A Few Things to Consider
This includes such things as fixing typos, minor text changes such as your hours of operation, and behind the scenes maintenance, like tweaking the site map, or minor adjustments to the CMS and custom fonts.
If I'm hosting your site this is included in the hosting fee. This is possible because I have direct access to your site files, and a synchronized copy of your site files is located on my computer, which makes these minor changes quick and easy. In addition, since a current copy of your site files are maintained on my computer, you have multiple backups of your site files, including off site backup with BackBlaze, which means your site files are protected in case of corruption. If an asteroid hits the Media Temple facility your site can be up and running on a different hosting provider quickly and easily.
If you contract your own hosting, all of the above is your responsibility since I don't maintain access to your site files. If you request some maintenance work, you would need to grant me access to your hosting account, and there would be a fee of $35.00/hr charged.
Any modifications beyond minor maintenance, such as wholesale changes to a page, creation of new/additional pages, changes that affect the entire site, or addition of a new functionality will incur a flat fee.
After consulting with you about the changes you would like, I will work up an estimate, and the fee will be determined by the magnitude and complexity of the desired modifications.
This is relevant to site maintenance noted above. The fees, or lack there of, are for the same reasons noted there.
For more info on Content Management, please see the Content Management Systems page.
Custom fonts are hosted by the service providing them. Some are available free and some are not. We can discuss the particulars while developing your website, with the two major factors being; which service you choose to use, and where your website is hosted. For more info, please see the Custom Fonts page.
The photo fees are only for photos that end up actually being used on your site. If you send me, or I take, 25 photos, and we only use seven of them on your site, then you would only pay a fee for the seven photos.
The reason for the fee, even on photos you provide, is that they will need adjusting to fit in the space available depending on the template you have chosen. They will need to be optimized for the web ( a process of creating the smallest possible file size without degrading the photo noticeably), for the fastest possible download speed so people don't have to wait any longer than necessary for your website to load in their browser. Also, multiple copies of different sizes may be needed for images where there is a small thumbnail image, that blows up to a much large image when clicked on, or the aspect ratio of the photo is different than the container it fits into.
If you are within a reasonable distance from my location, I can take some photos for your website. The fee will be higher then if you provide them, and there will be a per mile travel fee charged as well.
If you currently have a website, and don't want a new site make-over, but only some modifications, or added functionality, the process would be the same as for site modifications noted above, in the "Future Website Modifications" section.
After consulting with you about the changes you would like, I will work up an estimate, and the fee will be determined by the magnitude and complexity of the desired modifications.
You don't need to create a new website in order for me to host your website.
In this situation, your site is obviously hosted elsewhere. If you have one of those low cost, do-it-yourselfer deals that's just not working out for you, and you don't like the hassle of dealing with it, depending on the setup you have, I may be able to take on the hosting of your website.
This would get you all the benefits I offer, including use of a CMS, custom fonts, and minor maintenance and backup, without the necessity or expense of creating a new website.
Site maps for small sites such as those I deal with are not necessary for the navigation of the website. They are therefore not made visible to visitors of your website. However, the inclusion of a site map file with your website helps your search engine optimization because it is registered with all the major search engines, and they use it as an aid in determining the structure of your website. It also gives search engines specific instructions on how often and what pages on your site to check for changes in content.
If you use an email address that is not associated with your website, if you already have a website, such as a Yahoo or Hot Mail address you can continue to use it without any changes or disruptions, whether you are getting a new website or making over an existing website.
If you are getting a new website, you may also want to go with Google's Gmail, see the Google Analytics and Google Maps section further down the page.
If you currently have a website, and you are transferring the hosting of it to me for whatever reason, there may be a short disruption in your email service until the system resolves everything to the new host.
If you are getting a new website, and you want email addresses tied to it, e.g., your new domain is skyview.com, and your email will be joe@skyview.com I can set this up, and as many other email addresses as you like, if I'm providing the hosting for your site. This is one of the tasks done in the control panel of the hosting provider, which, if I'm hosting your site would be part of the service I provide.
If you choose to contract hosting with a third party for the hosting of your new site, or if I'm doing a make-over of your existing site already hosted elsewhere, then email addresses would be your duty, since by contracting your own hosting you have elected to take on this and all the rest of the chores associated with this choice.
You will need to create a free account with Google (not a Google Apps account, just a plain old Google account) if you want the Analytics service. If all you want is the map, then you don't need a Google account. I suggest using your businesses address and contact info for this account, then it will be separate from your personal account, if you already have one, or wish to set one up later.
You'll need to give me temporary access to it so I can register your site in Analytics, and generate the bit of code that needs to be included in your website pages to track the traffic and generate the stats for it.
Then, as long as I'm in your account, it doesn't hurt to have the map generated for display on your contact, or other page, associated with your Google account. So I will take care of that.
Regarding the email section above, you may, as long as you now have a Google account, want to go with Gmail, Google's email application, for your business email. It's easy to use, has a lot of cool features, and best of all, it can be accessed from any computer with an internet connection. You are not tied to the one computer with Outlook on it.
