The Internet is a very affordable Media
and it functions 24 hours a day, seven days a week,
with no labor costs to watch it. The Internet has the
most inexpensive and widespread marketing capabilities
ever seen and a website offers your services to the
Masses. Statistics show that the Internet is an excellent
way to market your business and sell your products and
services.
More and more customers are logging on and making purchases,
buying services and researching choices and information
through the Internet. Why should you limit your business
to your immediate locale when the whole world is a keystroke
away? You also gain major credibility by having an Internet
presence. Effectively, you can look like one of the
big companies - all without wasting your money. You
are a professional, do you have a professional web and
email address?
2.
How long will it take to create my site?
The answer is different for each site.
It depends on the size of your site, how much content
is already available, and any advanced features you
want to include (e-commerce, forms, multimedia, etc).
3.
Can you create some sample designs for my site before
I sign a contract?
Please see our portfolio of work for
an idea of what we can do. We only do test designs or
spec work in certain circumstances.
5.
After the site is finished, can you help me get it on
the web?
Yes. We can recommend reliable hosting
that will suit your needs and upload the site for you.
6.
Do you test the site on multiple browsers and/or platforms?
Our sites are routinely tested on the
latest three versions of Netscape and Explorer on the
Windows and Macintosh platforms. We can test for other
browsers and platforms on request.
7.
Can you create meta tags and submit my site to search
engines?
Yes, we can handle meta tags, site optimization,
and search engine submissions for you. Click here for
more information about site optimization.
8.
How long a review period is allowed to correct typos
and other minor problems?
Five business days after test launch.
That allows plenty of time to review the site and test
functionality. After this period a maintenance contract
can be negotiated.
9.
What if I lose my funding, or for some reason have to
cancel my site?
There is an opt-out clause in our contract
if you want to cancel the project at any time. Usually
there is a "kill fee" to compensate us for
work done to date.
11.
What do I need to know before I start the process?
See 10
Ways to Save Time & Money on Your Site, and
browse some of the articles on our Links page. We also
recommend Pre-Design Consulting if you will be building
a new site from scratch or are unfamiliar with web marketing.
12.
What do you need for a website?
A Computer:
Although highly recommended, it is not necessary for
you to have a computer but it is necessary for those
wishing to view your site.
ISP: an Internet Service Provider is how you
connect to the Internet. This ISP will provide you with
an email address to communicate by electronic mail (email).
Domain Name: This is www.yourname.com; your address
or home page on the Internet.
Host: An Internet presence provider. This is
where your website is stored for the world to view.
Website Design: You'll need all the codes, computer
language, scripts and graphics which, when put together,
formulate your website into a viewable form for the
world to see.
FTP: File Transfer Protocol to transfer information
to and from your website for updates, repair, edits
and changes. This is how web designers communicate with
your domain at the host.
Maintenance: Updates, additions, changes, and
most importantly, search engine analysis and submission
of the pages that make up your website.
13.
How does Real Normal Productions design my site?
There are many steps involved in designing
and creating a fully functional website. We determine
the exact goals of the client's website. The end goal
being a website enabling the consumer to easily view,
gather information about and then purchase these products
offline or on-line (e-commerce). All these facts are
formulated in a design layout that describes the fundamental
business strategy behind the client's website.
In essence, we want to ensure that we fully understand
what is required to satisfy your requirements. We register
the client's domain name, activate the client's host
account, code the pages and implements any other functions
necessary to make the client's website functional. We
fully test all components of the site. Then we submit
the site in beta (or test) format for the client to
view and approve. If any additions or adaptations are
necessary, they are made at this point.
The site is re-tested and then re-submitted for the
client's final approval. Next, the site is uploaded
to our server with a final test of all the site's functions.
Finally, when we are sure the test is in perfect order
and the client is satisfied, the site is submitted to
search engines and/or directories.
14.
What costs will be involved with establishing a website?
The cost elements
involved with developing a website and putting it on
the Internet are:
Website Development and Design: This refers to
paying a website design firm to create the site and
place the site in search engine registrations worldwide.
Costs also include buying a domain
name and fee for your host server configuration.
Included in this fee, at no cost, is advice or help
in marketing your website. Contact Real Normal Productions
for a free no obligation price quote.
The only extra charges are Periodic
Editing, Updates and Edits
and marketing of the website.
These are all up to you.
15.
What are a website's advantages?
This is a big question with a multitude
of answers. Development and distribution costs are
extremely low. When you compare the cost of establishing
a website to what it costs to promote your business
in print or on the air, you'll see that a website
is the cheapest form of marketing ever created. A
radio campaign featuring several 30-second spots per
week for three months could run you $5,000 - $10,000.
That gets you five minutes per week of exposure for
three months in the local area only. This just is
not an option for small business.
Newspaper and magazine ads are similarly highly priced,
and they only last for the life span of that particular
publication. A website has virtually limitless space.
You could put up a website with dozens of photographs
and several thousand words for under $500.00. What
would it cost to run a newspaper ad of this size for
a year? Imagine how much it would cost to produce
a brochure for different products, and keep it in
consumers' hands for an entire year. You can accomplish
this with a website very easily, with low development
cost and almost no distribution cost. Websites are
in full color - a palette of 16.7 million colors for
your photographs alone.
A website is accessible globally; that means your
website can be viewed by anyone, anywhere, as long
as they have Internet access. There are no physical
limitations to broadcast areas as in radio, no circulation
region restrictions as in newspapers or magazines.
You can keep your website more current more affordably
than any other media; you can update a website immediately,
and as often as you like.Small business can compete
with the big guys.
In addition, small businesses can compete with the
big guys since a website is economical and not limited
by size. This means a small business can present as
large or creative an image on the Internet as a bigger
company - with the right design team. A website also
allows easy, safe communication between the consumer
and you so that anyone who visits your site can contact
you at any time by sending an email. Unlike communications
that originate from other forms of advertising, consumers
who send emails don't have to deal with many problems
of everyday business: pushy salesmen, remembering
to call during business hours, having to battle crowds
to get to your stores, spending time waiting on voice
mail or getting the wrong information. It's convenient,
easy, and safe for the consumer.
Email is also convenient for you. You can respond
to all your customer inquiries at the same time, and
do it when you have a free moment - not in the middle
of rush hour when someone calls up to ask for product
information or directions to your location. You can
save money on tech support and answering questions.
If your employees spend a lot of time answering the
same questions and sending out the same material,
you can reduce that labor cost significantly by providing
the information on the website. For instance, a client
can avoid having to mail or fax information for over
1,000 phone call solicitations in a one-year period
simply by providing the information on their site.
That improves on labor costs and provides a real cost
savings in reduced long distance phone bills (for
faxes) and postage.
As to your choice for website design, if a designer
can't tell you why a website is a unique marketing
tool as we have here, how successful will their website
be? Are they helping you to develop a marketing mechanism
or are they selling special effects? Is it an intelligent
tool for driving business or an overpriced, turbo-charged
business card? Make sure you choose a designer with
marketing expertise, experience and skills - Choose
Real Normal Productions.
