Website Design FAQ's (Frequently Asked Questions)

The simple answer to this is that a website can cost anywhere from $500.00 for the most basic website consisting of a few pages to up to as high as $10,000.00 for a fully customized site, complete with integrated shopping cart systems etc. This question is similar to having you asking your dentist how much it will cost to fix your teeth. Your dentist will want to examine you first to see what might be involved prior to offering an estimate. The same is true of a website design. Typically we ask the following questions, which all determine the length of time needed, which in turn determines the cost:

- Do you already have a domain name registered and is hosting set up or will we be assisting you in this?
- How many pages in your website?
- Will you be providing all of the artwork and textual content for your website?
- Are you wanting to have a logo designed?
- Is your website static or dynamic? Static being a page without any interactivity. Simply a page for you to go and view content and/or images. A dynamic page is something that you can interact with, such as a shopping cart, a comment system, a newsletter etc.
- Are you wanting a CMS (Content Management System) - this would allow you to maintain your own content, making simple text or image changes to your website. The "backend" of the CMS looks very much like MS Word or Open Office. Most people with some basic word processing skills are able to edit their own content.
-Any other special features?
- Will you require any SEO services? (Search Engine Optimization) - This helps you get found on the search engnes, such as Google, Bing and Yahoo.

We often get emails asking how much money for a website? As you can see from the above, more information needs to follow before we are able to provide a quote. Please feel free to call us 250-754-5953 or TOLL FREE at 1-855-754-5953 to get a more accurate quotation.

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2. What does domain registration and hosting mean?

First of all, a domain is the the address of your website. For example, this website, the domain name is www.coastalwebmasters.com When you decide upon a name for yourself, you will first need to search to see if your particular name is available. If so, you can register the name for you to use. Domain registration can usually be anywhere from $10.00 to $15.00 per year.

Domain hosting is basically paying for a place on a very fast computer with a very fast connection. The files we create when we first build your site are moved to the hosting server when it is time to go "Site live". Typical hosting packages run about $4 to $5 per month.

If needed, we will assist you in your registration and hosting setup. You will need a credit card for these two items as the registration and hosting really should be under your own name, rather than ours.

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3. Should I be hiring a web designer local to me?

In this day and age of emails, video conferencing websites can be sourced from anywhere in the world. To keep your costs down, we also offer a TOLL-FREE number from anywere in North America 1-855-754-5953

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4. How long does it take to build a website?

This is almost as difficult to answer as question #1. It really depends on the complexity and size of the website. We are usually able to start a new site within a few days, and most websites are completed in anywhere from a week to a few months. Again, best to call us at 250-754-5953 or use or contact form or request an estimate.

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5. Will I be able to see the progress of my website as it is being built??

Once we enter into an agreement and have a clearly defined scope of work, you will be assigned a temporary address on our development sertver where you will be able to watch your site being built. This allows you to offer feedback as either prepare "mock-ups" or finalize your website.

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6. What is a URL?

A Uniform Resource Locator (URL) is the global address of documents and other resources on the World Wide Web.

The first part of the address is called a protocol identifier and it indicates what protocol to use, and the second part is called a resource name and it specifies the IP address or the domain name where the resource is located. The protocol identifier and the resource name are separated by a colon and two forward slashes.

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7. What is site maintenance?

A website, while sometimes remaining static, needs to maintain fresh content. It is important from an SEO (Search Engine Optimization) persepective to maintain your site with updated content. This can be done by sending us your updated content for updating (maintenance) or by using a CMS (Content Managaement System) so that you can do this yourself.

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8. What does SEO mean?

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the visibility of a website or a web page in search engines via the "natural" or un-paid ("organic" or "algorithmic") search results. In general, the earlier (or higher ranked on the search results page), and more frequently a site appears in the search results list, the more visitors it will receive from the search engine's users. (Copyright Wikipedia)

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9. Why can't I find my web site in the search engines?

A new website will take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months before you start to realize any rankings. The site's SEO must take into account not only the site's own content (on page SEO) but also what is known as "Off page SEO" and include such things as ezine articles, blogs, other forms of social media as well as links back tyo your website. For more information on this, please feel free to contact us.

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10. Can I change my own content?

Many individuals or companies simply want a presence and don't have the time or don't want to be bothered in updating their site's content, This is bad from an SEO perspective as the searh engines love to see fresh content. We recommend the use of a CMS (Content Management aSystem) whereby you or a designate can log in to the backend of the website to make chages to the content, This may be especially useful if you have new inventory or wish to promote a special event. Typically a CMS will not allow you to change the site's structure - only it's content.

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11. Okay, I've decided - I want to use your company. What do I do now?

Great! We would love to meet with you or speeak with you by phome or Skype - whatever suits you best. Often a call or online conversation is much quicker and clearer than emails back and forth. If you prefer to contact us by email you have two options: 1. You can call us at 250-754-5953 or use our contact form or by requesting an estimate.

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