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Login NowTop 10 Frequently Asked Questions
1. What are all the costs involved in a website
2. How much of my time is required
3. How do I get a domain name
4. What is web hosting
5. How do I update my website
6. What is Flash? Is it expensive
7. How do I get listed in Google / SEO
8. How do I track the visitors to my site
9. What is Facebook, Twitter, Blogger and do I need them.
10. What if I want to sell online / e-commerce / online payments / PayPal.
1. What are all the costs involved in a website.
Generally speaking there are 4 costs involved with your online identity. The first is your domain name. This is your license for a www. address. Typically this costs about $25 per year.
The second cost is for your web hosting. This is the monthly fee you pay to keep your website on the internet. It can range in price depending on the features you require and the complexity of your website. But most hosting plans for Breakaway websites are $35 per month.
The third cost is for the actual development of the website. The design and programming to make the whole thing work. This is a quoted amount that is determined after our initial consultation. Our standard website with everything you need to get your business going starts at $2,000.
The final expense is your online marketing. This is probably the most important next to having a website that works. What good is the best website in the world if nobody sees it. Again like the website we determine an advertising budget during phase 1. We'll work with you and your budget so you get the most out of your money.
2. How much of my time is required
We need your help explaining your business, the more you can tell us about what you do the better the end product will be. Depending on the amount of content for the site that needs to be created your involvement will vary. As a good rule of thumb it requires about 25% of the total project time to create the content.
You can do this by searching on registration sites or you can tell us and we will register it for you. We don't recommend buying a domain name without talking to us first. The domain is an important part of your print and online marketing and we can assist you and give you advice on things you want to keep in mind. IE: keyword, length of name, difficulty to say, availability. We prefer to register the name for you because it allows us to make changes easily if its required. Additionally it is always easier to have all your online activity with one company.
Web hosting is the service that keep your website online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It is responsible for maintaining the technology that is required to make your website work. This includes your email.
One of the things that separates Breakaway from other web design companies is we integrate a custom software which allows you to update your website easily and effortlessly from a site administration. Starting March 2008, Breakaway made it company policy that every website developed from here on in will have integrated CMS. We will give you a tutorial during phase 4 to show you exactly how this all works. Giving you the freedom to make changes as you please without having to pay for expensive web design hours.
6. What is Flash ? Is it expensive ?
Flash is a technology that often gets attributed with being expensive. Chances are you have seen a site completely designed in Flash. Typically this is done by companies that aren't looking to do any SEO. Examples of this are Movies, Sports Companies, Coca Cola. They build these sites as online interactive advertisements. The goal is to convey brand and identity rather than use the website as a sales engine. If you are looking to develop a site like this it typically runs about 3x the cost. However; Flash is a tool and it can be used in many situations. We use Flash in our designs as a way to solve problems and add an extra edge to websites. We suggest no worrying about how the technology works and just tell us what you would like to see. The how is our job.
7. How do I get listed in Google / SEO
It is important to understand the different facets of Google. There are many advertising opportunities on the internet. True Google is the largest, but it isn't the only way of getting people to your website. Google has two different avenues for online searching. 1. The Organic search is what most people are familiar with. When you search a term, Google uses a complex algorithm to determine the value of your website based on the search criteria. This is generally referred to as optimizing your website. This takes longer then Adwords to show results but there is no ongoing cost associated with the placement. The second type is Adwords, this is paid advertising where you bid per keyword and pay Google for the number of people that hit your website. This is essential instant traffic. You can setup a Google adword campaign in a few hours and have people hitting your website almost immediately after launching it. We can assist you with both of these items, as well as other advertising opportunities.
8. How do I track the visitors to my site
We use Google analytics to pull apart your entire site and see everything from where people are coming from, where the went, how long they stayed and what they looked at. All of our sites have Google analytics integrated directly into the site administration. Login and click on web stats.
9. What is Facebook, Twitter, Blogger and do I need them.
These are all types of social networking website. They are designed to have people interact with each other. Many of these sites offer many advertising opportunities. We can discuss which ones work best for your company and how much work they are to administrate.
10. What if I want to sell online / e-commerce / online payments / PayPal.
We offer a number of solutions that let you sell your products online. We can integrate your website with PayPal or another online payment solution. There are many levels of online merchandising that you can take part in. Again it is probably best that we discuss the options in the phase 1 consultation.