The 5 Most Common Questions People Ask

1. What are the basic costs of creating a website?

Basic Cost 1: Domain Registration
Registering your Domain name (ex. www.j2webworks.com) will cost you an annual fee. This cost is minimal depending on where and how you decide to register your name. Generally speaking it is beneficial, though not necessary, to register your domain with the same company that you have chosen to host for your website. Ask us for help if this is something you are unfamiliar with or unsure about. 

Basic Cost 2: Hosting
Hosting your website will cost you a monthly fee (though many hosting companies choose to group their billing cycles into 3 month intervals). The fee associated with this service will range greatly depending on the size of your package and the scope of your features. You may also need to consider that as your audience grows you may need to expand your package to accommodate your increased traffic volume. Should you wish we can recommend several hosting companies depending on your various needs.

Basic Cost 3: Website Development
Whether you pay someone to physically build your website or attempt to create it yourself the development process is where most of your cost will go. While hiring a professional may often seem expensive the reality is that you are not only hiring someone to design your website but ultimately hiring someone who “should” be able to educate you on why your website is being developed the way that it is and discuss the ongoing possible ways for it to grow in the future. Not only are you purchasing a product (the website) you are also purchasing a long-term consultative relationship that can benefit you well past getting your website “up and online”.

2. How long does it it usually take to build a website?

This is a more difficult question to answer than one might realize because often the largest time obstacle to creating your website is that you don’t really know what you want to put on it. We are eager to offer our expertise with online copyright but at the end of the day YOUR website must reflect YOUR image and the message that YOU want to get out to your online viewers. Based on previous working relationships 2-3 weeks is not an unrealistic time-line if you have a well thought out plan. That being said, this process can either be completed sooner or it can take much longer depending on how prepared you are and how quickly you respond to the developers ongoing construction inquiries. In short, only you can decide how long it will take by providing timely information to your designer. Thus maintaining an open dialogue with whoever you have hired to develop your website is critical to timely development.

3. What should you consider BEFORE you build your website?

+ Who is my intended audience?
+ What do I want my website to do for me?
+ How much do I want to spend?
+ How do I want to grow into my website?
+ Where do I want my website to be in 3 years? In 5 years?
+ Will my website need a BLOG?
+ How long is too long to get my website up and running?
+ What will happen if I do not create a website?

4. How can a website help me or my company?

When used properly a website is different than traditional marketing in a few ways: 

+ Almost limitless geographic exposure
+ Broader audience than traditional marketing
+ Relatively inexpensive compared to traditional marketing methods
+ Increased opportunity to showcase products, services, and artistic talents
+ Helps get your message out to the public quickly and efficiently
+ Provides opportunity to discover new sources revenue

5. How difficult is it to update a website?

One of the biggest benefits of using WordPress is that as a CMS it allows for multiple user accounts with various levels of administration access. An account can be easily created which allows a user access to all features or only some. This is especially helpful when you want someone other than yourself (ex. a staff member) to update the website but do not want to give them full access privileges. With a little training even someone with minimal computer skills can be taught to update pages or BLOG posts on their own website themselves.