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If you are thinking about getting a web-site built or re-engineered,
then may I make some suggestions? There are many issues to think through.
Part of it is knowing the possibilities and deciding what you really
want. Doing this properly could save you time and money. A web-site
needn't cost you much. Why pay more when a simple one will do just as
well? What is important is to have a web-site that will effectively
promote your business or organization.
I have written an article entitled "The
Principles of Good Web Design" which is geared towards all
those thinking about getting a web site made. Whether you choose to
have my company design your web-site or not, do read the article as
it will make you aware of what makes an effective web-site.
Let me show you a few of the web sites I have created:
Kleerlee
Kleerlee is a company that imports glass furniture from the Netherlands
to sell in North America.
The purpose of the web-site is to educate whole-salers in the
merits of glass furniture and to show them a large selection of
products.
This web site was designed to contain a lot of information that
could be easily found without it looking cluttered.
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Figure 1: Kleerlee
web-site
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The web-site contains 35 pages and 123 pop-up windows each containing
a photograph and information about a particular product. Although
the photographs and the logo were supplied by the customer, they
all needed to be edited and formatted for use on the web. The
web-site took about 130 man hours to complete.
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The Braymo Corporation
They design and supply complete heating systems across North
America.
The CEO wanted a web site that would contain detailed specifications
of all the company products, so that he could point any potential
customer to the web-site to find the information they needed.
This saved him time and money: time spent on the telephone explaining
every detail, and money, not having to get hundreds of brochures
and specification sheets printed.
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Figure 2: The
Braymo Corporation web-site
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As the company had no content to begin with, they hired me at
an hourly rate to assist and advise them about content, as well
as organizing the content to form a web-site. To create this 30
page web site from nothing took about 120 man hours to complete.
Had the content been decided on before hand, the site would have
been completed in half the time.
Other sites
Two other sites I have created are:
- McCowan Holistic Health Services - A 4 page web site advertising
the services of a Reflexologist / Massage Therapist: See
www.lasermassage.ca
- R V Meats - A Hutterite colony's butcher shop. See www.rvmeats.com
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Our policy towards designing web-sites
For several years, I did research at Cambridge University in England
about how people best learn from a Computer. I think that web-site development
has tended to focus on 'image', i.e. the professional look, but has
neglected content and ease of navigation. Web-sites I design correct
this imbalance.
If you were to choose me to design your web-site, there are a number
of things I want you to know:
- Honesty and integrity are important to me in the way I conduct my
business.
- I will listen to what your needs are and work with you throughout
the process in order to get what you really want.
- I will strive to produce work that is high quality and will truly
satisfy you the customer.
- I can arrange hosting for your web-site on a secure server that
can report accurately how many people are visiting your site.
- I can maintain your web-site or train up someone in your business
or organization to maintain it.
- I offer facilities to do business on the Internet including having
an on-line shop.
- I do multimedia: animations, video and audio sequences, flash movies,
etc.
- If you so wish, I will design your web site around a few search
terms so that potential customers are more likely to find you when
using search engines.
- Although I cannot quote how much any web-site will cost without
a thorough understanding of what is involved, I base my quotes on
a rate of $40 CDN an hour. So, if I quote for 5 hours work, I will
charge for 5 hours work, even if it takes me 7. The initial consultation
and quote are free of charge. If you want extra work done that is
not mentioned in the quote, I will make you aware of the charges before
I do the job.
- For larger web-sites, I can quote for different phases of the project:
e.g. collating content, creating a front page, creating graphics,
researching ideas for content, scanning photographs, etc.
- You may hire me at an hourly rate of $25 CDN to build you a web
site, provided that I do not have to prepare a written quote.
- For charitable organizations whose aims I am in agreement with,
I would be willing to negotiate a lower price.
- If after I have completed your web-site, you are able to bring more
business my way, I will pay you 3% of the income generated from that
deal or $100 CDN, which ever is less.
If you have any questions or would like me to give
you a quote, please don't hesitate to contact. Whether you choose to
have me design your web-site or not, do read "The
Principles of Good Web Design" article as it should make you
aware of what makes an effective web-site.
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