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What's included in our flat rate?

To make things simple and easy, I charge a flat rate to create your website and $35 a month to keep your website on the Internet. In addition, the InterNic (the agency that regulates internet domain names) will charge you $35 a year. These charges include everything a typical small or medium sized business requires to have a website that serves their needs. And we mean everything. No extra or hidden charges.

If you want to know what's not included in the above flat rate and why you don't want it anyway, click here.

What's included in the above flat rate?

Before I list the various items, I want to explain something. I would prefer to simply say that the flat rate applies to everything, with no limits. However, then someone calls me and says "I want a website with 100 pages, 100 photos, 100 animations and I need 30 different email addresses." You know the type. What do we do then? It's unfortunate that a few people foul things up for everyone. However, what's included in the flat rate will be more than what the vast amount of customers require. Even if your requirements are a little extreme, I will be flexible.

With that in mind, let's continue...

We come to you -  you aren't going to end up with a website that properly serves your needs by talking over the phone and exchanging faxes/emails. It wastes your time and makes things complicated. You need to have the person in front of you, so you can tell them what you want, what they need to know about your company and products/services, what you want the website to accomplish, etc. Furthermore, by having someone there, in person, they can answer your questions, sketch out what the website will look like, address whatever concerns you have, explain any areas of websites and the internet that you wish to know, etc. So, that's what I do.

I don't charge extra for coming out to see you, nor do I charge per hour while I am there. This way, you can take the time you need to tell me what you want, without having to watch the clock, etc. Sure, if you have me come out, for example, 10 times and expect us to spend 8 hours each time we come out, I will have to adjust my fee. But typically, each meeting runs anywhere from 30 min to a couple of hours, depending on the client.

Generally, two or three meetings are needed, one to initially meet with you to go over what you want, your company and services/products, and answer questions, perhaps another meeting as I am developing the website for you to insure that I am taking the direction you want, and a meeting at the completion of the website, for any changes and final approval of the website.

I write the copy for you, if needed - perhaps you know exactly what you want your website to say. Great. That's what I'll do. However, you may wish to have a website, but don't have a clue as to what words to use (the text part of the website is called the 'copy'). I will write all of the copy for you, if necessary, for no additional charge.

Photos -  I do not charge extra for scanning your photos and putting them in your website (the process of getting a photo into the computer is called 'scanning'). Sure, if you need me to scan a huge number of photos, like 50 or so, I will have to adjust my fee. However, the typical company requires far less than that on their website. Perhaps a photo of the company and some photos of their products/services, usually a dozen or less. We will scan any reasonable amount of photos and include them in your website at no extra charge.

Graphics and animations - I will create all the graphics and animations for your website at no additional charge. If you don't have a company logo, I will create one for you, also at no additional charge. While I do re-use some animations and graphics, I will create custom graphics and animations as needed, for no additional charge. To see some examples of the animations I have created, click here.

Number of pages your website contains - I do not charge extra for each page your website contains. Yes, if you want, say 50 pages on your website, I will have to adjust your fee, but that is rarely needed. Each website we do is different, since each is handcrafted to meet your specific needs. However, a website typically needs any or all of the following:

  
Bullet.gif (430 bytes) An opening page
  
Bullet.gif (430 bytes) A page describing your company
  
Bullet.gif (430 bytes) A page listing your products and services
  
Bullet.gif (430 bytes) A few pages, each one describing/explaining/showing one of your products/services
  
Bullet.gif (430 bytes) A page for taking orders
  
Bullet.gif (430 bytes) A page for customers to send you messages, comments, questions, etc.
  
Bullet.gif (430 bytes) A page to list job openings in your company
  
Bullet.gif (430 bytes) A page of links to other websites on the web, such as weather reports, expressway traffic, etc.
  
Bullet.gif (430 bytes) A page listing your business hours, how to get to your company, phones numbers, etc.
  
We do not charge extra for the above, or for any reasonable amount of pages.

Listing your website on the internet - The way people find your website on the internet, if they don't already know your address, is by using a search engine (Google, Yahoo, etc. are examples of search engines). They go to a search engine and type, for example, 'restaurant malibu' and the various websites are listed on their screen. You do not automatically get listed on the various search engines. A listing for your website has to be submitted. I will submit your website to all of the commonly used search engines (and dozens of the less used ones, as well) for no additional charge.

Hits - each time someone accesses any part of your website, it is called a 'hit' (the amount of hits your website gets is called the 'traffic'). I do not charge extra for the traffic your website gets. Yes, if your website gets, say a 1000 visitors every day, I will have to adjust your monthly fee, but this is unrealistic. And, if you are fortunate to get that kind of traffic on your website, the increase in your monthly fee will be insignificant compared to the business your website brings in. I do not charge extra for any reasonable amount of traffic.

Email addresses - I do not charge extra for email addresses. I do not charge extra if you need one or a few email addresses in your website. Sure, if you want, say a dozen email address, I will need to adjust the monthly fee, but that is rarely needed. And I don't charge extra for the number of emails you send or receive.

Credit cards - For those of you with some internet knowledge, I do not charge extra for a secure line. For those of you that wonder what a secure line is, its so that someone can place orders on your website and pay with their MasterCard, Visa, etc. A secure line is needed because whenever anything is sent over the internet, although you do not see it, the information actually 'passes through' several computers on the internet, before reaching the final destination. Without a secure line, any one of those computers could read the credit card number and make use of it. 

I will be flexible in what my flat rate includes - as I said before, I will try to include any reasonable requests in our flat rate. I want to make getting a website simple and easy, while at the same time, having your website get the results you want. Call me at (310) 589-7000. I look forward to hearing from you and serving your needs.

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