Website Design FAQs
Quick Links
- How much does a website cost?
- Why should we go with you?
- Why are you so expensive?
(...or why are you so cheap?) - Do you provide hosting?
- Who do you recommend for hosting?
- Do you provide for handicapped accessibility?
- How will the site content be maintained?
- What should we do in advance of meeting with you?
- What happens if you go out of business?
- What other websites have you built?
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 for larger projects will include functional specifications and technical specifications). This plan 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?
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, development budget, 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.
The final and most elegant solution is the Content Management System (cms). This option 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. We prefer to develop sites using the Concrete5 cms.
What should we do in advance of meeting with you?
Read this blog post and follow its directions.
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.
- For web applications, we partner with another development firm as a backup for development and ongoing support. If anything causes One Hat to go out of business, the other firm could take over support.
What other websites have you built?
You may browse our portfolio of websites. Otherwise, the following list should give you a taste of our work: