• Why do I need a website?
• How much will my website cost?
• Why can't you give me a set price ahead of time?
• What is your hourly rate?
• Why is your rate so much lower than the other design companies?
• Do you give discounts to non-profit organisations?
• What do I need to provide?
• What services do you offer?
• When will my site be completed?

Q:  Why do I need a website?
A:  Having a website nowadays is not just fashionable, nor is it a luxury - it is mandatory.  But don't just take my word for it.  The following is taken from an article in Entrepreneur.com written by Tim W. Knox, founder, president and CEO of four successful technology companies.

"So should your business have a website, even if your business is small and sells products or services you don't think can be sold online? My answer in 1998 is the same as my answer today: Yes, if you have a business, you should have a website. Period. No question. Without a doubt.

The point to be made here is that you should at the very least have a presence on the web so that customers, potential employees, business partners and perhaps even investors can quickly and easily find out more about your business and the products or services you have to offer. That said, it's not enough that you just have a website. You must have a professional-looking site if you want to be taken seriously. Since many consumers now search for information online prior to making a purchase at a brick-and-mortar store, your site may be the first chance you have at making a good impression on a potential buyer. If your site looks like it was designed by a barrel of colorblind monkeys, your chance at making a good first impression will be lost.

Here's the exception to my rule: It's actually better to have no website at all than to have one that makes your business look bad. Your site speaks volumes about your business. It either says, "Hey, look, we take our business so seriously that we have created this wonderful site for our customers!" or it screams, "Hey, look, I let my 10-year-old nephew design my site. Good luck finding anything!"

Your website is an important part of your business. Make sure you treat it as such."
Tim W. Knox - Entrepreneur.com
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Q:  How much will my website cost?
A:  There are three things you will need to get your site online.  The first is a domain name (yoursite.com), the second is the space on the internet to put your site (hosting), and the last is the site itself.

Domain name registration runs from $14 to $35 per year (see our rates).

Hosting can run anywhere from $4 to $25 a month (see our rates).

And the site itself will vary depending on the needs and requirements of your project.  A general idea however would be an average of $100cdn per page.
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Q:  Why can't you give me a set price ahead of time?
A:  Each project is different and each site has its own requirements.  You don't want a cookie cutter site that looks like 500 others, and that unique design can sometimes take time.  Your site might need a special feature that takes an extra hour to code, but might not need another feature which saves design time.  You may choose to make many changes to the design as we go along, or stick close to the original design.  Once we have thoroughly discussed your project needs, we can draw up a detailed estimate before any work starts on your site.
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Q:  What is your hourly rate?
A:  I charge $35cdn per hour.

"A full time webmaster could easily run you $40, 000 - $80,000/year, but for small and mid-sized companies, it does not necessarily make sense to hire a full time web developer. Instead, one should expect to hire a freelance web designer to create the initial site and then to maintain it on a project by project basis.

Obviously, freelance rates are extremely diverse. You might hire an undergraduate hobbyist for $10/hour, or an experienced multimedia artist for $200.00/hour. I am assuming that you will seek out the average range, for it is unwise to hire the undergrad and unfeasible to hire the professional."
eXtropia
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Q:  Why is your rate so much lower than the other design companies?
A:  I am a freelance designer which means I can set my own hours and work from home.  I have no agency to take a portion of my profits and far fewer overhead costs.

Blue Pixel Design is a small but profitable company that expects to be in business for many years to come.  Our clients are pleased with the results we've achieved and know that they can count on solid designs at a fair price.  Happy clients come back to us with future design needs and tell others about our good work.
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Q:  Do you give discounts to non-profit organisations?
A:  Despite what some may say, there is more to life than money and business.  Blue Pixel Design is happy to offer discounts to select non-profit organisations.  Discounts vary from project to project, and are approved based solely on the discretion of Blue Pixel Design.
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Q:  What do I need to provide?
A:  The easy answer is that you should provide all of the print media material that you currently use for advertising (digital files are best). You should also provide any company graphics/logos/type faces you've had made. These will be transferred to HTML so that they will be available digitally.

The hard answer is that you should provide "vision". Web development is an art. And like any art, the best work is the work that "fits" intuitively. There is a billion and one ways to present a company's information, but there may only be one way that corresponds to the "soul" of the company.

In order for Blue Pixel Design to really create the site that is right for you, we need to know the soul of your company. Why did you found the company? What are the goals of the company? How does the company relate to its client, society and world? You should be prepared to talk with us for a good hour if possible.

You should also make time to define your project requirements and the time limit. It is likely that this will be extremely amorphous at first since you won't be sure exactly what you want. Thus it is extra worth it to discuss this with us.
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Q:  What services do you offer?
A:  Our services include, but are not exclusive to:

• Website development and design
• Flash presentations
• Search engine optimization
• Logo design
• Business cards and stationery
• Brochures
• Advertisements
• Newsletters
• Email newsletters
• Signs

If you are in need of an artistic eye, give us a call!
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Q:  When will my site be completed?
A:  Your design time line will depend on two things:  how large the project (smaller websites with very few extras and with photos and text provided could take as little as 2-3 days), and how quickly you can provide the resources and answers needed.
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