Why choose LEAR Web Design?
In skillful hands, the web is one of the greatest marketing tools of all time and yet 95% of the web sites out there are under-utilized, un-visited and non-productive for their owners - don't become a statistic. There are only a few key criteria you should use when choosing your web designer... With so many web design firms out there it can often be difficult to decide which web designer will actually meet your needs. Keep in mind that a web site is just like any other business tool. You "acquire" the tool and then you "use" the tool.
For some reason, many small business owners feel the need to have a website without a real understanding of how one is used and why you should have one.
The reason for this can be traced back to web designers, who themselves, don't understand the purpose and use of a web site and mis-educate prospective buyers.
For many designers, a web site is merely a collection of pretty pages and imagery about a company that hopefully gets seen by someone - a tremendous waste of money in this case.
Simply stated, a web site is an advertising and public relations tool that should be used in such a way, as to:
(1) reach your target market
(2) position an idea about your company into the mind of your target market
(3) promote your products and services to them
(4) facilitate the exchange of goods and services.
Notice that the above 4 items all have to do with the use of the tool? That's right folks, just like a car needs to driven or a wrench needs to be turned, a web site needs to be "worked and used" in order to bring any benefit. A web site sitting out there idly in cyberspace amongst 3 billion others is not going to help anyone.
So, cut through the hype and showmanship when you meet with a prospective web designer and see if they mention 1-4 above during your meeting. If they are very anxious about building you a "great site" but don't heavily stress 1-4 above, then they are simply lacking a fundamental understanding of what a web site is for and how it is used.
If you would like to find out more about how to use a web site in your business contact me. I'd be happy to explain how I can put 1-4 above to work for you. And yes, I can also design you a great web site too!
What's the difference between a Web Designer and a Web Developer?
Web Designers create the style/look of the web site to be, plus other small graphics, buttons and icons.
Web Programmers code the advanced applications that web sites need.
Web Developers utilize all the graphics and programs created by the Designers and Programmers and put it all together into the final working version of the web site.
Web Masters maintain the web sites after the web sites are done being created/developed.
There are some people who have enough skills to play more than one role.
How much does a web site cost?
There are a few factors that affect the total cost of your web site. These factors include how many pages you are going to have, if you will sell products on your website, the graphic work involved, and how interactive your web site will be. There are also side costs involved that are not part of the actual web site creation, such as domain name registration and web hosting and licensing of software/applications that might be needed.
What are the excepted payment methods?
I accept cash, checks and PayPal. If a check is issued, I wait until the check clears to begin work.
When are payments due?
First let me say that I do not do flat rates anymore. When I used to do flat rates, I would collect a 50% down payment to begin work then collect the other 50% upon completion of project. Then after the website is complete, clients would think of more things they need done and I would then go into hourly format...however, now I go into hourly format from the beginning (whether it's new sites being created from scratch or existing web sites I will be working on).
When you contact me, I will need a list of features you will need and the amount of pages you need, if there is a shopping cart involved or not, how many products in shopping cart, and if the products need attributes, and if you need special payment and shipping needs. Also if possible, provide a couple of your competion's web sites. I will gather all the info and estimate how long it will take me to do it all. What happens next is I will collect a down payment to begin work. The down payment pays for a certain amount of hours. After the amount of hours are used up I will pause work and another payment needs to be made for a certain amount of hours. Then I go ahead and work until the hours are used up again. This process continues until all work is done. The amount of total time may or may not be exactly what I estimated in the beginning. It could be less, it could be more. If it's less then you pay less, but if it's more you will need to keep paying hourly fee until all work is done.
I try the best I can to estimate accurate times, but there may be unforseen things while I am in the process of doing the work. It's very common for unforseen things to popup from time to time. I may think that I can do something one way, but it turns out I have to do it a different way that may take longer. In the end I beleive I can provide you good and professional work, fairly quickly and for a very reasonable rate. Also, it is common for clients to think of new things they need done in the middle of the project, so using the hourly format is the only fair and reasonable thing to do, because projects get extended and I don't want to earn a set amount when doing extra things that weren't thought about in the beginning planning phases.
Where are you located?
I am located in sunny South Florida, in the tri-county area (between Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade).
How long have you been making websites as a career?
I have been in the Web Design & Development industry since 2003, but before that I have dabbled with code and design on my free time (as a hobby) since 1995 or 1996.