FAQ
Q. If you charge per hour, how can you give us an accurate estimate?
Q. I am on a budget, but would like you
to create a web site. How can I save money?
Q. Why should I have Hamson Design maintain my site?
Q. I want to host my web site on my own.
Will you build a site and send me the pages?
Q. How come you don't create web sites
with splash pages or use Flash?
Q. What happens if I change my mind in the middle of the project?
Q. Can I have Hamson Design host my site without paying for maintenance?
Q. How many hours does it usually take to make a web site?
Q. For a basic site you include "Up to 10 HTML pages," what is an HTML page?
Q. Once I describe what I want, will you give me an estimated cost?
Q. Does it matter what domain name I choose?
Q. How do I get you my web site content?
Q. How can I get my site to appear [on a search engine] when someone does a search?
A. During the creation of each site, Hamson Design takes note of how much
time we spend on individual items and entire sites. We can figure out how much time a certain
project or item will take us after getting a good idea of exactly what is wanted by the client.
This is why we spend extra time in the design stage. The more accurate picture we can get
the better we can estimate. Hamson Design was formed to help individuals and small companies get
to the web, while working at something that we love to do. If you are concerned about our estimate,
please talk to us.
Keep it simple. Be decisive. Have an opinion early. Be involved. We have found that while
many people may not have an opinion about what they want in the beginning, by the end,
everyone has an opinion. Hamson Design works very hard to give you exactly what you want in
your web site. We try to keep you actively involved by allowing you to watch your site progress
and ask for your feedback throughout the process. If you see things you do not like or want to
change and inform us, then we accommodate you without putting in extra time. If you wait until the
site is completed to let us know that you would rather have a different (anything) it could
add a significant amount of time.
Ask yourself if you really have time to maintain
your web site, update links, add new information to keep it current
and to constantly monitor it. Ask yourself if you have, or want
to learn, the technical knowledge required to handle a web site,
keep up with search engine optimization; modify graphics, and much
more. If you sign up for our web site maintenance services you will
not have to learn or train an employee to handle your web site,
you will get professional services at a low monthly cost.
Yes. We will follow the same design process and then give you a compact disc with your pages.
Splash pages on web sites are often seen as a hindrance to the user. It
generally contains a logo, some graphics or other frivolous content that has no meaning to the
user. Every time the user visits the web site, the splash page slows them down. Most users utilize
the "skip intro" button, and after awhile even that gets old. There are three attributes that are
imperative to a good web site: speed, simplicity, and clarity. Hamson Design tries to keep true
to these. (This is, of course, a generalization. For some companies, it makes sense to have a more artsy feel. If you are interested in this type of animation, we will accommodate you.)
Hamson Design wants you to be happy with your web site when all is said and
done, so if you decide you want something different in the middle of the project we suggest you
talk to us as soon as you have doubts. We want you to be happy with your site when it is done.
However, the reason we spend so much time in Phase One and Two
(See Design Process) is so that you know what you are going
to get before we begin developing. We also give you the chance (and ask you) to be involved
throughout the process. You will be able to see the progress and if you change your mind early
on, then no time is lost and we can make changes. If you are not involved and wait until the end of
development, lots of time will have been lost. If we make mistakes in our design, then we will
correct them. On the other hand, if we develop a site that you agreed upon at the end of Phase
Two and then you decide it isn't quite what you had in mind we are happy to change it
for you however will still have to bill you for the hours spent on your site.
Yes. Our standard hosting plan is $20/month. Any work you need done on your site
will be billed at the hourly rate.
It is impossible to give you a general estimated time because of the number of
factors involved with each site. It is possible to finish a web site in under 10 hours, but it is
also possible for it to take over 50. It all depends on how things move throughout the process. Are
you making lots of changes to the design? How complex is the site? It would be unfair to everyone
to try and generalize how long a web site takes to create. However, once we have discussed your
individual needs and wants, we will be able to give you a ballpark estimate (provided there are not
lots of changes during development).
HTML stands for HyperText Markup Language and it is the "language" that most
web sites are written in. There are a number of other languages that are used in web design to create
more complex or animated pages, such as rotating images or navigation bars that move or pop up. The 10 pages
that are included with the basic site are pages written in HTML. More complex pages using other
languages can be included at an additional cost depending on your requirements.
Yes. Based on your wants we will give you an estimate of what your site
will cost you. However keep in mind that as you change your mind or make additions to your site that
the cost could change. To make sure everyone remains happy, we will give the initial estimate and
as we move along in development and there are changes we will inform you on the change in cost as
well.
If you will rely on advertising or promotion to
bring in visitors then using your company name makes the most sense.
If you plan to bring in most new customers via search engines, then
your primary service or product should be embedded in the domain.
The domain name is one of the six criteria search engines check
when they decide how high to rank you in a search. (source: SEO
sites)
There is no extra charge if you send us your text and images
electronically. We will simply copy your text from the disk or e-mail
and paste it in your site. If there is an excessive amount of italics, bolds or
indentations, there will be an additional cost. The majority of sites do not incur
these additional charges. Your digital images will be optimized and sized for the web
and put on your site. If you do not have digital images, you will be charged at the hourly
rate while we scan the images (the optimization and sizing will still be included).
You can send information electronically via email or you can send any information
or hard copy pictures to:
2604-B El Camino Real #386
Carlsbad CA, 92008
Unfortunately, the real answer on how to accomplish this is money. You
can pay search engines to put your web site high on their (for lack of a better phrase)
list of sites. Some search engines charge enormous amounts of money for this. It was not
always this way and there are still some things we can do in the code to get your site more
recognized. This is called Search Engine Optimization.
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