Services
Outstanding Quality @ Incredible Prices…
As a full service website and graphic design provider I can provide you and your organization with many different options based upon what you are looking for. Not sure it is that you are looking for? Well, I can help with that too as I never charge for creative consultations or strategy sessions. Whether you own a small home-based business with a small amount of capital to work with or a larger company with a matching online budget, I have an array of solutions to get your site started.
It used to be, when the internet was in it’s infancy, that if you wanted a great site with lots of functionality you had two choices; buy an expensive prebuilt application or hire a custom programmer to make your own. The “open source” movement changed that and as a result there is an endless supply of FREE (that’s right, I said FREE) applications out there that are powerful enough to be used by Fortune 500 companies yet easy enough to manage by anyone with access to a computer and the internet. I’ve always been a fan of this “open source” movement and have supported it by publishing my own applications and helping to fine tune those made by others. With that being said, add-in some customization and a dash of imagination and I can make your site indistinguishable from that of a company with a million dollar website development budget.
I accept projects for sites of all shapes, sizes and budgets. Whether you need a simple two page site and have a $150 budget, or a fully featured e-commerce system with graphic design and money to spend, I am anxious to work with you and your organization. I also accept pro-Bono work for charities and non-profit organizations and on occasion have worked out a trade agreement to help small companies get started for less money. Website Design truly is my passion and I want to help you make your business a success!
Website Design & Re-design
Whether you are looking to start a brand new website or spruce up an existing one, I can help. I offer custom website design to give you or your company a professional presence at an affordable price.
The internet is a very popular tool for users to find the product or services they are looking for. Your website’s appearance could make or break you from a visitor’s standpoint. An unprofessional website design and unorganized site could cause users to simply hit the back button and go to a competitor’s site. Why should the visitor choose you if you don’t take the time, money and effort to have a professional website? It doesn’t even have to take a lot of time, money or effort to have a great looking site if you choose me for your web design services. Your site should be fast loading and easy to navigate. It shouldn’t typically take more then 3 clicks to find what you are looking for on your website. Your site should match your other marketing items, logo, business cards, etc. It shouldn’t look like an entirely different company minus the logo.
New Site Development
Designing and building a new website from scratch can be a bit overwhelming for a business owner, especially when it comes to demands on time. That’s why I allow my customers to choose for themselves how involved in the design process they want to be. For those hands-on customers I am available to you at all times to answer questions, collaborate or make adjustments. On the opposite side, if you are more of a “set it and forget it” style client I have no problem being handed an idea and turned loose.
I can handle absolutely all aspects of a new website design and development cycle. From layouts to graphic design, email implementation to eCommerce setup through account handling – I truly am a one-stop-shop. I have performed these services many times over for many different clients and I truly have the process down to a science. If you are ready to develop a site or you’re just starting to plan one please feel free to get in-touch with me and I would be happy to help you.
Website Facelifts
If you’ve grown tired of your current website’s look and feel, it might be time for a virtual facelift. Changing graphics, colors, text and adding new technology are just a few ways I can freshen up your existing site without having to tear it down and start over. It’s also worth mentioning that web browsers (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Safari, etc.) and constantly evolving, and each time they do you run the risk of your site NOT displaying as it should. Facelifts are a fast and affordable way to not only make your site look new again, but also to provide your customers with fresh and relevant content. If you are interested in my website facelift service please don’t hesitate to contact me with your questions or for a quote.
Website Redesigns
When a facelift just won’t do the job, it’s time for a redesign. In many ways, a redesign can be more complicated to undertake then a brand new site. Fortunately I make this process very easy for my clients by sticking to a series of steps and processes I’ve developed in my years of experience. From the first conversation to handing over the keys, I’ll be with you every step of the way providing as much or as little collaboration as you desire. Don’t put off upgrading your site for fear of a complicated redesign. Please contact me with your questions or for a quote.
Ongoing Maintenance
One of the benefits of having me install and configure a Content Management System during the development of your site is that you can perform day-to-day content changes yourself. That being said I do have a great number of clients that simply don’t have the time (or desire) to manage their site, so I do offer low-priced hourly website maintenance to all my clients with fast turn around times on all changes. I also provide ongoing maintenance services for websites I did not design, so even if you have a site developed by another company or even yourself, I can be of assistance to you and I won’t pressure you into changing anything or spending money you don’t need or want to spend. Change requests are as simple as filling out a form or sending me an email.
E-Commerce Development & Maintenance
A fully featured online store seems to be the measure of a successful business these days. It may just be my extensive technical background, but when I am looking for something online my decision on whether or not to purchase an item from an online establishment generally relies on that company having a visually appealing and easy to use online store, ESPECIALLY if I have never done business with them before. Just think about it; would YOU purchase something from a site that looked like it had been thrown together by a 10 year old and had a copyright tag at the bottom of the site from 3 years ago? I don’t think so. An online store needs to be your face to new clients, clients who have never heard of your company or products before and NEED a reason to buy from you instead of another store.
