Frequently Asked Questions - Web Design

How much does a web site cost? ( Prices January 2010)

One of our standard websites costs just £750. This includes a .co.uk domain name and hosting for the first year. Hosting thereafter is £60 per year and your.co.uk domain name will need renewing every two years at a cost of £25. Any .com domains, which cost more, need renewing every year at a charge of £25. Updates are charged at £30 per hour.

I already have a domain name can I use this one for my web site?

Yes you can. If you already have a domain name we would will need to import it into our hosting company. This means we can set up your email and keep an eye on your visitor numbers. There is normally a £25 admin charge for this though if we are designing your web site this is usually included in the price.

If you register our domain name who owns it, me or you?

Unlike some web design companies, who will register the domain in their name, we will always register the domain using your name and address. We will be the admin and technical contact. This simply means we look after all the techy stuff so you don't need worry about it. We will look after all the billing and renewals for you.

How long does it take to get a web site up and running?

Once we have all the files we can normally have a website designed and on the internet within a month. A lot of this depends on how quickly you let us have all the text and images.

How does the design process work?

When you first contact us we will have a chat about the design process and any ideas you already have in mind. We will send you a questionnaire and tips sheet offering suggestions for page names, text and images. You can send us text and images by email, in person or by post on a CD. There is a deposit charge of £250 with the balance due on completion.

Once we have all the files we will put together a sample page for you to view. We can make any changes to the basic design until you are happy. We will then design the rest of the website to match this design using your text and images.

This website will be uploaded to a temporary website for you to view. You tell use about any text or image changes you want until your are happy with the design. Once you are happy with the final design we will upload the website to the domain name of your choice and register it with the search engines.

Can I sell items on my website?

If you only want to sell a few items we can add PayPal buttons to your website. If you already have a PayPal account this costs and extra £20 per button. If you do not not already a PayPal account we can advise you on how to set one up. This is not difficult but can take about an hour or two so there is a charge of £30

Can I update the website myself?

This is not really practicable unless you have considerable web design experience so the answer is no! We charge a very reasonable update rate of £30 per hour. if you plan to update the website every month we suggest you take out our monthly maintenance package which costs £250 per annum which works out at about £20 per month. We do offer website training courses if you would like to design your own website and update it yourself.

Who owns the web site?

Any text or images supplied by you belong to you and is your copyright material. The design of the website and the coding behind it is our copyright and our intellectual property. If you would like to buy the design so you can transfer the files to another hosting company or look after them yourself there is a one off charge of £100 plus £25 for the domain name transfer. After the transfer is complete you will be responsible for any administration or costs associated with you domain and hosting.

What happens if I want to host the domain myself?

If you choose to host the domain yourself at a later date or transfer it to another hosting company we will unlock the domain and make the necessary arrangements for the transfer at our end. There is an administration charge of £25 plus any additional costs for the domain transfer. If you would like to buy the design so you can transfer the files to another hosting company or look after them yourself there is a one off charge of £100 plus the £25 for the domain name transfer. After the transfer is complete you will be responsible for any administration or costs associated with you domain and hosting.

What happens if I want to move to another web designer ?

We can supply you with all the text and images from the site on a CD or by email. There is an administration charge of £50 plus £25 additional costs for the domain transfer. The design of and coding of the website is our intellectual property and as such is our copyright. Your new web designer will probably want to design your new website anyway. If you would like to continue to use our website design this can be arrange on the proviso that the new designer recognizes the SnapperShack copyright and does not claim the design as their own. There is no obligation for us to release or waive copyright to our intellectual property but we will usually allow you to use our design for a charge of £100 providing we are recognised as the designers. If you are planning to change the design a lot we may waiver this request.

How do I get my website listed in Google

When we complete your website we will register it with the major search engines. Part of our design process is to optimise the web site using the correct keywords to get you found by your customers. One of the best ways to come higher up the rating is to update it on a regular basis. For this reason we recommend you take out our monthly maintenance package. This allows you to update you website each month plus we will monitor your web traffic and suggest changes to improve your listing. Most of our customers who use this service appear on page one of Google.

Do you do web site design training?

Yes. We offer a range of web design course courses to suit everyone from the absolute beginner, wanting an easy to maintain and update template web site, to the more advanced user who is keen to make the transition from table based layouts to the more efficient and search engine friendly modern CSS designs. See here for our range of self build web design course