Current Advertisements. What type of advertisements do you already have? This includes everything from a business card, brochures and fliers, to media. This helps pull together the theme for your site.
Content. What do you want on your website? Will this be a means to draw in new customers, will you be using it only for a specific purpose, do you plan to do business online? Most websites have an About Us page that describes the company and the people, a Contact page that lists any relevant contact information, and you'll probably want your logo and a couple of other graphics on the website as well. If you are completely in the dark as to what should go on your site, check out your competition, it's a good way to get ideas.
The website's name. Also known as a URL or a Domain Name, this is the website's name that you need to register. It's like having a phone number in that the name is yours for as long as you pay for it. Domain names are renewed annually through approved companies. UpFront Technology will purchase a domain name for you at no additional cost other than what we pay to register the name, and we will give you that first year free when you have your website designed with us.
The design process. Once we've met with you and agreed upon what kind of website that you want, and what to include on that site, we will give you an estimate on the amount of time it will take to complete it. During this process, we will remain in contact with you, obtain your approval as versions are readied for your viewing, and confirm anything before taking your site live (that means making it available for the whole world to see). Some payment will be required for us to begin a project, and the final payment is due upon completion. If you ever need to make changes to your site, we will happily work that out with you.
Hosting. We do host our websites! However, if you already have a home for your future website, we can still design (or redesign) a website for you.
Other considerations. There are many other things that you can include on a website, these are just the basics. Please note that music, large photos or many photos, movies, and Flash animation make your site slow to load. That being said, there are many ways to spice up a website, if that is what you want, and still make it load quickly enough to keep your customers clicking.
What other websites have you seen that you like? They don’t have to be related to your business, but you should definitely check out the competition. That's what we'll be doing when we consider the design of your site. Having around 3 to 5 sites to share with us is helpful, or if you’re creative you can sketch out what you like.
What colors do you want for your site, if you have a preference? Do you want a colored or textured background? Do you want bright, colorful text or a more professional look and feel? Is there a theme you would like your site to have (tropical, relaxing, scarlet and grey…)? Is there a particular font that you like? Are there add-ons that you know you want, such as “Send this page to a friend” (usually a little form that a customer can use to email your website name to someone else) or the popular “Bookmark this site”? Talk to us (or email, or chat) and tell us what you're looking for in a website.
Following is a description of typical pages in a website and what information usually is included on those pages. This is a guideline, and you can mix, match, add and leave off information as you desire!
Biography / About Us This typically is a page devoted to describing your business, what your specialties and services are, your motto, anything that helps potential customers understand your business better. It can include personal information about you and your employees, mission statements, photos of your business or people, your logo, affiliates and professional associations. If you don’t have a whole lot to explain, you may want to skip having an ‘About Us’ page and just use a summary elsewhere. If you need a map to your place of business, that is usually best achieved on a seperate page.
FAQ Do you want a “frequently asked questions” section on your website? This is good if visitors aren't familiar with your business and what you offer, or your customers keep asking you the same questions.
Links What links do you want on your site? Are there companies that you do business with that you want to link to? Are there professional affiliations you want to include in your site (usually with logos)? This would include business memberships, authorizations, etc. (Don’t worry about permissions to use these links right now, we'll help you get those.)
Graphics / Images Are there graphics that you want on your site, such as a logo, a picture of yourself, or a dancing elephant? If you already have original images, that's great. If you don't, we cannot use copyrighted images without permission from the creator, but we can create original images or obtain non-copyrighted ones for you.
Contact / Communication Information You’ll want contact information on the website. Typically, this includes everything relevant to contacting someone in your company, and should be repeated even if this information appears elsewhere on your site (repetition is a good thing!). Contact information includes your company name, people's names and titles, a full street address, phone numbers including area code, fax numbers, and email addresses. You have the option of adding a form onto your site to enable people to contact you. This form will consist of a few boxes for a person to type in information such as their email address, questions or comments, and whatever else you'd like to solicit. Using a form, you'll know that an email coming to you is from a user of your website and not spam, but not all users will take the time to fill one out.
Pricing (yours!) If you offer a specific product or service, do you want prices and/or payment information on your website?
Publications Do you have articles that you have written that you would like to include? Are there other publications about your business that you want to include or link to? Are there community affiliations you would like to list or link to?
Domain Name What is your domain name? If you do not already have a domain name (the www.ThisIsADomainName.com part), what would you like? If you have not researched the availability of names, try typing the name that you want into your browser's location box. Or, try entering in a name below (you don't need to put a ‘.com’, just enter a name):