Web Site Design: An Overview

1. Web design is EASY! You can do it yourself and save money - like plumbing! If so, carry on and Good Luck!

2. Before you start, why not phone (01845 523637) or e-mail Dave Titchmarsh with an outline of your requirements. It may be possible to quote an approximate price over the phone.

3. We can arrange an initial consultation to discuss the design, appearance and function of your web site, and to decide what information will be displayed. (This is usually free and without obligation, but I reserve the right to charge for travelling beyond the Thirsk area.) In some instances we design and maintain sites for customers we have never met!

4. At this stage you supply the information for the site - text, photos, tables etc. - preferably in file format for convenience. We are happy to scan from print or even type from handwritten notes, but this will add slightly to the cost. If you do not have sufficient photographs of products/premises, I often undertake this work.

5. At this stage, I normally estimate the cost of the work.

6. The site is designed, usually in stages, so that you can suggest alterations to style, colour and format. There will be easy navigation between pages (and within sections of larger sites).

7. The files that make up your web site must be uploaded to a web host. Although it is possible to do this free of charge, it is preferable to use a business hosting service.

8. Your web site is identified on the internet by a unique DOMAIN NAME (eg www.stowitnshowit.co.uk). You register a domain name of your choosing - or we can do it for you.

9. The site is up and running at this stage.

10. We send you an invoice which will normally lie within 10% above or below the original estimate. It will not exceed this maximum without prior consultation with you (for example if you added extra pages of information during the course of the work or supplied extra photographs for processing). IN PRACTICE THE FINAL COST RARELY EXCEEDS THE ORIGINAL ESTIMATE.
    

• We submit the site to the free database used by most of the major search engines. There is no charge for this because we cannot guarantee the level of success in attracting visitors to your site.

• Please note that many search engines have now introduced fees for guaranteed inclusion in their lists. You will be responsible for any such fees if you want preferential listing in this way.

Working Features

A web site containing only text, tabulated information and pictures is a useful business tool, but sites with pages that actually perform a function often repay the extra cost many times over.  These include:

• Response forms to gather information or orders from prospective customers. The information is sent to you via the internet and you receive such responses as a formatted email.
• An online database to hold and display information about products or customer enquiries.
• On line payment facilities, so that customers can purchase your products securely using credit/debit cards.
• Photo slide shows with captions.

Dave Titchmarsh

trading in UK as StowiITnShowIT, 4 Saxty Way, Sowerby, Thirsk, North Yorkshire YO7 1SA
tel: 01845 523637 email: dave.titchmarsh@btinternet.com