The very first thing to do is to give some thought in advance to what you want your web site to accomplish. The point of this exercise is to realistically assess and prioritize the goals of placing your organization online. While there are many factors to consider, here are just a few of the questions you may want to answer...

Is it your intention to:

• Provide comprehensive information about your product or service?
• Directly sell products from your site?
• Reach new markets or clientele?
• Provide online "customer support" 24 hrs a day, 7 days a week?
• Do market research by gathering visitor feedback?
• Give employees internal information?
• Post job opportunities?
• All of the above?

Please Note: To assist you in the process of getting your organization online, we have a helpful page for your reference.

First, we will discuss with you what your primary objectives are in placing your organization on the World Wide Web. From that discussion we'll determine what comprehensive solutions will fulfill those goals. Once you indicate to us how extensive a site you want, we will take all that information to collaborate in creating a content outline that will guide the custom design process. Your opinions and ideas are incorporated into every aspect of this outline. With the resources gathered and the project outline clearly defined, we will take what we learned from our ongoing discussions to create for you a dynamic WWW presence that reflects your organization's identity, providing for each visitor an impressive and inviting online atmosphere. When the initial design process is complete, we carefully review each individual web page to be certain the presentation is both accurate and attractively portrayed. Your completed site is uploaded to the server in a "hidden" directory for your final approval. Any changes you want can be made at this time. Upon your authorization, it is then published on the web for public viewing. Finally, we are available to assist you in designing the best web site promotion strategy for integrating your Internet presence into your overall public relations and marketing approach. As is often said in cyberspace, "a web site is an ongoing process, not just a one time project."

This is what is referred to as "web site maintenance." You can either outsource the job to us to make the changes for you on an "as needed" basis, or (in the case of your own domain name and server) you have the option to make those changes yourself if you have the necessary equipment and expertise.

Yes. We specialize in makeovers - taking an existing web site and transforming it into a productive, attractive, and profitable business tool. Always remember, your web site is a "window through which the world will view you," so making it as professional looking as possible presents your organization in the best possible light. We can also provide a professional web site evaluation, where we'll check out its HTML coding, layout, download time, graphics, and attractiveness to search engines, then will prepare a detailed written report for you. You select how many of the pages on your web site you want critically analyzed - you can then make the changes to the site yourself, or have someone else do it for you.

It is well documented that most people who visit a commercial or professional site are doing so intentionally because they either intend to buy something (from you or from someone else in your field) or because they are looking for specific information. So first of all, for you to attract visitors to your site, you must thoroughly integrate your web address (URL) into your overall marketing / public relations plan. That means making it as prominent and ubiquitous as your telephone number - on your letterhead, business cards, brochures, advertisements, press releases, newsletters, t-shirts... everywhere, even on your organization's vehicles. Secondly, your site's URL will be registered with the major search engines (think of a search engine as an advanced form of telephone directory assistance), so anyone looking specifically for you or even for just someone in your field will have the opportunity to get your web address. If you really want to seriously promote your site, you can buy advertising banners at other sites that have already established a lot of daily traffic. Finally, you can make arrangements for "reciprocal linkage." This means your URL is made available on someone else's site, and their URL is listed on your site, so you each can benefit from the combined group of visitors. The more reciprocal links, the greater the opportunity for new visitors. Be certain you do NOT believe the hype that once you have a web site "millions of web surfers" will all of a sudden want to visit you. There are now over a hundred million web pages out in cyberspace, so it is not like having a location in a big mall and just having people stroll in on a busy Sunday afternoon because they have nothing better to do. To get visitors to your site, you must both attract and encourage them.

You should expect a hosting service to charge a minimum of $120 per year; your domain name will be at least $20 per year; and your design fees will depend on the extent of your web site requirements. A simple three to five web page site can be as little as $500 (this is not a yearly charge, rather, is a one time charge only), whereas a more complex web site would be priced accordingly. The key is to consider what you want your web site to do for your organization, and realistically determine how much you can budget over a 12 month period. Most importantly, whenever you consider pricing always remember two things: We all know that in the professional world, first impressions matter. This is especially true on the World Wide Web, where many of your visitors may never meet you in person. As your "window to the world," the better your web site looks, the better you will look. A professional looking site will enhance your professional credibility... it's that simple. We only design sites we can be proud of, and invite you to visit our client portfolio to see the level of quality brought to each project. You can always expand your site as the need arises. It is much better to start off with a really strong looking smaller site which can be expanded gradually, then allocate any additional money in your budget for adequate site promotion. We design all our sites to be scalable... as you grow, your web site will grow with you. We see it as our job to work within your budget. W4 Designs has an entire page of detailed pricing for your review.

Again, this depends on how extensive your web site is, and also on how quickly the necessary content materials can be gathered. We will guide you through the process of assembling your text and graphics, then will construct your site based on what you provide. The quicker we receive your packet of graphics and text materials, the quicker we can begin the design process. Generally speaking, you should realistically expect a mid-sized site to take approximately a month to get online once we receive these materials from you. We will give you a pretty accurate completion date once we have the chance to review everything you send.

There are two primarily reasons why it is a good idea to secure your own domain, ie: http://www.yourname.com/ First, with your own domain name you can switch Internet Service Providers (ISP's) at will and still retain the same unique Internet web site address (URL) and email address you use in all your literature and advertising. Secondly, it is easier for customers and clients to remember your URL if the spelling of your domain name refers in some way to your organization. The only requirement to having your own domain name is that it be hosted, usually at a cost of $15  per month. If you prefer, we can make all arrangements for you in finding a dependable ISP (either in your own locale or outside that area) and then registering the domain name with InterNIC. A perfectly workable alternative is to have your organization's web site hosted at W4 Designs Web Development. In this case, your unique URL would be https://www.w4design.com/yourname/ Q 13. Our company is not located in your state.... will that be a problem? Absolutely not. Most of the web site design work we do are for organizations located outside of our hometown and some outside of Georgia. The Internet is without boundaries, and therefore you can have your site designed by us in Georgia, have it hosted in another part of the country (or anywhere else on earth, for that matter), and access it locally in your area. It's a new world, and on the WWW, distance disappears. Your criteria can therefore be focused on price, quality, and customer service - three reasons why W4 Designs is repeatedly chosen by companies outside of Macon, Georgia who want a distinctive and successful web presence that stays within their budget.