Choosing a Web Designer

There are several options when choosing to build a website. You could choose a "site builder" option (Content Management System), but read our guidance before you do.

We obviously want you to use us for web design, but whoever you use there are some things you need to check.

Web designers often charge reduced rates for design because their hosting costs are massive. Check both before you sign up. Our hosting rates compete with the most competitive in the business.

Check on the cost of all the extras before committing to buy. Additional Email addresses, extra bandwidth, extra storage space, databases, etc all can attract extra charges and these charges vary from company to company. We provide a typical package that suits most people and where extras are needed they are often included or can be provided at minimal cost.

Typically you'll want to include an email address for your potential customers to contact you. If not actioned correctly this can cause spam from automated web crawlers looking for email addresses. Our websites use several methods to reduce these risks. Before you use another web designer ask how they protect your email address from web crawlers.

Actual web page content is only limited by the imagination. Pages can include pictures, video, slideshows, office documents, animations, etc. But don't be tempted to get too clever unless your budget is substantial because there are websites out there that can't be read using Ipods, Blackberrys and other mobile devices. We develop websites that can be accessed by almost all devices. That doesn't stop web designers selling Flash websites to customers who aren't aware of their limitation.

If your web designer does not provide ftp access to your website you often have to stick with them as there is no way for anyone else to make changes. Similarly if your web designer has a really clever Content Management System it may allow you to make changes to the website yourself, but often you are unable to move the hosting to another company and changes outside the Content Management System's capability are often impossible or extremely expensive.

Although some example prices for basic design have be produced on the pricing page we reserve the right to provide a quotation for your work.

Sitebuilder Options

Before you spend hundreds of dollars on your hosting company's sitebuilder option there are some things to consider. Firstly they use templates which can provide you with a basic content management system (a system that allows you to edit the content of a page easily) at a great price.  However they have some drawbacks:

• Most users require or would benefit from a basic understanding of web page creation.  If you have no knowledge we would suggest you leave well alone.
• Content Management Systems vary in their ease of use.  Make sure you get the option to try before you buy because you are unlikely to get a refund if you don't produce a working website. 
• Content Management Systems often contain hidden extra costs.  Make sure you read all the costs before committing - again if you change your mind you are unlikely to get a refund.
• Because the structure and styling of the page is down to the content management system you can't move your website to another service provider without completely recreating it.  Look for FTP access - this means that your website is portable.
• Think about how much time and effort you are going to have to spend putting your website together.  We can generally put a basic website together in around a week including domain registration and registering the finished website with google.  How long will it take you?