What is the Job of a Website Designer?

by Rick Morris.  December 10, 2008

A website designer is someone who crafts, or develops, a website for viewing on the internet.  The website designer uses a number of resources and skills to bring together information and images (called content) for professional viewing on the World Wide Web.  Good website designers have the vision to develop the site mentally before work even begins.  This is accomplished only after a thorough understanding of the message that is to be presented. 

Website designers work in various locations and within a plethora of environments.  Some are hired with IT departments with the specific purpose of developing and maintaining company websites.  Other website designers own their own business, with several workers pushing the code.  And, there are freelance website designers (of which some fall within the sole proprietorship category).  These are the ones who may have another job as a website designer within an organization and do side work for extra money.

Hats Website Designers Wear

The website designer wears many hats, especially if he or she is a freelancer, or owns a small website design business.  This person takes care of the following:

website designer - designing website

website designer - marketing the services

website designer - hiring and firing

website designer - administrative work

website designer - invoicing

website designer - website maintenance

and much more.

   Designing the Website

Designing a website involves coding, graphics insertion, link building, navigation structures, to name a few.  Verification of code is essential.  Going back and forth between the various servers to make sure the site appears correctly is a must-follow operation.  Typically, content is provided via email from the client, so you have to cut and paste text into notepad to remove all the edits already made by the website owner.  And, you have to download and compress/crop images for web pages. 

   Website Designer and Marketing

Marketing is a task freelancers or website designer businesses must endure.  After all, if one doesn't market their services, they don't eat.  Although the going rate for website work is $75 - $125 per hour, most website designers operate on a budget.  This is because their are literally tens of thousands of other website designers out there.  Some are good at what they do, while others are just starting out in the business and don't really know the ropes.  These are the ones who offer websites for $200 or $300.  Of course, their work usually represents their fees.  They can get by on passing out flyers around town, or speaking at public events (like a Chamber of Commerce meeting).  But, typically, they develop websites for local clients.  I reach a national audience through various forms of marketing, whether it be via Google Adwords or Microsoft Live search network.  I also run an occasional ad on certain nation websites and have even use opt-in email marketing.

   Website Designers and Human Resources

Wearing the human resources hat is for the growing website designer.  I call these people web developers since they probably already have set up shop down town and have had a certain amount of success in the business.   Selecting the right website designers to work for you is an essential task that most be carefully monitored.  Firing bad ones usually sucks, but has to be done when a particular website designer doesn't cut it. 

   Administrative Department of the Website Designer

The administrative hat the website designer wears is probably the one he or she wears most.  No job is done until the website designer's paperwork is done.  And, good records are important when tax season comes around.  Every client the website designer has needs a file.  I use the filing cabinet method as I like to have a hard copy of everything related to a particular website.  I also keep a "black book" for tracking clients, sales, cash flow, etc. 

   Website Designers Invoicing Clients

Invoicing is perhaps one of the easiest parts of being a web designer . . . and I say that arguably.  If an online payment processing solution is employed, the website designer can set it up so the potential and current clients can pay for various services right on the website, using a credit card.  Reports can be automatically drawn and printed, and cash flow is easily monitored.

   Maintenance Issues of the Website Designer

The website designer's greatest work comes from maintaining the myriad of clients on the books.  My team usually spends 3 hours each morning making all the necessary updates and changes (maintenance) requested from existing website clients.  So, that is actual maintenance of the website's look and feel, including content such as images and text.  But, there are additional things that must be maintained.  These are the back office items.  Hosting accounts need to be up and running.  Domain names can't expire.  Special website add-ons, like Blogs, Photo Galleries, and Search Engine Optimization have to be in order.  Keeping the client happy is the ultimate goal.  And, some request involving website maintenance are tough fixes.  But as long as the website designer has a complete background in web development work, most all updates, changes, and other maintenance are nothign more than time-consuming tasks.

A Day in the Life of the Website Designer

Don't think the job is an easy one.  This author has knocked down 18-20 hour days for weeks on end as a website designer.  Expect to be contacted by clients, potential clients, and other interested parties via email, telephone, postal mail and in person at any time.  Have plenty of caffeine available.  And, most importantly you need to be able to sit for long hours in front of a keyboard and monitor.  It is not unusual for me to be working on three different websites at a single moment, while checking email for new potential website clients, answering the phone to resolve updates and changes to existing websites, and printing documents while eating take-out.  You have to have patience and nerves of still. 

