Web Q&A
With all the hype out there about websites, it hard to know what you need and who you can trust to do it for you. Because the industry is not yet regulated, it is easy to take a wrong turn. We work with small business owners on a daily basis and we’ve heard every question in the book, but we tend to hear certain questions again and again. So we’ve compiled a list of the most common concerns expressed by small business owners for your education and amusement!

Why would I need a website?
Our favorite question of all! To start, most people don’t just operate their business for fun, they do it to make a profit too. It’s hard to build credibility with potential clients in an increasingly digital world when you’re not in it. One of the most efficient and inexpensive ways to share information is online. Are you out there?

How can a website help my business?
When getting ready to build your website, the first question you need to ask yourself is, “What do I want my website to do?” Once you answer that question you’ll know how a website can help your business. For retail outlets, a website can boost sales by providing an online storefront at a much lower cost than a physical location. It can increase business for a salon by allowing customers to make appointments during non business hours. It can help your business by simply allowing you to share large amounts of information about your products or services with potential customers thousands of miles away immediately without the delay of the conventional postal service or even the wait of email response time.

How much does it cost?
WHEW! This is a tough one. Usually we approach this question with an introductory meeting to get to know your business and assess its needs. However in all honesty, a website can be as little as $0, when built by a high school student working on a class project to thousands of dollars when built by a large corporate marketing firm. The bottom line is the cost of your website is directly relational to what you want it to do for you. Like many companies, we offer free estimates so you can set up a meeting to get a quote at no cost or obligation.

I live in a small town, can I still get a website?
Well of course! They don’t call it the World Wide Web for nothing. You can have a website no matter where you live. And anyone with Internet access can look at it.

I’m not very good with computers. How will I maintain my site?
We use the monkey rule in our programming department: “If a monkey can’t figure out the update features provided for your site we haven’t made the process easy enough.” Not to mention, we have a fantastic set of individuals who will be more than happy to train you how to update your site.

Should I build my website myself?
Well, we’re not saying you’re not smart enough to figure it out. But if your car needs a tune up, you take it to the auto shop. It’s not that you can’t figure it out on your own. You just don’t have the time to mess with it. Even if you did manage to get it done would you have done it right and how long did it take you? The same rule of thumb goes for web design.

Can I make changes to my site after it’s finished?
When you start planning your website, it’s important to assess what information will change often. We develop an online maintenance feature for you to change the information you will need to update on a regular basis. Any knowledgeable web designer, for an hourly fee, can easily update the other information in the site that will be less likely to change.

But you don’t live in my town. How will that work?
When working with clients, we actually don’t need too many face-to-face meetings. We would love to sit down with you before the project starts. If that means us driving to you, Great! If that is for some reason not possible, all communications really can be done over email and the phone. Designs and images can be viewed on almost any computer and we are really good at keeping track of phone communications. What we’re saying is that we hope to do whatever it takes to meet with you at least once or twice. Whether these meetings happen or not, it won’t compromise the integrity of your project.