Go Straight to Prices
Why Shouldn't I Just Buy Some Software and Make My Own Web Page?
Sure - why not! Hopefully you'll be successful. But then again, are you sure you know what you're getting into? Here's a few things to think about:
Do you do all your own accounting, or legal work yourself, or do you hire an accountant or lawyer because they are the professionals? It's the same with designing a web site.
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You have a business or organization to run, and that is your area of expertise. That is where you need to concentrate your energy, time and money. You CAN design and maintain a web site yourself, but don't you want it to look professional, and not like something your high school sophomore threw together. Then you want a professional web designer. My Other Secretary has been designing web sites for local government, not-for-profit agencies and businesses for over 15 years.
- Do you know which software to buy, and then how to use it once you've bought it?
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Many programs make great claims, but the result is unprofessional, and often produces poorly written code that may give you more headaches than sales. And often, software is proprietary, which means it only works with certain browsers or operating systems, and won't show well for everyone who visits your site. Requires time, training and money.
- Will one program do everything you need?
- Will it write accurate code, allow you to view what you've created, test your links and image loading times, and explain what you've done wrong when it looks different from what you've envisioned? Requires time and expertise.
- Do you have access to compressed, high quality scanned images and logos suitable for your particular business?
- It takes true expertise with sophisticated graphics software to develop professional looking graphics that don't take 20 minutes to appear on your page. Web "surfers" won't wait for more than about 30 seconds maximum for a site to load - they just move on to another site. Requires training and money.
- Do you have know what type of information to place on your business to best meet the needs and expectations of those potential customers who are visiting your site?
- You can have the coolest graphics and colors on the internet, but if the CONTENT of your site doesn't answer the questions and provide the information your internet visitors are looking for, it's a waste of your time and theirs! MOS Web Design specializes in taking the extra time to work WITH YOU to help you put the right information on your site in a way that is easy to navigate, clear, consistent, visually attractive and entertaining. Requires experience and time.
- How will you know if your site is benefiting you?
- You need a way of tracking how many people are looking at your site, or a way for them to send you their information so you can add them to your mailing list when you have special sales, new products introduced or other information you want them to know about. Requires time and money.
- Are you keeping up with the latest technology?
- Is your site maximized for all browsers? There are there still people out there who have limited systems and software that cannot experience the Internet in the way you would like it seen and heard? Do you understand the differences in the various browsers like Netscape and Internet Explorer and others, and that your page will look different on each (and maybe not too good!) depending upon how the HTML code is written. Requires expertise, time and money.
- Will your site be an "island in the middle of nowhere"?
- You should have appropriate links to and from other sites allowing people to find you? Do you know how to submit your site to the right search engines? Requires expertise, time and money.
- If a potential customer tries to find your web site using one of the major search engines, are you #8 on the retrieved list, or are you #122,234,567?
- Search engines look for and list web sites based on their own particular methods and criteria. Knowledge of those methods and what code you need to include to appease these search engines is crucial. Requires expertise and time.
- And last of all, do you have the TIME, MONEY, TRAINING and EXPERTISE to purchase and learn the software, design the graphics, plan what you want it to say, do, and look like, then write the HTML code, upload the files to your ISP server, submit it to search engines, TEST IT, and revise it as needed?
My Other Secretary Web Design addresses all these issues for every site I design. It's what I do best. Let me create a customized, unique web site for you so that you can concentrate on doing what YOU do best! If you're willing to settle for less, and spend a lot of time, effort and money on it -- then by all means, go for it. If not, ....
Call My Other Secretary
to design and optimize a site for you to achieve the results you're looking for.
Do I need a Domain name?
No. Absolutely not, unless you want one. You can have an internet address that is a subset of an existing domain - like Earthlink and other companies. However, having your own Domain Name makes your site more identifyable - like a brand name or your own business name. The best domain names are easy to remember, and clearly identify you. It must be unique (meaning no one else has already taken it) and must be registered through a recognized Domain Registrar, for a fee of approximately $20 to $35.00 per year, renewable annually. This means you will need to pay a fee each year you want to keep the name. If you decide you don't want it any more, you can sell your name (if someone wants it) or just not renew your registration, and it becomes available to anyone else who is willing to pay for it. You do have "first rights" to renew and keep the name.
An example of one Registrar and their prices can be seen at http://www.Register.com. They will do a free search for you to see if your name is available, then allow you to register is over the internet and pay by credit card. $70.00 for 2 years, and $35.00 per year every year after is a common pricing structure. They will also check for trademark infringements for an additional $30.00.
If you do need a Domain name MOS Web Design would be happy to assist you in obtaining it.
Will my Web page be available to anyone
on the Internet?
Yes, world wide. You don't have to go through My Other Secretary to get to your web page. This is a sample of the URL (web site address) for my web site using the domain name Belvidere.net (which is my web domain):where "mos" stands for My Other Secretary - that was my choice to make it easy for people, rather than having to type out the whole name
Once your page is loaded on someone's browser, they can bookmark your site in their browser and directly access your site whenever they choose. If you desire a world wide presence, My Other Secretary can submit your site to some of the many search engines on the World Wide Web.
What if I decide I don't like something about my my Web page later. Can I have some changes made?
Yes, a phone number change, address change, or other minor
change will be done free of charge. Other changes depending on what they
are may require a optional maintenance fee based on my hourly rate.
Is there a limit on how big or small my
Web site can be?
No. My Other Secretary customizes your site to fit your needs, desired image and presence. You can have a small economical single static (non-changing)
page which is the cheapest and easiest to maintain, or a huge site with
multiple pages, graphics, links, and monthly, weekly, or daily changes.