Website Designer's Education/Qualification

What sort of a background does a website designer have?  Well, to start with, it must be computer related, obviously.  At the very least, the website designer must have the ability to bring code together into the form of a website.  This can be through hand-coding HTML (hyper-text markup language), which anyone can learn and then call themselves "website designers".  Most likely, the main tool of the typical website designer is a software editing program such as Macromedia (now Adobe) Dreamweaver, Microsoft Expression Web, Adobe Go Live, or Microsoft Frontpage. 

The best website designers have a 4-year degree in Information Technology with a minor in Website Design.  Other certifications include Microsoft's suite of classes. 

Website Designer's Continuing Education

As time goes on, website designers must adapt to new software and new demands.  In the early days of the internet, websites were nothing more than a white page of text that scrolled down the screen.  As interest in the Net grew, businesses started adding the own web pages, and the pages kept growing, down the screen that is.  Hyperlinks helped resolve the problem of having one long website page, and likely fueled the tremendous growth of websites.  Today, the website designer must know how to integrate various functions, scripts, and forms to create dynamic websites.  And, a thorough understanding of databases is a must if one wants to create an interactive website.  Interactive, meaning a website that offers users the option of selecting certain items to get certain results from the database.  Cars.com is a good example.  So, as the world wide web grows, so do the websites and their capabilities.  Accordingly, the website designer must grow in knowledge to remain competitive.

Website Designers Salary

So, what do web designers earn?  We'll, that depends several things.  Level of education/knowledge, experience, where they work, and services offered all play an important roll in web designers' salary.  Low-end developers working for a web designer company make about $20 an hour.  High-end web designers in similar companies make about $50 per hour.  Of course, the company can charge anywhere from $50 to $150 for hourly web design work.  Generally speaking, though, one can expect to pay $75 to $125 for professional web design work. 

Tools the Website Designer Uses

   The primary took for web designers is the software used.  Microsoft Frontpage, Macromedia/Adobe Dreamweaver, Microsoft Expression Web are some of the more professional page building tools.  And some of the amateur web development software like Coffee Cup, are used typically by entry level web designers.  Other software resources include Flash development programs, such as Macromedia Flash, and search engine optimization tools, such as Wordfinder.

   Computers are the hardware resting in front of web designers.  There are myriad of computers that can be used, and they can range in price and complexity.  Small, one-person web designer businesses usually grab an inexpensive personal computer from Circuit City or Walmart to get stated in the industry.  Large companies and organizations may have dozens of high-tech computers for their designers.  This author's typical computers are the latest and greatest.  I usually spend $2,000 on each one, and replace them every two years.

   Other tools include your typical office equipment (fax, internet, phone, scanner, laser printer, book shelves, etc.) 

Work Environment of Website Designers

The work environment of the average web designer is a lonely place.  After all, one needs to be away from any distractions when hacking code!  Granted, we web designers are not found in hazardous environments, and can always be within arm's reach of a snack and caffeine.  My office is set up with a small dorm refrigerator, coffee maker, flat screen television with satellite connection, radio with surround sound, and a couch for guests.  My chair is leather... my desk is large.  Files lie everywhere, though I do have an excellent filing cabinet getup.  I keep the temperature warm in the winter, and cool in the summer. 

Actually, working conditions are usually very pleasant for web designers.  The most common complaint, however, involves back and joint pain - all complications coming from sitting at a computer all day.  Other than that, there really isn't a negative thing to say about the work environment of the typical web designer.

3 Steps to Saving Big Money on Web Site Design

by Rick Morris.  May 2, 2008

Looking to get a professional website designer on a budget?  Want a fully functional site without breaking the bank?

There is a way to get your business live on the internet without draining your marketing account balance.  Actually, there are three important elements every budget-minded shopper should know before even considering adding website designer designer to their to-do list:  design, updates, and a good website designer.

Design of Your Site

When you approach website designer with the idea of publishing a customized web site for your business or organization, probably the most difficult part of your conversations will be about the design of your website.  Going back and forth over a design plan or discussions of sites you like can be a headache.  The process is time consuming and sometimes downright confusing.

The website designer wants to fully understand your ideas for that perfect design and wants to be able to capture those ideas in the first go around.  In short, most website designers who custom-design websites will spend many hours getting the basic theme of your site to your preference.  And every hour spent usually is charged to your bill.

Of course, you'll know up front when dealing with any website designer what the costs are going to be.  But, your designer is going to be very interested in keeping the workload to a minimum.  The reason being that he/she wants to design that perfect theme for your website, but also wants to get it done after a couple of edit suggestions from you, the site owner. 

Of course, any website designer knows that it takes quite a bit of effort and attention to detail to get that initial page of your site perfected.  Realistically, it can take up to a month to tweak the initial design to the site owner's standard.  Only then does work commence on the remaining pages of your website.

