Database & Website Design

Why do I need a Web Site?

Normally, the worst reason for doing anything is "because everyone else is..."
The internet is the fastest growing new medium in the history of the world. You can not afford to ignore the potential of the internet as an advertising and marketing vehicle.
A web site will help you get more customers and sales and establish a presence on the Internet. Additionally, a well designed professional website will help you get the right customers i.e. the ones who want your service.
Having a web site is like having a salesperson who never sleeps and is there to help people find you.

Basic Requirements for a website

Many of my first time clients don´t fully understand how websites work, but they need to make an educated purchase nonetheless. If you´re in that category, here´s everything you need to know:
If you want to build a website you will need to rent space to store the actual files that make up the website; this is called hosting.
I do all of my hosting through Midlhost, and if you don´t already have a host I can set up hosting for you through their servers.
I charge $7 a month and offer the advantage that you only have to deal with one person for all of your website needs.
Along with a web host, you will also need to rent a domain name, such as www.michaeldahmen.com. You can rent a domain name at name.com or domain.com, with most priced around $9/year. I can set this up for you if you prefer.
Once you have these two requirements, hosting and a domain, your website can be installed.
The process of creating the website goes something like this:
We discuss the requirements and goals for the site, in terms of both design and functionality. Once all the technical details are worked out (hosting and domain information), I create a design mockup and send you a link via email, so you can have a peek.
You take a look, give me feedback, and I adjust it accordingly. This process continues until we are in agreement, and then I implement the design with your content management system. Upon completion I submit the website´s info to Google and optimize it for search engines, and make sure it looks correct on all common web browsers (Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari).
All done!

For all MARKETING purposes, the Internet combines the strengths of print and television advertising-text and graphics plus sound and moving pictures-while eliminating the time and space limitations of traditional media. Unlike magazines and TV, the Internet is interactive, making it a cost-effective, one-to-one marketing tool.

With a Web site, your company can:

* Increase product awareness
* Communicate with customers and partners more efficiently
* Sell product direct
* Generate and qualify leads
* Improve customer service
* Gather feedback
* Decrease cost of sales, support, marketing, and training
* Expand distribution

Online marketing offers many benefits,

including:
* Extensive customers reach. The Internet is global, reaching millions of people of every age, nationality, and profession.
* Attractive user demographic. Most Internet users are highly educated with above average incomes.
* Interaction. Forms, e-mail, and surveys will let your visitors interact with your website, helping you build customer databases and user profiles and also help you customize offers.
* Flexibility. Unlike printed materials, it's easy to change information online. You can test your marketing efforts, prices, and more at the click of a button.
* Automation. Automating sales, marketing, or support processes can save your business money and time.
* Cost Effective Promotion. You can also promote your company online through Web advertising, publicity, newsgroups, and e-mail newsletters.

However, if you're marketing a product or service and you are NOT advertising where your competition is, you'll find yourself left behind very suddenly.
In the past, when your customers were looking for a product or service, their easiest option would be to pull out the Yellow Pages to search for a store or company in their area that provided the product or service they were in need of.
Sometimes this supplied a name and phone number. Sometimes, an address.
On more rare occasions, a picture advertisement with a list of services or products.
With the Internet today, that same customer can go to a search engine or index and be presented with a list of businesses that fit their needs, with links to their web pages.
Those web pages are loaded with product pictures and price lists, maps and phone numbers, and even online Shopping Cart system which allows the customer to order products and services--all without ever having to leave the house or office.
Perhaps you have a "service" oriented practice such as accounting, law, or medicine that's already doing well and you're wondering why you should burden yourself with the added expense of a Web site.
Simply put, not having a web site will soon be like not having a listing in your local Yellow Pages.
In the Web world, this is referred to as a "corporate presence." Even if your best business comes by word-of-mouth,
your potential customers may want to check you out.
A well-designed, professional web site can give you added visibility and credibility.
Especially if you provide a public service and your gold is to get information to a large number of people almost instantaneously.
Additionally, the cost of maintaining a Web site is probably the most cost effective advertising you'll ever do.
The Internet is one of the first places a person who has access to a computer will go to get information.
As one source put it, "the Internet 'IS' information."
Whether it's information on Hepatitis C or a specific product or service,
the World Wide Web is *the* place your customers look to for information.

Pricing

Each website is unique to us. We do all types of websites, from simple web "presence" sites to full e-commerce sites.
The best way to get an accurate quote for YOUR website is to contact us ....we'd be happy to discuss it with you!! Please feel free to call us or use the contact form to send us mail with your needs.
And just a word about Copyrights:

I will not knowingly post anything that is copyrighted to another entity without their express permission. I will ask you to certify that, to the best of your knowledge, all the materials you submit to me for use in designing your web site either belong to you or you have permission to use them.

Running costs of your website:

Domain registration US $ 10-15.- (approx LE 85.-) p.a.
Web hosting LE 150.- p.a.
Cost of static design:
LE 700 per page
LE 850 per page with flash content
LE 850 per page with login function
LE 1200 per page for shopping cart

My services include:

The complete design of your website,
organize hosting incl. a CMS system, which allows you to host unlimited subdomains as well as unlimited e-mail addresses.
Uploading of the site and handover of a fully functional website.
Submission of website to search engines (Google, Yahoo etc).
Guaranteed top search results within days of upload.
Half hour training of a person of your choice in how to maintain or upgrade your site via the CMS system.

Copyright © Michael Dahmen 2010