We Specialize in Individual and Small Business Websites!

• How much does it cost?
• What about obtaining a Domain Name and getting it registered?
• Does my business need a web site?
• I would like a web site. Where do I begin?
• What can I do to cut the costs to myself?
• How do I tell if I am hiring a quality designer?
• Can I be my own web designer?
• Why should I hire a web designer?
• How will people be able to find my web site?

• Ok, now that I have a web presence, what about hosting my website?

How much does it cost?

Undoubtedly, the number one question is "what does it cost to create a custom CD-ROM project or a multi-page website solution?"  There is no quick and easy answer to this question.

There are so many aspects to any CD-ROM or Website project that must be considered that a simple price schedule is almost impossible to adhere to. While our pricing page does cover some basic costs and services, in order to obtain a firm and accurate price  we will need to invest some time to analyze your complete and overall requirement. Once this is done we can send you a formal proposal .

Some CD-ROM projects we have done went as little as $300 with the average project costing between $800 to $2000. Some CD-ROM projects can run into the many thousands of dollars. We have done a simple static one-page website for as little as $75, but most simple multi-page sites will average $500 to $2000. Websites requiring "shopping carts", real-time credit card processing, or large graphic work will average $1500 to $5000.  Some of the bigger e-commerce sites can run into the hundred thousand dollar range. That's why we insist on a free consultation at which time we can point out cost saving steps.

If you have a project budget, let us know what it is and we can then work backwards through the process to achieve your budget goal. 

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What about obtaining a Domain Name and getting it registered?

You can register the popular global top-level domains, .com, .net and .org through numerous companies. If you already have a web host it is probably easiest to contact them as they can provide the domain registrar with all the relevant technical details. If you do not have a host or wish to divert your domain to free web space there are many registrars that cater for that situation also.

All domain names must be unique, and the first thing to do is check whether your chosen domain is available. Most sites that sell domains provide a "Whois" search facility, so as you can check if your name has already been registered.

The cost of domain names varies but you can generally obtain most domains for a cost of  $30.00 or less per year. If you would like to have 100% ownership of your domain name, we recommend you register it with your own identity. Simple-Solutions.Com partners with Gator Hosting and can register your Domain Name for you or you may do it yourself through them. Domain registration process is simple, Click here to begin. Please beware that with the vast amount of new domain names being registered by numerous registrars, that it takes several days to confirm each domain name addition. Simple-Solutions cannot be held liable or responsible for not being able to acquire a particular domain name.

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Does my business need a web site?

There are many factors to consider in answering this question. As a web design company you may find our answer to be biased, because we think everyone should have a web presence, so instead we will try only to ask you some questions that may help you answer this question for yourself.

• Is a web site economically sensible for you or your company?
  
• Are you finding yourself or your employees spending a large amount of time devoted to customer service?
  
• Would your clients and/or customers need to have your information available to them 24-7?
  
• Are your clients and/or customers ecologically conscientious? Would they prefer digital or paper access to your information?
  
• Are you targeting a local, national or a global market?
  
• Where will your company be five years from now?
  

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What can I do to cut the costs to myself?

Two words: Be Prepared.
Have files with the text you want on the page, have a good idea of what the graphics ought to look like, and know what feel you are looking for. The less the designer has to retrace his steps because of a changed idea on your part, the less the price will rise. Likewise, the less time the designer has to spend on mindless typing and retyping of what should be prepared material on your part, the less fat will appear on the bill. The average designer charges by the hour, it does not matter if that hour is filled with drudgery or inspired creativity, so minimize the cost by minimizing the drudgery.

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Why should I hire a web designer?

To save time. Hiring a web site designer will help you save precious time so that you can concentrate on your business, your vocation, or your organization. Even the best web site software takes time to learn. Many are expensive. Some limit creativity and are not compatible with each other. A web site designer can implement proven skills to create your web site quickly and efficiently.

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Once Simple-Solutions has created a web site for me, how will people be able to find my web site?

If you build it, they will come. If they can find it. Creating a web site is an entirely different process from directing internet traffic to come to it, akin to the difference between building a ball park and marketing that ball park with a clever campaign of jingles containing the laughter of happy children.

Further down we explain more about what is involved in getting hits, but for those in a hurry here are the services we provide for NO ADDITIONAL CHARGE:

We will submit your site to many popular search engines such as Netscape Search, AOL Search, Google, Lycos, Altavista, HotBot, DirectHit and many more. We will include in your site as many keywords as you wish. Most internet users typically head straight for a search engine to find what they want, so it is essential that your site be submitted to be included in the search engine's indexes. Often even with submission it will take a month or more to show up in a popular search engine. We will add a link to your site from our site and link from your site to ours. This helps us both since the more links you have pointing to your site, the more "important" your ranking on google and other sites. Finally, we research your market and add your site to popular web directories that apply.

Getting traffic to come to your site is much easier if you have an established customer base. Then you can send out a paper mailing etc to your loyal customers who will happily visit your web site. Establishing a new customer base online is an incredibly involved process which is turning into a multi-million dollar industry as every "internet marketing" company under the sun will try to sell you their expensive, often ineffectual, and non-guaranteed services.

As stated above, most internet users go to a popular search engine such as google.com and type in a few keywords to search for what they are interested in. You have keywords on your site (we will add as many as you want) and assuming your site has been indexed by the search engine, the keywords are a match, and there aren't 5000 other sites with the same keywords who have paid to advertise, your site will be among the top listings returned. Most search engines have a "bidding war", ranking sites by who will pay the most per hit. Thus it is almost impossible to be among the top listings returned and costs huge amounts of money paid to specialized firms to keep the top spot.

Since we submit you for free, we cannot guarantee placement or inclusion to any or all of these search engines. While if you choose good (unique) keywords and if you have a lot of other sites linking to you, your placement will improve over time, to guarantee top placement you almost certainly have to buy advertisement on the search engines. Even then no one offers guarantees. If we had to recommend anything for pay, we like google.com, they are an excellent search engine that offers low-cost advertising. For free, try to get as many other sites as possible to link to your page. Web marketing is a separate ball game from web design and is frankly a gamble no matter who claims they will get you the results. We are designers, not marketers, and while we will start you off on the right foot and will be happy to assist in any way we can, if you wish to begin an in-depth marketing campaign you will need to take all the money you saved by hiring us & retain a marketing firm. Be sure to check their references.

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