Website Design

Website Design by Michael Thoeny.

About
What You Need to Have Your Own Website
Areas Of Service
Packages and Pricing
Samples
Contact

About

Websites (and the Internet) have only been around in earnest since the late 90's. Today it is almost mandatory for a business to have one. People expect you to have an online presence. For personal use there are other options like Facebook and Blogging sites, but there is still a great demand out there for individuals to have there very own piece of the web.

What You Need to Have Your Own Website

I provide clean, easy to use websites that are optimized for search engines to gain you the best possible ranking on Google, Yahoo and Bing etc. They can vary from 1 page to as many pages you need to get your point across.

There are 5 things you need to have for your very own website:

a domain name (like name.com or name.ca)
a website hosting company (a place to store your files for the Internet)
a website (the pages you view on a website)
a way to maintain your website (someone to update your website content)
a plan

The domain name (your website address) is usually registered thru a website hosting company. They cost about $15 - $25 per year for a .com or .ca. If you see a site wanting more than this, don’t bother. There is absolutely no benefit for paying more for a domain name. Deciding on a .com or a .ca is a personal preference and also depends on what is available. A .com is more international (and perhaps a bit more popular) while a .ca can be registered only by Canadians. There is a slight search preference for .com’s but it is negligible. Most people use .com as their first preference and .ca as their backup (if .com is taken). Some people prefer the .ca because it is Canadian. Still others will register both versions.

A website hosting company will store the website files and make them accessible to the public via the Internet. Their fee varies depending on what extras you want but for the most part you can expect to pay about $15 per month. I use Netfirms (www.netfirms.ca). They have 3 different hosting packages. For me, I use the middle one because it allows me to host an unlimited amount of domain names under one package. There is nothing wrong with the least expensive package unless you see the need for multiple domain names or more than 10 email addresses.

Website creation is where the money comes in. It can cost a lot or be free depending on who you know or what type of site you are looking for. The website hosting companys (like Netfirms) usually have website creation programs built in to their hosting packages. These are ok but are not as simple as they appear and often still need someone who knows about websites to use them properly. If you choose to hire outside help, I would try to stay local. You can expect to pay anywhere from $1000 to $5000 depending on their skill (and if they do it for a living – which is usually higher than a hobbyist). A person who does websites for a living is not necessarily better than a hobbyist. Search local websites and look at the bottom of the pages for an indication of who created the site. Usually there is a link to the site’s creator. Check out their site and see if you like their work. You can also save yourself a lot of money by knowing what you want. If you have a clear idea of what you want in your website like number of pages (with titles), what kind of images you would like included (best if you have the images already), and most importantly the written content, then you can save the website creator time and (your) money. The written content is the most important aspect of the site and the one thing that you as the owner can do on your own. Try to take the time and read other sites and try to generate your own set of written content that suits you. This is always a great start to creating a well formed website. The website creator can always guide you in the right direction, but the more you are prepared the smoother your website creation will go. The alternative is to go to a “branding” or “marketing” website creator that can write for you, but obviously this adds to your costs significantly.

Someone to maintain the website. Now that you have a website, how often would you like to update it with news, events and photos. Some people can figure out how to make general updates to their site without needing too much knowledge of website structure. It still however offers many challenges to the average person in which case you need to find someone who can do it for you or pay the original website creator to continue with the updates. If you would like to keep your site fresh, then you need to update it frequently. An update could cost in the neighbourhood of $50 per hour. It is very important to know ahead of time how often you will want to update your site and how much it will cost to have these updates done. A lot of people don’t consider this when they have a website created and then end up neglecting their website due to the additional cost. Again, if you write your own content and supply your own photos you can save the updater time and (your) money by making it quicker for the person to make updates. Old, stagnant websites with old news, old photos are not that interesting especially to new viewers who might be looking to your site to tell them about what you have to offer. It is also important to search engines to have new content once in awhile.

Make a plan. How many pages? What will you include? Do you have digital photographs that can be used in your website or will someone have to take them for you? Once written, can you maintain certain sections of your website with updates to news stories, events and photo galleries? Who will look after the site updating? Start your website plan reasonably small and maintainable rather than go too big and then not be able to maintain it down the road. You can always add on to your website later. Do your homework by looking at lots of different sites and determine what you like and dislike about them – then try to include the “likes” into your site's plan. Try to do this all before you sign up with a hosting company. It is not uncommon for people to register with a hosting company, get a domain name and hire someone to create a website only to find that your website doesn’t get done for many months because there was no plan and even the website creator is spinning their wheels trying to figure out what you want.

