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Web Site Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How much will a web site cost?
A: There is no simple answer to this question other than "it depends". The price is based on the time it takes to create the site. The more pages you need, the higher the price. If you supply copy that's written effectively for a web site or digital photos that need no editing, then the time Dancing Tuna spends is less and your price is less. As a general starting point, you can figure that a typical site with 5 or 6 pages and a half-dozen photos might be around $500 but until we discuss your requirements and the materials you can supply, it won't be possible to determine a realistic price.
Q: Do you provide site hosting?
A: No. If you don't already have a hosting provider, we can recommend some that are reliable. If you are an individual with an Internet Service Provider (ISP) account, your ISP may already provide you with free web space. If you're a business, you'll probably want to host your site with a hosting provider even if your ISP provides free space. Often, ISPs don't provide any support or backup for their free space, so it's really not suitable for a business site. There can be other limitations as well (such as annoying pop-up advertising). We can discuss your options and help you decide the best approach.
Q: Do I need my own domain name?
A: If you're a business, you should definitely get your own domain name to make it easier for your customers to find your site. The domain name is the "address" users type in their internet browser (such as dancingtuna.com) and must be unique. If you're an individual, you might want to get your own domain name as well, again to make it easier for your audience to find your site. For example, it's much easier to remember an address like "johnearl.com" than something like "members.surfbest.net/jhearl@surfbest.net/". Dancing Tuna can provide you with information on signing up for a domain name or can do it for you for a small additional fee.
Q: OK - I want a site. What happens next?
A: First, we'll set up a meeting to discuss your exact needs for your site. This meeting will help us better determine how you want your site structured, what content you need on the site, and the look-and-feel you want for the site. If we can't meet in person, you can fill out a brief questionnaire to provide this information and send it to us via email.
Next,Dancing Tuna will create, at no charge, some concepts for the overall look-and-feel of your site. These aren't actual web pages - just concept images to make sure we're both in agreement. If you decide that none of the concepts even come close to what you had in mind, then we can part company with no obligations. More likely, however, at least one of the designs will come close to your thinking and we can then proceed to the actual design phase.
The chosen concept design will be developed into actual web pages (typically a home page and at least one internal page). You can review these pages online and we'll discuss any needed changes until you're satisfied with the look-and-feel. Once you've signed off on the final look-and feel, you'll be billed for the design work up to that point at a rate of $50 per hour. Then we proceed to the site creation phase.
In this phase, we develop all the pages for the site and add all content. Again, these pages will be available online for your review. Once the site is exactly the way you want it, it will be uploaded to your own hosting provider and you can begin telling the world to come look at your new site. At this point, you'll receive a final bill for the design and creation work.
Once the site has been uploaded, changes to exisitng pages (such as replacing content) are considered maintenance work and you'll be charged for actual time and billed monthly (with a 1-hour minimum). For example, if we perform maintenance for 5 minutes one day, 30 minutes another, and 10 minutes a third day, you'll be billed for 1 hour at the end of that month. If we perform maintenance for 1 hour and 17 minutes in a given month, you'll be billed for 1 hour and 17 minutes at the end of the month. Current maintenance charges are $35 per hour. Note that if you need additional design work, such as new images, new navigation buttons, new pages, etc, that work will be billed at $50 per hour.
Q: What about maintaining the site once it's up?
A: Web site maintenance is just as important as creating the site. Information changes, and those changes need to be reflected on the site. If you're using the site as a marketing tool you'll want to find ways to bring visitors back to your site with new information (such as a "Tip of the Month"). Dancing Tuna can maintain your site as required. You'll be charged only for the time it takes and billed monthly.
Q: Can you set up a shopping cart on my site so I can sell online?
A: Dancing Tuna focuses on building simple sites that are essentially online brochures. Shopping carts typically require a great deal of maintenance as items and prices change. Dancing Tuna is unable to offer that level of site maintenance.
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