One of the biggest obstacles I always have to overcome is the misconception that a potential client cannot afford a fancy, well maintained, fully featured online store. That’s simply not the case anymore. Coupled with my years of experience designing websites and online stores, open source web applications make what used to be very expensive projects into something EVERYONE can afford, regardless of their budgets. Here is something for you to think about. Did you know that the online stores from some of the biggest companies in the world; like Lenovo, Samsung, Vizio, The North Face, 3M and more) ALL use a variation of an open source e-commerce system that you can download for free? Now granted, their sites have been customized to be unique and feature rich, but the underlying program is still the same and available to you for download! Open Source software like this DOES need to be setup by a professional (such as myself) but once it’s up and running it can be maintained by you or someone in your organization with little to no overhead except the initial design and development.
So, by using this type of open source application as a base, then customizing it with your look and feel and making it your own, I can develop a cutting edge online store with the same features that those big companies have for a FRACTION of the cost. We’re talking WELL less than $1,000 from start to finish! Please, don’t be fooled by the myth that a great online store HAS to be expensive to be great. Give me a call or drop me an email and let’s see what we can come up with. After all, consultations and quotes are always FREE!
Search Engine Optimization
Search engine optimization (SEO) is loosely defined as the process of improving the visibility of a website or a web page in search engines via the “natural” or un-paid (“organic” or “algorithmic”) search results. In general, the earlier (or higher on the page), and more frequently a site appears in the search results list, the more visitors it will receive from the search engine’s users. SEO is a vital component of today’s website design strategies as it is directly related to a company’s success or failure in the sea of websites in existence today. The basic goal of SEO is to drive more traffic to your website, and in order for that to happen without paying out a lot of money to search providers, you need to make your website more “relevant” in their eyes. That means lots of UNIQUE, RELEVANT information on your site, but more importantly lots of sites linking back to yours, which is where things and get tricky sometimes.
There are many different schools of thought regarding SEO, and each designer has their own ways and opinions on the best techniques to accomplish their goals. While SEO can be performed after a site has been built, I have found that you end up with much better results of SEO is part of your initial design and build process. Each site that I build (or upgrade and/or give a facelift) is built with SEO in mind, however as I said previously, I can also add SEO techniques to any existing website. The important thing to keep in mind is that SEO is an on-going process. I can’t just snap my fingers, add some code and promise you instant results. After the initial SEO both myself as the designed AND the client as the owner must be active in the process into the future. Because I value my clients time (and their money), I may simply refer you to one of the companies I have worked with over the years that specialize in strictly SEO if your site is extremely complex as SEO can become fairly time consuming.
All Types of Sites Accepted
If you think your site is too small or too low-key to involve a web designer, think again. I have accepted and completed projects of all types from simple events (weddings, parties, etc.) to non-profit charities and all the way up to multimillion dollar corporations. I don’t discriminate by type or budget and I actively accept ones from ALL walks of life. If your interested don’t hesitate to contact me to see how I can help you.
Content Management Systems
One of the features I recommend to any client, regardless of size, is the use of a Content Management System, or CMS for short. Essentially a CMS gives you the ability to log into your website from any computer with internet access and makes changes to the site. Fix a spelling error here, add a new testimonial there, it doesn’t matter where you are, a content management system makes that possible. For example, take one of my latest projects shown on the MY PROJECTS tab, MichelleLeeWhitlock.com. Michelle is a cancer survivor and advocate who travels across the country promoting awareness for cervical cancer and relating it to her own story. Each time Michelle does an interview, makes an appearance or has something to say, she posts it on her website. Michelle is a VERY busy woman and does not have time to learn HTML or how to build a website, so she contracted me to build her a site that she could easily maintain herself (or someone else she specified) by adding new articles, events, etc. With that in mind I designed her ENTIRE website, from the menu at the top of each page to the articles on the media page, to be accessible to her on the road. By simply logging into her site and clicking a few buttons she can add or remove articles from her MEDIA page, scheduled appearances to her home page or even new resources to her SUPPORT COMMUNITY page. All this without having to learn anything about website design or a new program.
My CMS system has the look and feel of most email clients out there. Basically, if you can use a word processing program you can maintain your site with the help of my content management system. When designing a site that will use my CMS I make almost everything controllable directly from that system to give you as much or as little control as you want. This system is great for small businesses who can’t afford to pay a developer every time they make a change or larger companies who simply need things changed, added or removed without delay. Best of all it’s not an expensive option to have added to your site! I’ve used this system on websites for all different companies from Accountants and Car Washes to Retail Stores and Personal Home Pages and I would LOVE to install and configure one for you! If you would like to learn more about what a Content Management System is and how it can help you please click here.
Creative Consultations & Planning
Having an idea of what you want is the first step in developing a website. Unfortunately, actually knowing what you want can also be the hardest step in the process. It doesn’t matter if you are taking your first leap onto the internet or trying to give your current site a facelift, I’m always happy to provide existing and potential clients with creative consulting and planning services absolutely FREE of charge. One of my favorite things about designing websites is watching the creative process unfold from start to finish, and from bouncing ideas off one another to designing and approving mock-ups is a very satisfying experience. If you are having trouble coming up with ideas or deciding where to start, or you just need to refine a few thoughts and finalize your thinking, my door is always open. To schedule a creative consultation with my just click on the contact link above and fill out the form. From there we can schedule a phone call, email exchange or even an online meeting where we can see each others screen to help the process along.