Note: you can register domain names without having to pay for a hosting package so you can register a domain name at any time (in case you fear the name you like will get taken) and worry about all the other things later.

I can assist in any and all of the above. A domain name and website hosting are generally fixed costs that will not vary much year to year. The website creation is your largest upfront cost as time and resources are spent to create a site just right for you. Website maintenance will vary depending on whether or not you are able to maintain the site yourself or whether there is much need for updates (perhaps your site will need only one or two updates per year). These are all things you should consider ahead of time to get a better understanding of your annual costs for a website.

Areas Of Service

I am based in Langley, British Columbia, Canada. Most websites I work on are local so the customer can be better served by face to face meetings. It is also helpful to keep things local when photography is required for your website content.

Packages and Pricing

Website creation is based on an hourly fee of $50 per hour. You can expect a typical website to cost about $1700. This will vary depending on the time it takes to create your site. A big site with many pages will obviously cost more than a small 2 or 3 page site. These charges do not include domain name and hosting fees. Maintenance is charged at $50 per hour. I do all my own photography but you are responsible for your own Logo (if required) and written content.

domain names generally cost $15 - $25 per year.
website hosting fees can very greatly depending on how much storage is involved, number of available email addresses, and what scripts can be run on their servers. You can expect to pay around $15 per month.

Sample Work

click on image for screenshot	bakerviewcleaning.com The BakerViewClening Company is located in Abbotsford, British Columbia. They provide cleaning services to the Lower Mainland. Their website is clean and crisp with a simple to follow structure. visit this website bakerviewcleaning.com
click on image for screenshot	7295-201B.com This website is a dedicated "Home For Sale" based on their address in Willoughby, Langley. It includes a write up page, Virtual Tour page, Photo Gallery page along with maps and a contact page. This type of website is ideally suited for realtors that do not have their own website. visit this website 7295-201B.com
click on image for screenshot	ridpestservice.com Ridpest Service is located in Langley, BC. The site features an extensive list of common pests found in the Lower Mainland. visit this website ridpestservice.com
click on image for screenshot	tent-trailer-rental-bc.com A great website designed to rent out a family's tent trailer. It includes a virtual tour and photos, calendar page, booking page. A complete set of the trailer's specs and a contact page help this family rent out their trailer on a consistent basis. visit this website tent-trailer-rental-bc.com
click on image for screenshot	deannatall.com A custom website designed for Deanna Tall, a local realtor. The site includes property listings, MLS search, a news page and contact list. visit this website deannatall.com
click on image for screenshot	360bc.ca 360bc.ca provides Spherical 360° Virtual Tours for Real Estate and Architectural showcasing. The site was designed to both attract new customers as well as provide an effective tool for Realtors to showcase multi media for their properties. visit this website 360bc.ca
click on image for screenshot	perrydickison.com Perry Dickison is a local vocalist and pianist. This website was created to showcase his musical skills as well as provide an interface between himself and his fans. Perry's CD's are found here for sampling with an option to purchase. visit this website perrydickison.com
click on image for screenshot	newhomeinfo.ca NewHomeInfo.ca showcases Real Estate properties for local Realtor Arietta Fischlin. The website needed to provide viewers with a fresh look on the often confusing Real Estate Website. A clean user friendly approach was needed to keep customers interested and informed.
click on image for screenshot	totalfitnesslangley.com Total Fitness Langley is a very popular fitness gym located in Walnut Grove. This website was designed to attract new members and provide information about the gym itself and the services available. visit this website totalfitnesslangley.com
click on image for screenshot	standrewsfortlangley.ca Built in 1885, St. Andrew's United Church is one of the oldest Churches in British Columbia. The Church, located in historic Fort Langley, needed a website to reflect its historic nature while providing a modern avenue to connect new members and visitors to the Church. visit this website standrewsfortlangley.ca
click on image for screenshot	mountainairkettlecorn.ca Mountain Air Kettle Corn is located in Prince George, BC's northern capital. This site provides visitors information about the Kettle Corn product, dates for upcoming events and information on how to order. visit this website mountainairkettlecorn.ca