Web Design Faq

We will use this page to try and answer some of the questions that we are frequently asked. As we mentioned before, you are welcome to mail us at any time with any questions that you may have. 

Is it hard to satisfy your clients?
No, we work very hard to please everyone we work with. Quite a few of our clients live outside the United States. Whether you live near us or far away, our goal is to give you the website that you have always wanted.

Where are you located?
We are located on the west coast of Florida. We have lived in this area since 1967.

Do you charge a consultation fee?
We do not charge to answer general web design questions or questions about our services but we do charge for in depth consultations. Any time spent over one hour is considered an in depth consultation and will be charged accordingly.

For Business sites, we require a minimum of $150.00 for a consultation fee after the initial one hour conversation. For personal sites we require a $95.00 consultation fee after the initial one hour consult. If we build your site for you, the consult fee will be deducted from the total cost of building your site. If we do not build your site for you we will retain the consult fee for time spent. In other words, if we spend time working with you on the design of your site, working out the details etc., and we do not design your site, the consultation fee will not be returned to you. If you would like a further explanation of this, you are welcome to email us.

What is your hourly fee for any of your services?
Most of our add-on services are $25.00 (minimum) per hour.  When multiple services are desired, we charge by the job instead of by the hour.

How much will it cost to build my site?
Below is a sample of some of our prices. Please keep in mind that these are estimates and they are subject to change. The cost may be more or less, depending on your needs. We do offer discounts on multiple services. You may choose multiple add-ons to get a package deal. The best way to get an accurate price on the services you need is to contact us. Please have a general idea of what you will need for your site and how many pages you will need. At that time, we can also talk about hosting. Estimates are free. Only one free estimate is allowed within a six month period.

Web Design
Web Design prices do not include:
Web hosting, custom graphics (ex: custom banners, custom backgrounds), custom graphic design, editing of existing graphics, resizing photos, java scripts, pop-ups, forms, java menus, shopping carts, applets, blinkies, hover buttons, or animations. Anything that is not listed in Basic Site Price below is considered an add-on.


Basic Site - (5 pages or less) 
A minimum fee of $ 250.00 for the index page and 
$ 90.00 per page for each additional page. That price includes one plain logo, basic site navigation on each page, and up to six graphics (provided by you) and text. The same prices also apply for re-designing existing sites.

Editing of a Existing Website
We will gladly edit your existing website for you. This does not include any graphic design or the editing of any graphics, adding photos, trouble shooting scripts, etc. This includes only the editing of the existing html only. The cost for this is $25.00 (minimum) per hour. Discounts may be given for more extensive jobs.

What is considered an add-on?
Anything that is not included in our basic website package is considered an add-on. Below are a few examples of add-ons.

Graphic Design
Prices vary greatly on graphic design. It all depends on what you want. Graphics can be made from photos or images that belong to you or we can use images from our own library. When making graphics many things have to come into consideration. The cost of making your graphics will depend on how complicated the design is. Our normal fees start at $25.00 per hour (minimum) for making specialized graphics. Contact us with your details as we do give discounts for multiple graphic designs.

Site Monitoring / Maintenance
We will monitor your site monthly to insure your site is up and running and to check for server errors. The charge for this is $25.00 per month ($300.00 year). This must be paid in full for the year, in advance of starting the service.

Search Engine Submissions
We submit to all available free search engines. Please note that although most sites are readily accepted by search engines, it does not mean that they have to include yours. They are in control of whom they list. Submitting your site to search engines can be very beneficial to your site. We submit to the top 50 crawlers. This is very time consuming and we will do this for you at a cost of $100.00.

Site Enhancements
Java scripts, page transitions, feed back forms, email forms, setting up stores with PayPal, etc. are not included in our basic site fees. The cost for these services may vary depending on what you need. Please contact us for a price.

Hosting
We do not offer hosting at this time. We can help you find a reliable host that suits your needs through one of our affiliates. The cost of web hosting and domain name(s) are not included in our design estimates. We are to be your web masters only (building your site).  You are solely responsible for the cost of your hosting and any fees associated with that service to keep your site online.

When do you expect payment if you build my site?
Once we have talked over the specifications of your site, we will also need to talk about hosting and your domain name unless you have already purchased it.

After making a preview of the index page (home page) for you, if it meets with your approval, we will then require payment for the index page and one half payment on future pages. The payment required will depend on the number of pages that we will start out with. We will request periodic payments from you as the building of your site progresses. To continue working on your site, we will need to receive your initial payment within one week (7 days) of completing the preview of your index page. After receiving your payment, we will then begin working on your pages. We will send you screen shots of the progress on your pages as we go along.  If at any time you decide not to continue with your site, we will retain all graphics and work done on the pages that have not been paid for.  We reserve the right to re-use them at a later date.

After all arrangements have been made, you can pay us with PayPal (our preferred method). Using PayPal will enable you to pay with your credit card or check.  You do not have to be a member of PayPal to use their services.

Do I have to sign a contract?
We do require that you sign a contract for all business sites and for all personal sites in access of 3 pages. The contract is simple, it will state that you want us to build a web site for you. If will also list what is to be included with your site. We realize that contracts are scary for most of us, but this way we both are sure that we get what we want from the design of your site. Both Web Design by Bird and the client will be bound by the contract once it is signed. Before signing the contract, we will discuss the entire contract with you to make sure you understand what you are signing. The contract will be sent to you by U.S. postal mail.

What other services do you offer?
We make background sets, snow globes, awards, one page pet memorials, birthday pages, new baby pages, etc. We also do web maintenance and update sites. We have also remodeled a few sites with a new look and feel. If you are interested in remodeling your site, contact us for a price. We feel no job is too small. We love the challenge of making new things.

Do you do small jobs?
Yes, we do. Sometimes it is expected that web designers only take on big jobs. For some that is true but not for us. We will work on any small job. As an example: If you do not need web design but need navigation for your site, we will work with you on it. If you just need a banner, buttons, background, java script, etc. we would be happy to give you a price quote.

I want you to build my website for me but want to maintain it later on myself, is this okay?
Yes, that is fine, many of our clients do this. We can build your site or start it for you and you can take over after that or for a small monthly fee we can maintain your site for you. It's entirely up to you.

Can the graphics on each of my pages to be different or do they all have to be the same?
There are many ways we can design you site, the choices are endless. For most sites we find that our clients prefer to have each page to differ. Myself, I love colorful backgrounds and having each and every page different (backgrounds, banners, etc.) makes for a more enjoyable visit to your site. If you have a business site, you may want all the graphics on the pages to be the same. If you would like, we can incorporate your images or photos into the graphics on your pages. Any graphics we use other than your own personal photos will come from our library of graphics that we have purchased. All pages will be made to your specifications and your specific tastes. So, what your site looks like will depend entirely on you and what you like.

Do you make sites for non-profit organizations?
Yes, we do. If you have a not for profit organization we would be glad to work with you on your site.

If you build my site, am I required to link back to you?
We leave this decision solely up to our customers. We have never made a practice of building up a portfolio of our work. If you are pleased with our work and would like to link back to us that would be wonderful, but it is not required. Once we build your site or page and have been paid in full for our work, it is totally up to you what you do with it.

Are you licensed?
Yes, we are licensed and all of our licenses are up to date. We currently hold a business license and also a retail sales license.