Many of my first time clients don’t fully understand how websites work, but they need to make an educated purchase nonetheless. If you’re in that category, here’s everything you need to know:
If you want to build a website you will need to rent space to store the actual files that make up the website; this is called hosting. I do all of my hosting through Telana, and if you don’t already have a host I can set up hosting for you through their secure servers. I charge $100/yr and offer the advantage that you only have to deal with one person for all of your website needs.
Along with a web host, you will also need to rent a domain name, such as www.google.com. You can rent a domain name at domain.com, with most priced around $9/year. I can set this up for you if you prefer.
Once you have these two requirements, hosting and a domain, your website can be installed.
The process of creating the website goes something like this:
We discuss the requirements and goals for the site, in terms of both design and functionality. Once all the technical details are worked out (hosting and domain information), I install the content management system. At this point we can begin inserting your content into the default website. Simultaneously, I create a design mockup in Photoshop and send you it via email. You take a look, give me feedback, and I adjust it accordingly. This process continues until we are in agreement, and then I implement the design with your content management system. Upon completion I submit the website’s info to Google and optimize it for search engines, and make sure it looks correct on all common web browsers (Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari). All done!