Needs Analysis

Please email me to discuss your needs. Email is preferred since I am a freelance designer with a day job. You'll find me very responsive; I will generally get any edits or maintenance done each evening, which is as fast or faster than the service you will receive from a full-time web design shop. The reason for this is I take on a limited amount of work, and I only take on certain types of web work, so you'll get the benefit of full attention when you are my client. When you contact me, let me know what you are looking for so that I can let you know right off the bat whether I am the right person for what you are wanting.

If you are in the Central Texas area, we can set up a face-to-face meeting. My time to meet with clients in the Waco area is limited to lunchtimes and after 5.

At this meeting, we'll discuss what you want on the site, and you'll give examples of sites you like and why you like them. This tells me a lot! It's also helpful if you can tell me who your competitors are and give me their website addresses.

After this initial meeting, most work is done via email.

Domain Name and Hosting

I'll need to know whether you have your domain name and web hosting set up. If you do, I'll need you to locate the username and password before I start. The reason for this is that without access to the site, our efforts and time will be wasted. From long experience, I know this is an indispensable step.

If you are starting from scratch and need me to help you set up your hosting, I am glad to help you through this process. You'll "own" the account, so if you decide to switch to another designer, or prefer to do the maintenance on your own, you'll have the access you need. Of course, I'll do everything I can to make you want to stay with me!

Proposal

I'll come up with a proposal that will include a suggested menu system and recommendations for the site. based on what we've discussed. Pricing will also be in this document. Once you've approved this, I'll send you a standard contract to sign that includes this proposal. You would then send me a 50% deposit and the signed contract. I start working on the design after this.

I'll upload the mockup of the design to a folder on my website, and you can review it there and suggest any changes. Once the design is approved, I begin creating the rest of the pages. Content and photographs will come from you, as the expert in your area.

Finishing the site

At some point, it'll be time to upload the site live to the web. Usually it is about 90% complete when we upload it. Websites are never "done", they just get to the stage where they are done enough for the world to see.

It is upon upload that I will invoice you for the remaining 50%.

Maintaining the site after launch

I can maintain the site after launch, at my usual hourly rate. Or if you prefer, you are free to do it on your own. If you are in the Waco area, I'll give you 2 hours of free training on maintaining your site using a text editor.

Sample Contract

Click for sample web design contract