What type of services do you offer?

We do a variety of work in the realm of design, including – but not limited to – the following:

1. Website design – Entire website design from the ground up. Graphics,
   on-page SEO, layout. Professional design at a fraction of the price.
2. Graphic design – Entire site design, individual banners, icon sets,
   business cards.
3. PHP (server-side scripting) – Custome PHP design and scripting. An example of one of our PHP projects is our online favicon generator.
4. Component installation – E-commerce, blog, image gallery, CMS, media players, etc
5. Site redesign – For sites that need to be visually refreshed, made more user-friendly, or made more search friendly.
6. Ongoing SEO – Marketing, creating backlinks, keyword research.
7. MySQL Database Design – Services ranging from complex relational database design, simple user management, to existing database optimization.
8. E-commerce – Integrate an e-commerce solution on a new or existing website to offer new or existing services.

What is involved in the design process?

Typically, the following is what you can expect through the design process:

1. Initial consultation
2. Quote and proposal (including expectations and timeframe)
3. First invoice (initial deposit)
4. Design mock-up
5. Final invoice (remaining balance)
6. Website delivery

Does your design include SEO?

This is an important question that always needs clarification. As the designer, our responsibility to the client lies in creating a website that meets their expectations in terms of functionality and design. It also includes creating a website that is search-engine friendly. Some of the characteristics of a search-engine friendly site are:

1. Code that is clean. Messy code isn’t easily readable or indexed by search engines.
2. Properly organized layout. The content of a site should be laid out similar to an English paper. Title, introduction, body, and summary. All of which includes proper headings and sub-headings. This is all taken into account when search engines index websites.
3. A discussion with the client on what keywords will be targeted for their website. While we may be able to guess, it is ultimately up to the client what keywords they would like to target. We will offer input and do basic research, but it is critical that our clients (the content generators) know what keywords they are targeting.
4. Proper use of internal links. Creating external links to your site is an important part of ongoing SEO. Creating internal links that point to important
   documents on your site is an important part of creating a search-engine friendly website. The more frequently a link to a particular document appears on your site, the more important search engines believe it to be.
5. URL design. It is not only helpful for users to know where they are by looking at the URL, but it also adds to keyword relevance for search engines when your document’s URL’s are descriptive.
6. Sitemaps. Sitemaps are not only important for your users to be able to quickly navigate your site, but they are important for search engines as well. There are two types of sitemaps. A visual sitemap, like the one at the bottom of our page, and an XML sitemap. An XML sitemap is a structured XML file that resides at the root of your site that isn’t used by visitors. It is used by search engines to help map out your site. Both types of sitemaps are included in the design (if requested) but updates to the sitemap are part of ongoing SEO. Alternatively, we can include a self-updating sitemap for an additional charge.
7. Load time. Page load time (database design, graphics, etc) has a small effect on search engine prioritization, but it is important nonetheless. We work to design efficient databases and graphics with short load times in order to maximize the user experience and optimize your site for search engines.

All of these things are very important in creating a search-engine friendly website. And they are all included in the design process. Ongoing SEO is another topic, and while we offer it as an additional service, it is not included in the design cost of your website.

Why do you discourage Flash?

Flash is a dying technology. This is a bold statement, but it is true. And it is a dying technology for many reasons. It is buggy, difficult to index for search engines, and doesn’t play well at all on mobile devices. While we have and can include Flash on your website, things like Flash intros and Flash slideshows are HIGHLY discouraged. Search engine optimization should take priority over flashy lights and most Flash effects can be achieved with JavaScript and/or CSS. Used sparingly, it can add a nice touch to a website. But used heavily and irresponsibly, it can drastically damage your ability to achieve high search engine rankings.

What about prices?

This is a topic that comes up occasionally: why aren’t prices discussed on your website? For our studio, website creation is personal. Every project is unique, and for that reason we price each project uniquely. Pricing is guaranteed to be fair and competitive. However, we produce professional designs and layouts so if you are serious about creating a website that is ready for search engine rankings and having a personal experience throughout the process, be ready for our rates. We aren’t a hack-and-slash design studio; communication is fast, expectations are clear, and production is fast and efficient.

Generally speaking, a basic, static 3-page website (home, about, contact) will range between $350-$550, depending on the amount of requirements. Blog, e-commerce, galleries, etc will typically be in addition to the initial setup fee. Prices are always flexible and we are willing to work with you for payment plans. We also offer hosting and maintenance packages that drastically reduce the initial setup fee.