The result is usually a very nice website.  But, the time it took to get that first page published is where all the costs of a customized website come into play.

If you don't mind using a template, you can save thousands of dollars on your new site.  What is a template, you ask?  Essentially, website designer template is a turn-key solution.  It has a standard look, or theme, with all the functionality needed for virtually any website.  Navigation structures, image headers, and logo positions are already emplaced.  And, the coding in the most recent design templates are optimized for search engines and the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium, or internet watchdogs).

The attractiveness of templates are three-fold.  First, you get to see what your site is going to look like before you even hire the website designer.  Next, you can sleep knowing you will have a professional website worth thousands of dollars at a fraction of the cost of a customized design.  Finally, the process of going live with your website is simplified significantly!

WebDesignerLive.com uses templates for almost all of our new websites.  Moreover, they are free to all our customers.  And, you can choose from thousands of new website templates, each categorized for quick selection.

Updates: Getting Changes Made to your Website

Did you know that the average website designer charges $80 for hourly work?  Some - especially those located in larger cities - can demand up to $135 per hour.

Now, imagine you have just paid $5,000 for the design of your website.  A few weeks later, you want to change something on the site so you contact your web guy for guidance.  This is where it can become shaky. 

Of course, you probably don't have an idea how long it takes, or how much work is involved in said updates or edits.  So, you are at the mercy of your website designer.  Respected web design businesses will treat you fairly, and quote you an amount based on their hourly rate for the changes you need made to your website.   Others, can literally take you for a long ride on a short road!

Wouldn't it be nice if you had a simplified monthly plan that includes unlimited updates to your site?  Need some images added to that photo gallery?  What about an update to your phone number or contact information.  Need a link added?  A "warranty" page? 

Honestly, updates like these are quick and simple.  But, many website designers will charge you a full hour's fee for 2-minute edits. 

At WebDesignerLive.com, I offer unlimited changes to your website for a small monthly fee.  You can get almost any update to your site at any time.  My monthly rates are plan-specific and start at $15.99.  And, you can cancel your maintenance plan at any time!

Good website designers are Passionate About their Work

Do You Trust Your Website Designer?  I hope so.  Chiefly, a good website designer is like a friend in cyberspace: you don't really know what cyberspace is and you don't care, you simply want to know who you can turn to for website answers.

Finding a good website designer can be a daunting task.  The best way to proceed is by checking out their portfolio and their pricing.  Make sure any agreement is fully understood - especially the part where costs for updates and changes are covered.

Obviously, you will want to check out your website designer.  Contact some of their clients.  You can get that information from their portfolio of web sites.  Then, talk with the potential designer, either on the phone or in person.  Try to get a "warm and fuzzy" for the person whom you will be entrusting your web presence.  If that person can't talk in "normal" terms as opposed to techie language, you may want to steer clear of him/her. 

I have more than 400 web clients around the United States.  Most of them have spent at least a half-hour with me on the phone getting all their questions answered prior to becoming my client.  I'm a down-to-earth, yet professional website designer.  My career in the Army has humbled me in many ways.  I'm very passionate about my work, and I don't want to put my name on website designer unless it is built to perfection. 

WebDesignerLive.com has been in business for 8 years.  With three employees, we are small.  But, we know what we are doing.  Sure, we've had a couple of clients we could not please.  But, we always work hard to make our clients pleased.  Unlike other large web development companies, when you contact us, we are there for you.  You always get a personal webmaster at your beckon call.  You may have to leave us a voice message since we have only two phone lines.  But, a real person will always get back with you.  We spend several hours each morning taking care of updates that our website clients have sent in via email.  And, we always check for emergency updates prior to closing shop for the day.

In short, we are the website designers for you.  We keep it simple.  You choose a design and a plan, and we take it from there!

Three Ingredients of website designer

by Rick Morris.  May 7, 2008

People often ask me what it takes to get website designer live on the Internet.  "What is a domain name?", or "What is web hosting?", they ask.  And, many don't realize that once your site is published and viewable, there are systems in place keeping it viewable.  The whole thing may seem complicated, but essentially, there are three key elements of every website on the world wide web today. 

First and foremost, you need a domain name, or the actual name of your website.  Next, your website has to physically rest somewhere in cyberspace.  That's what people commonly refer to as "hosting".  And, finally you need an actual website design.  You see, you can have website designer on your personal computer.  But, if you want the world to view it at any moment, you will need a server (host) for handling requests to download (view) it.

In this article, I'll explain the three elements of website designer, their functions, and how they relate to each other.  You will be enriched with the basic knowledge of what's behind the scenes of every website on the Net.  In other words, you will learn what makes website designer a "website"!

