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How Much Does a Website Cost?

HOW MUCH DOES A WEBSITE COST? WHY $30,000 IS A BARGAIN One of the most common questions we're asked as web designers is, "How much does a website cost?" Oddly enough, it's never this initial question that's hard to answer, it's question number two: "Why so much?" It usually takes at least a few seconds for potential clients to wipe the shock off their face when we throw out a price tag of, say, $30,000. And then comes question number three. "For a website?!" Yes, at first, $30,000 seems like a lot of money for a website, but I guarantee you it's a steal. The truth is, whether you pay $10K or $75K, websites are cheap at any cost. What it costs is not important — it's the value of a website that really means something. Here's an analogy I've come up with to help everyone grasp the value of a website. YOUR WEBSITE IS YOUR EMPLOYEE Imagine that you have just hired a new salesman named Bill. Here's everything yo

The Truth: How Much You Should Pay for a Website

When people contact us for help with a website, they have one main question. How much is this going to cost? It’s a logical thing to ask, really. Those of us who aren’t rich or famous have a finite amount of money, and we always want to feel like that money is being used in the smartest way possible. We are especially cautious when it comes to paying for something intangible like a website – you can’t hold it in your hand, so how much can it really be worth? The cost of web design work varies wildly. You could ask for quotes from 10 different designers and receive 10 completely different dollar amounts, ranging from a few hundred dollars to several thousand. How do you decide what amount you’re willing to pay? Factors That Affect the Price of Website Design 1. The components and features you need. Never assume that your needs are “simple” or should be cheaper than a designer’s standard rate. Some things look easy but are very complicated, while others seem like a big deal b

Building Your Own Website Vs Letting Someone Else Do It

Millions of people now use the Internet to find the things they need. A well-laid-out website can provide all sorts of useful information to those who might need what you have to offer, such as hours of operation, telephone numbers, email address and information as to why they should select your company over others.  When planning or designing a business website, you generally have two options: build the website yourself or contract the work out to a professional Web designer or programmer.  Before you rush into a lengthy do-it-yourself project or shell out a lot of money to a professional, consider the pros and cons of both approaches to building your company website. Needed Design Abilities Many desktop and online applications exist that enable you to create websites rather quickly. Many Web hosting providers provide access to site builder applications that let you create basic websites in a matter of minutes. Likewise, desktop programs such as Dreamweaver, Net Objects Fusion

What’s the Difference Between a Mobile Website and an App?

What’s the Difference Between a Mobile Website and an App? Before you can evaluate the benefits of a mobile website vs. an app it’s important to understand the key differences between the two. Both apps and mobile websites are accessed on a handheld device such as smartphones (e.g. iPhone, Android and Blackberry) and tablets. A mobile website is similar to any other website in that it consists of browser-based HTML pages that are linked together and accessed over the Internet (for mobile typically WiFi or 3G or 4G networks). The obvious characteristic that distinguishes a mobile website from a standard website is the fact that it is designed for the smaller handheld display and touch-screen interface. Like any website, mobile websites can display text content, data, images and video. They can also access mobile-specific features such as click-to-call (to dial a phone number) or location-based mapping. Apps are actual applications that are downloaded and installed on your mobile

What is a mobile-optimized website?

For us, a mobile-optimized website is more than a shrunken version of a traditional, desktop-friendly website. Mobile design not only suits a smaller screen, but it brings with it a number of other constraints as well. What is needed for the client impacts the approach we take to optimize the site for mobile. It depends on the situation. Depending on the website that’s already in place for a client, the best approach might be to create a dedicated mobile site that allows users to switch between the two versions as they see fit. Responsive Design for Mobile - Otherwise, if the client’s website is new enough and developed with a modern framework, you might use responsive design to detect what device it is being used and the site automatically will adapt to suit the screen size — a website chameleon if you will. Traits of mobile-optimized websites There are several ways to optimize a website for the mobile-viewing experience. Here are a few traits we often see in sites that have b