Whether you're a small one person operation or a large corporation,
MOS Web Design can handle your needs.
Can I use the Internet to sell my products?
Yes. You can use the Internet to set up an Internet shopping
cart. This is set up as follows:
First, you need to find out if your ISP (Internet Service Provider for Hosting your site) has this capability. NOT ALL DO! If they do, generally your site is set up like this:
Your main welcome page would describe your business and what you have to offer along with you guarantees, policies, shipping, returns and so forth. A hyperlink would take them to another page with a list of your products and descriptions. The customer would click on the products they wish to purchase. When finished with their selection, they would click 'total' which would bring them to a form to fill out and they would pay by credit card. It is IMPORTANT that you find out if your ISP has a secure server, as many people are leery of ordering with their credit cards over the Internet if they think their card number could be stolen or used without their consent. I DO NOT RECOMMEND USING NON-SECURE SERVERS FOR ONLINE PURCHASES OR TRANSACTIONS, and WILL NOT design E-Commerce sites that are to be hosted on servers that are not secure.
MOS Web Design Pricing Structure
Ok, OK! But HOW MUCH WILL IT COST to have a web site designed for my organization or business?KEEP IN MIND THAT THE PRICES LISTED BELOW ARE FOR DESIGN AND MAINTENANCE OF THE SITE ONLY. THEY DO NOT INCLUDE THE COST OF REGISTERING YOUR DOMAIN NAME OR THE FEES CHARGED BY YOUR INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER!
A Web page will vary depending on what you want. The best way to determine what you'll need to pay is to sit down with me and discuss what you want to accomplish. Your web site, when designed by My Other Secretary is custom tailored for YOUR needs - not a rubber stamp template.
All Web Page Clients must agree to pay 50% of all design fees in advance, with the balance due upon completion. There is also a $50.00 NON-REFUNDABLE Set Up Fee for all clients. Monthly maintenance fees (if applicable) are invoiced on the first of the month and due in 10 days, NET. Maintenance fees are on a month to month contract, and can be canceled by either party with 2 weeks advance notice in writing. Prepaid maintenance fees are non-refundable.
Monthly maintenance is optional. If you have the page you want, and don't plan on ever changing anything on it, you need not pay for that service.
*The following prices are subject to change without notice.
***PLEASE NOTE: Most of these prices are rough estimates. Every Web Site is different, therefore prices will vary from case to case. Please contact me for a more accurate price quote. The monthly fee covers all fees for updates, maintenance and minor changes to your page. Average cost is approximately $40 - $100 per month for a small to average-sized web site, $100 - $500 for larger sites.
- From * $300.00 (page design) / $35.00 per/month optional maintenance
fee
Includes: - 1 Web Pages
- 1 Scanned Logo or image
- Approximately 300 words of Text (outline style) about your service, products or business.
- Background color
- 1 E-mail link to your E-mail address
Basic 3 Web Site
- From * $650.00 (page design) / $45.00 per/month optional maintenance
fee
Includes: - 1 Home Page + 2 linked pages
- 2 Scanned Logos or images
- Approximately 600 words of text about your service, products or business.
- Graphic elements, i.e. Bars - Buttons - Icons
- Background color
- 1 E-mail link to your E-mail address
Advanced 3 Web Site
- From * $750.00 (page design) / $55.00 per/month optional maintenance
fee
Includes: - 1 Web Page + 2 linked pages
- 3 Scanned Logos or images
- Approximately 900 words of text about your service, products or business.
- Graphic elements, i.e. Bars - Buttons - Icons
- Background color
- 1 E-mail link to your E-mail address
Premium Web Site
- From * $850.00 (page design) / $60.00 per/month optional maintenance
fee
Includes: - 1 Web Page + 4 linked pages
- 4 Scanned Logos or images
- Visitor Hit Counter to count number of persons accessing your site.
- Approximately 1,200 words of text (about your service, products or business.
- Customized Graphic elements, i.e. Bars - Buttons - Icons
- Background color
- 1 E-mail link to your E-mail address
Extended Web Sites
- From * $1,000.00 (page design) / from $75.00 per/month optional maintenance
fee
Includes: - 1 Web Page + 5 linked pages
- 5 Scanned Logos or images
- Customized Interactive Navigation
- Customized Interactive Event/Schedule Calendar
- Approximately 1,500 words of text about your service, products or business.
- Graphic elements, i.e. Bars - Buttons - Icons
- Visitor Hit Counter to count number of persons accessing your site.
- Background color or graphics
- 1 E-mail link to your E-mail address
Basic Personal or Home Page
This is the basic light version starter page. It is about as basic as you can get. Great low cost page to get you started with your presence on the internet.Additional Services:
- HTML coding of additional pages (text only) $85.00 per hour.
Submit the text in ASCII, MS Word or WordPerfect format on a disk; E-mailed, or snail-mailed hard copy. - Add HTML page (with 1 graphic) $125.00 (if based on existing format. New format is $250.00.)
- A one time only alteration or change of your page (other than very minor changes of phone number or names) will be billed at the rate of $85.00 per hour.
- Additional pages (above 5) add $35 for each new page to the optional monthly service fee
- Scan Photos for you $15 each
- Take digital photographs for you $85.00 per hour
- Logo and graphic design $85.00 (per/hr)
- Create User Forms - $135.00 (per/hr)
- Counters or Hit Trackers - $75.00
- Add Music to your Site - $75.00
- Customized Interactive Calendar - $150.00
- Customized Interactive Maps - $150.00 each
- Specialized Animation Effects - from $150.00
Please Contact My Other Secretary for other services or questions.
