Pricing Qs
The Basic | Advanced | Premium price range indicates what you can expect a website to cost when working with me.
I email you an exact quote for the job based on what I can best calculate the amount of work it will be for the specified things that will be done.
Before giving you an exact quote for your website, we would first need to talk in detail via Skype about where you are at, what you want to do, what options there are for you available, and so on.
Alternative to a fixed-price package is the Hourly Rate option for building your website , where I simply log the hours that I work and you pay on a weekly or fortnightly basis.
Normally payment is a two-stage plan: an initial deposit of 65% paid prior to any work starting, and the 35% remaining due on website completion.
Where the price is above $1300, a three-stage is optional: an initial deposit of 40% and then 30% when the website is largely completed and 30% again upon completion.
Webhosting
Yes, currently I exclusively offer my website design and development clients. Get in touch with me for details.
General Qs
If you are keen to learn to have full control of your WordPress website, I believe for the vast majority of people, it's better that they focus on doing that after the website has been completed.
A completely DIY approach to building your website can be a long, unpleasant and, in hindsight, a regrettable experience for many.
Good website design involves a strong knowledge of a wide range of disciplines that include such things as marketing, graphics, design, and copy. Attempting to learn everything at once can be quite overwhelming, and is not so efficient as a learning technique, especially while growing and evolving as a businesess.
DIY can keep you in a prison of your own making.
More often than not, when people come to me wanting help with fixing their half-completed or already completed website, either done by themselves or a web designer with low standards, I question whether it would be better and faster just to start with a fresh canvas and do it all again. If you provide a novice's painting to a master painter to work with and try to fix it up by touching it up here and there - yes, it will get better. But it's unlikely to turn into a masterpiece unless most of it is painted over, and even then only if it's centered around a completely new design.
Consider having a suitable web designer by your side as a consultant and mentor to guide you to a good start and help you quickly troubleshoot issues you encounter along the way.
This is not normally something that web designers like to offer and many may not even be competent at doing this. If you are still keen on building the website yourself as much as you can on your own, have the time and energy to do so, and would like a mentor and guide, get in touch with me for a Smart-Start.
Whatever you choose, consulting with a good web designer about your website, someone who you think you may choose to work with later down the line, is a smart move!
WordPress is a powerful self-hosted platform that can do almost anything and costs very little to maintain. But what about Wix, Weebly, Squarespace, Shopify and other hosted-for-you platforms? If you fit into all three boxes of being very technically challenged, are new to building an online presence AND want and online shop where you sell simple products from, then those other options are indeed a great starting point and I would suggest you start there and work with a web designer who specialises in one of those platforms.
If you don't fit into all three of those boxes, then working with a web designer in building WordPress site could be a great option for you long term.
The first big hurdle for many people is simply that WordPress is harder to setup on their own.
Many are quickly lured by the promise of a quick and easily managed website. What these people may not realize is that once their WordPress website is actually set up, it can be just as quick to learn how to manage, especially with a suitable page builder plugin and some help and video guides from a good web designer. And this is exactly what I do with many of my clients.
The cost of a good web designer setting you up on WordPress pays for itself.
This is partly because the maintenance costs of self hosted WordPress websites are only a fraction of the yearly fees of Wix, Weebly, and Squarespace subscriptions.
But there are other more important additional advantages that come with working with a good WordPress web designer from the get-go that helps pay for itself. In the process of creating your WordPress website, a good web designer will try to work with you to improve the overall standards of design, features, and conversions, leading to greater chances of success for your business. A web designer brings his professional knowledge and experience to add to your advantage.
Yet another consideration is that hours and hours of your valuable time is spared to be able to focus on building your business, rather than trying to build a website from scratch. In the end you come out with a more professional website and better handle on your business.
The key to the most success with WordPress is having an experienced WordPress web designer to help you get started.
You are then virtually unlimited in terms of what you can then continue to do with your website on WordPress! Whereas some businesses that pivot and grow can encounter limitations with what they can do on their Wix, Weebly, or Squarespace platform, and start looking elsewhere again or simply limit their website to what the platform offers. WordPress offers many custom features and capabilities that you may not even know you want.
If you are not sure where you stand, you can get a free 30-minute Smart-Start consultation with me now to discuss your online business.
Still got questions? Get in touch now.