an accurate price quote, we need to determine a Website Development Plan which will serve as the blueprint for the rest of the project. We offer free initial consultations to begin this process. Larger sites may require a consulting fee for the time and research put into drawing up a comprehensive development plan.

Why should we go with you?

There are countless web designers out there, but most of them are not very good. We stand out from our competition in being able to offer very high quality work at a reasonable price. Our websites are custom-made and tailored specifically for you.

Also, we are able to offer integrated media solutions; meaning, we do more than just web design and programming. We also do video production, audio production, lighting, and graphic design. We can create an entire brand or identity for your company, create sales and promo videos, develop print materials (brochures, letterheads, etc), and then base the website around all of these.

Why are you so expensive? (...or why are you so cheap?)

We are not the least expensive web developers out there; nor are we the most expensive. Instead, we try to produce work of the highest quality and place ourselves at a middle-of-the-road price point. We believe clients who value quality will be willing to pay for it, but still want to get a good deal in the process!

Do you provide web hosting?

No. But we can recommend hosting services, if requested.

Who do you recommend for hosting?

That depends on the needs of the client. For small sites where performance is not a major concern, we like Dreamhost.

Do you provide for handicapped accessibility?

Yes. We are able to make (and have made) sites which conform to Section 508 Guidelines and the W3C's accessibility guidelines.

How will the site content be maintained?

There are many ways to maintain website content. Which solution one chooses is dependent on many factors: anticipated frequency of updates, the expertise of the staff charged with maintenance, available funds, and so on.

Some clients choose to have the original developer make updates. This is relatively inexpensive and is the best option when anticipated updates are infrequent and not urgent.

Other clients want to update the site themselves using Adobe Dreamweaver. This is a good option when the client knows (or is willing to learn) a bit about programming html.

Clients who are not “computer geeks” but also don’t have the funds for a full-fledged cms often like editing their website in Adobe Contribute (this program is designed to “dumb-down” the maintenance process, and actually locks out areas of the site—protecting them from accidental mistakes). There is an additional cost during the development stage for this, as a website must be altered to be compatible with this technology.

The most expensive option (at least initially) is the Content Management System. This is where the website is built in such a way that its pages may be altered directly within the web browser. Essentially, there are two websites: the first is what the public sees; and the second is only available privately behind a login screen.

Once the site is complete, who owns the code and graphics?

With regard to copyright ownership and licensing, we try to draw a fair balance between the interests of the developer and client.

Our policy is to retain the copyright ownership to all website code and web graphics we create. However, we assign perpetual limited-use rights to use the website. In simple terms, this means you can use the site as a website for as long as you want without paying additional fees or royalties to us. If you want to use any of the content we create in other mediums (for example, taking a logo we designed for use on the website and putting it on business cards or letterhead) you would need to come back to us and secure new copyright licensing (or buy the copyright ownership completely).

What should we do in advance of meeting with you?

Browse the web and make note of any sites you like or would want to emulate. Of course, we won’t just copy another site directly, but this process helps us to understand your preferences and expectations. Annotate this list with comments about why you like each particular site. What specifically makes you put that site on your list?

Have a good idea of what you want to accomplish with your website. Also, have at least a rough idea of the type and organization of your content. We can assist with this, of course, but the more you do ahead of time, the quicker we can get started on your project!

What happens if you go out of business?

We have been in business since 2002 and have been steadily growing ever since. However, if this is a concern, a few points may be made:

Our code could be easily maintained by another developer. We do not try to strong-arm our clients into vendor-lock. Instead, we desire to retain customers by thrilling them with the excellence and value of our services.
Our code is not obfuscated, but rather heavily documented in-line, and uses industry-standard programming techniques. We’re not trying to be “clever” in our coding practices!
You website would continue to operate and function just as it has since the day it went live.

What websites have you done?

You may browse our portfolio of websites. Otherwise, the following list should give you a taste of our work:

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