SurfScranton On The Web: Put It All Together

SurfScranton
On The Web

Putting It All Together

Put It All Together

Whew! There are a lot of things to do, and they take a lot of specialized knowledge. How can you put it all together?

The good news is you can find many experts to help you through the whole process: design the pages, register your URL, contract the hosting. You are responsible for sponsorship and content, but you can farm out all the technical bits.

A good number of the experts out there are moonlighting. They do web work from home and go to regular jobs (or Junior High) during the day. This is not necessarily a bad thing. They will often charge less than somebody who absolutely must make a living.

Some of them, like me, are computer professionals, building software systems and web sites in their other lives. They may bring valuable training and experience to the table.

Full-time professionals, however, will be able to devote more hours to your site (depending on how many customers they have) and can be "on call" during business hours, when the others are at their day jobs. You may find specialists who have sharper skills and more daring design ideas because they must excel to eat.

Process

Remember I'm a fan of knowing the steps to success before you even start. Visit WebMonkey for a great tutorial on web-style process by John Shiple. Knowing and following the process may make all the difference in your relationship with contract designers and web hosts.

Shop Around

SurfScranton has a sizeable list of services in the Scranton area. Other areas probably have just as many per capita. Check out their sites … rate the style, performance, content. Ask for clients or sample sites. Do they build a variety of "look and feel" styles, or are they all alike?

Know what you plan to pay. Now that you know what things cost, don't let somebody rip you off at $50.00 a month for basic hosting, or $150 a year for your URL. Chart out your expectations and your limits. Compare the bids you get.

Item	Setup	Ongoing
URL	$70 for two years	$35 a year
Design	$n per page	$n per month for changes
Graphics & Photos	$n per graphic/photo	$n per month for changes
Hosting	$n setup	$n per month
Search engine submission	$25-$100	repeating after major site changes

More Reading

Visit Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox for a top-ten list of mistakes in Web design. This came to my attention after writing these pages. I think you'll find a pretty good fit, and a good addition to your arsenal of knowledge.

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