Frequently Asked Questions

What is the first step to getting a web site developed?
I'll send you a questionaire with information that I'll need to help you get started with your web site development. Don't worry - it will take just a bit of thought on your part, and is really pretty painless!

What if I don't have a domain name yet? Can you help me with that?
Yes! As part of the site development, I'll help you choose a domain name and will register it through the hosting company.

What if I already have a domain name registered?
If you don't have a web hosting provider then you should start looking for the e-mail that was sent when you registered the name. It will have the necessary account and password info on it so that we can update your name servers. If you have a hosting provider that you're happy with, then you won't need to do anything. I'll replace any existing files on the server with the new site files.

What type of payments do you take?
I accept checks or credit cards via PayPal. A 50% deposit is required to start your site with the balance due upon completion before it goes live.

How much is this going to cost me every month?
I recommend HostMonster.com for your hosting provider, and they charge $7.95 per month. This is prepaid on an annual basis with discounts for longer terms.

Are you available for changes or updates?
Yes, I am. I always take care of updates in a timely manner and charge $25.00 hour for my work. If an update only takes me a few minutes you won't even receive a bill. I'll keep track of time spent on minor updates, and send an invoice after accumulating one hour of work.

What's the difference between using a web design program and having you create my site? .
I hand code all of the sites I create for one main reason - they are search engine friendly! Web design programs throw in extra code (referred to as code bloat) and that adds lots of extra info for the search engine robots to sort through when trying to pick out revelant info about your site. Coding style will directly affect your search engine placements.

What if I want to update the site on my own
We can setup your site so that you can do basic updates. I recommend making at least minor changes every month or two so the site doesn't become stale and lose search engine position.

I want my site to show up first or second in the search engines. Can you make that happen?
If you're not familiar with the term, "SEO" or "Search Engine Optimization", is an entity of its own. The demand for top placement is great, and the more saturated your market is, the tougher high search engine rankings become. I will design your web site to enhance search engine placement by using key words in the text, coding the meta tags, and utilizing other useful SEO techniques.

To get an idea of how my techniques can work for search placement, type "Veterinary Hospital in Michigan" in your favorite browser search box and check the ranking of Plaza Veterinary Hospital!

But I want my site to show up number one next week!
Once a site is created with clean coding, then brought online and submitted to the main search engines, it can take 6-8 weeks to achieve good search engine rankings. If your site has been properly written, key words are placed in the main body of text, title tags have been used in an appropriate manner, etc., then you should naturally see good to excellent rankings within a few months.