Frequently Asked Questions
General Questions
Hosting & Domains
WordPress
Services
Payments
General Website Questions
What do I need to do to set up a website or blog? Are there any extra costs?
Any website requires a domain name and a host. If you are using a hosted blogging service like Blogger, WordPress.com or Squarespace these things are provided for you. While Blogger is free, WordPress.com and Squarespace may have fees depending on the features you want.
If you would like to have your own self-hosted website or blog, we offer affordable domain registration and web hosting as well as managed WordPress hosting for your convenience.
Read below for more info about domains and hosting.
You mention WordPress a lot on your website. Do you only work with WordPress?
No, we are happy to create websites on Squarespace or even Blogger if that’s what you need.
Hosting & Domains
What is a domain name? How do I get one?
A domain is simply www.whateveryouwant.com. This is your address on the internet where your website or blog will be installed.
You must first check and make sure your domain is available before you can buy it. Feel free to check your domain availability now.
You cannot get hosting without a domain name, they go hand-in-hand. We can purchase your domain name for you at the same time we are setting up your hosting account. Our domain names cost $17.50 a year.
Why do I need a host? What does that mean?
You need a place on the web store your site files and other things like images and email. A host gives you a certain amount of space to upload these things and to build your site on so that it may be viewed by the public. Our hosting packages start at $6 a month. Please visit Swank Web Hosting for more information on plans and pricing.
I need hosting along with my design, should I go ahead and sign up for it now or wait until later?
Because of the potential wait time, we recommend that you sign up for hosting after your designer has started working on your mock up. This way your account will be set up by the time she is ready to install, and you won’t have wasted any money on hosting while you were waiting for the project to begin development.
WordPress
What is WordPress? Why do I need it?
We always recommend WordPress because of how simple and user-friendly it is. Without a content management system like WordPress websites can be very difficult and time consuming to update. To edit just one word on a page it requires an HTML editor, a FTP client and a basic understanding of HTML so you could wade through all the code to find the word you want to change. Most people don’t know how to do any of that and would be dependent on a designer or developer to change it for them. A lot of changes like that can add up to paying a ton of extra money.
With WordPress, your entire website is controlled from one single “dashboard”. From this one central site you can easily create blog posts and pages, install plugins and even customize your own design.
I don’t know how to use WordPress and I’m not a very technical person. Will I be lost?
Not at all. WordPress is very user-friendly and intuitive. We also won’t just throw you in the deep end. All of our website packages come with a tutorial for all the basic things you need to to know to get started. We also provide complimentary email support and WordPress maintenance for up to 3-6 months (depending on the package you choose) after your site has launched. So if you ever run into problems or have any questions at all, you can email us anytime for help.
I have a blog on WordPress.com can you make me design for it?
Here’s a great run-down of the differences between WP.com and WP.org.
WordPress.com is a hosted service that doesn’t allow you to have completely custom templates or other add-ons like plugins. However, they do allow CSS customizations for a fee. Even if you have paid that fee we wouldn’t be able to make you a completely custom design, but we could customize the graphics, layout and colors of any of the themes that wordpress.com offers.
If you’d rather have a completely custom design we can import your entries/comments from your WordPress.com blog into a new self-hosted blog powered by the same WordPress software. WordPress by itself is free, but you would have to pay a recurring fee for a domain name and web hosting.
Design Services & Website Packages
How long will it take to build my site?
The more complex your site is, the longer it will take to build. However with most sites, the entire process from design to development is typically 1 to 2 months. However, this isn’t counting any wait time. Your designer could be booked up a month or longer before she can start on your project. In that case your designer will inform you of the approximate wait time and when she will be able to start.
So how does the whole design process work?
Please see our Design Process page for full details.
Will my design be one-of-a-kind?
Absolutely! Every design project we work on is completely customized for you, your brand/style and your specific website goals.
What will you need from me during the design process?
Once your project is scheduled we will send you a design questionnaire with questions pertaining to your likes, dislikes, design style and branding. You will have plenty of time to fill this out but it will need to be returned before the design phase can start. During the design and installation phases we always welcome your ideas and feedback.
What if I hate my design?
We certainly hope that won’t be the case! Starting with the design questionnaire through the mock-up phase, we do our best to work with you and come up with a design that will suit your needs. But don’t worry, if you hate the first draft, we’ll go back to the drawing board and work on a second option for you. After that we can continue making revisions until you completely satisfied with your design.
Do you offer support once my website is complete?
Yes! Our website packages come with 3-6 months of complementary support and you can still contact us anytime in future for website help of any kind.
Payments
Do I have to pay the full price upfront?
All of our web design packages require a 30 to 50 percent deposit up front with 1 to 2 more payments due at later stages of the project. (See our Design Process page for full details.) However, we are happy to work out a more flexible payment plan if you need it. Let your designer know and we’ll figure out something that works for everybody.
For website maintenance we may also require a small percentage of the estimate up front, but for the most part we will be keeping track of our hours and you’ll be billed upon completion.
What kind of payments do you accept?
We typically accept payments from PayPal or Stripe. With either, you can securely pay using a credit card or directly from your PayPal or bank account. In some instances we may accept a personal check, please ask your designer.