Frequently Asked Questions

Why choose a freelance web designer?

Quite frankly it can run into the hundreds of dollars in savings. You can’t expect an agency to invest much time in you if you’ve got a budget of a few hundred dollars. With me you can. All your investment goes straight into the clean, effective design work and the coding and layout is also done by yours truly. I can code you site and do all the web design work too. So with only one person to work with you can definitely save heaps!

How many pages does your website need?

Some of the things to work out early on with your new website is to decide if you’re up for making your own changes. Many of my clients think they’ll be making their own changes but generally I’ve found that few of them actually want to down the track. Usually they all want me to make the changes instead so I include a few months of support to help you with your changes down the track.

If you’re comfortable learning how to make your own changes, then it’s best to set you up with a WordPress website. The more pages your want to have on your website, the more likely it is that we’ll be developing your website based on the WordPress system. WordPress is free to setup and anyone can give it a go, but I’ve found that most people are happy to invest some dollars to have it all setup and put together instead.

How many pages come with the standard base package?

Okay so this base package is really for clients who are adamant they only want a maximum of five or six pages. This means that depending on the budget, the focus is on the custom design of the website rather than focusing on how many pages etc. So this is an ideal option for someone who has a very specific product or service and they’re only doing that one thing. So if you’re in this category then a custom website that is built in this way may be ideal.

How many pages come with the WordPress package?

It wasn’t long ago that I simply built a website and that was that. What I started to find was that some of my clients seemed to appreciate that they could add their own pages and make their own adjustments. I get the feeling I’ll be providing some tutorials on here shortly that teach how to use the content management system. Originally I would design a website with a minimum of five pages but times have changed. If you really want to be able to go in and make your own changes then the ideal content management system is based on WordPress. What I do is go ahead and install the WordPress system onto your hosting. Then I get a solid theme added on top before making some fine tuned changes to give you an optimal website. There’s big companies out there that rely on WordPress, so it’s a definite proven platform to launch your website and get it up and running.

What happens with my hosting and my domain name?

Hosting and domain names are all registered on behalf of your business under your name. You own the website and we’re happy to help you with any technical stuff. Aside from offering you a well designed website, it helps that I’m able to setup your domain name, if necessary, and any new email accounts. Otherwise we just work with your existing bits and pieces if you’ve already got a few things in place.

What’s the general price range for a good website?

From what I can tell, websites are generally sold for $300 dollars and the price goes up from there. The big thing to be mindful of is what exactly are you getting for your investment? Some web designers I’ve seen still build website with very old technology. So the website they end up building looks like something built in the mid 90′s. I’m surprised to see this type of website still being built to this day but that’s how some of them chose to operate. Then there’s the premium designers out there that will be expensive but certainly the work is excellent. Ideally you need to look at their portfolio to gauge how good they really are.

The main thing is getting yourself a decent website at the end of the whole process and end up paying an amount that is within your budget. You also need to avoid paying out your hard earned money on a website designer who quite frankly isn’t very good and ends up giving you a dull website. The second big important aspect is how well your website will end up ranking in Google. You need to be generating leads through your website and a good web designer can help you with that too.

What’s the deal with the big web agencies?

Agency based web designers can be innovative and original. If you’re after an agency there’s plenty of good ones based around Melbourne. Just expect to pay extra and you’ll be satisfied. With me on the other hand, it’s all about creating a good design that achieves the results you’re after. I don’t go overboard on the design but you’ll certainly be grateful that you used someone who can inject the right level of design into your new website.

Can I expect to save money with a freelance web designer?

There’s several reasons for why you get good value with a freelancer. Firstly it’s the low overheads. Guess what happens when you hire an agency with a swanky city office? You invest more. When I meet with an experienced business owner they inevitably inquire about where I’m based. The simple reality is that I’m a home based business & I can offer you more while keeping it affordable.

How long will the web design process take?

Generally the turn around time on a new website can take from two to three weeks. It’s all about getting a hold of all the materials necessary to be able to complete the website in that time frame. So gathering up your company logo, approving a design concept, photography and all the text and contact details will allow a website to go live in two to three weeks.