The Infamous Domain Name

Wikipedia describes domain names in four ways:

• 1.  A name that identifies a computer or computers on the Internet. These names appear as a component of a Web site's URL, e.g. en.wikipedia.org. This type of domain name is also called a hostname.

• 2.  The product that domain name registrars provide to their customers. These names are often called registered domain names.

• 3.  Names used for other purposes in the Domain Name System (DNS), for example the special name which follows the @ sign in an email address, or the Top-level domain names like .com, or the names used by the Session Initiation Protocol (VoIP), or DomainKeys.

• 4.  They are sometimes colloquially (and incorrectly) referred to by marketers as "web addresses".

For the sake of this article, we will refer to item # 2 above, which is the more common use for the term, "domain name".  A domain name is simply a name of website designer.  Complimenting the domain name is an IP (internet protocol) address looking something like this: 68.178.254.55.  In fact, it's the IP address that is queried when you actually enter a web address into your browser.  The benefit, clearly is that you can remember a domain name better than you can a string of numbers.

Every domain name has a top-level domain (TLD) attached to it.  This is the ".com", ".org", ".Net", etc. part.  It is sometimes referred to as the extension.  Though there are dozens of TLDs, most people prefer a domain name with the .com extension since it was the first and more commonly used TLD.

Finding the right domain name can be a challenge today.  In 1994, when the Internet was in its infancy, domain names were free to register.  Within in a couple of years, most of the single-word domains were taken.  Today, it's difficult to find commonly-spoken three-word phrases.  Even the three- and four-character domain names (i.e. abcd.com and abc.com) have been registered. 

The important thing to take away from this is you must register a domain name if you want website designer live on the Net.  It's your "identity", for lack of a better term, to your website - nothing more.

To learn more about registering the best domain names, see my previous article, "How to Choose Your Domain Name".

Once you have that domain name, you now need a place where your website will rest.  In other words, you need an address, or hosting account.

Hosting Your Party

A web host is like a mailing address to your home.  Without one, you have nowhere to live.  It's you ticket to publishing website designer for viewing on the Internet.  And, just like a home address, your website needs a place to live.

Website hosting companies provide space on a server (computer connected to the internet) where your website can become accessible.  This space is referred to as your web host.

"Why shouldn't I host my website off my personal computer", you ask?  Two reasons: money and technical knowledge.  A "server" is actually software that pushes website designer and controls the functions and accepts connections between computers.   Server computers are devices designed to run such an application or applications, often for extended periods of time with minimal human direction.  They cost a fortune to operate and maintain.  Therefore, most common folk simply pay a web hosting company to handle the technical aspects of the server.

Now that you understand you need a domain name and a web host, the third element of website designer is it's actual design.

Website Design

website designer design consists of the pages of information presented when someone visits your domain.  It can include simple features such as text and images, with all the pages linking to each other.  This is commonly referred to as a "static" website, or website designer that depicts information for viewing only.

A database-driven website design is essentially the same thing, with the exception that the viewer can click on various parts of the site to draw information specific to that request.  An online shopping, or ecommerce website is a perfect example of a database-driven website design.

Some website designs, like Craigslist.org have very few images and lots of links and text.  In fact, Craigslist.org is another example of a database-driven website design.  Other sites, like Walmart.com or Amazon.com are feature-packed with images and content, surrounded by themed pages rich in color and artwork.

Since most people and businesses want to present a professional image on the web, a nice website design is typically the standard.  To save money, many websites are designed using simple site-building tools.  The quality of these designs are often limited . . . as are their functionality.  

To get the latest in website design work, businesses will hire a professional website designer or website designer to create their web pages.  While custom website design is a way to bring your image to cyberspace, it can be a very expensive process.  That is, if you want it done right.  website designers are some of the highest paid workers in America, demanding as much as $150 an hour (or more).  So, expect to get what you pay for when it comes to selecting the route you want to take in designing your web pages.

Here at WebDesignerLive.com we have thousands of free professional website designs from which you can choose for your new website.  In fact, we offer a number of website plans entailing all three elements of a complete website.  Moreover, most of our website plans come with free search engine optimization, free domain name registration, and free site maintenance . . . to mention a few.

In closing, you now understand that at a minimum, there are three elements to actually seeing your website live on the Net: domain name, hosting, and website design.  And, now that you have discovered these elements, you will be better prepared to discuss your new website with your website designer.

What Should Website Design Cost?

by Rick Morris.  May 6, 2008

Did you know that website designers can demand up to $150 per hour?  Or that some mid-level websites are being built for $50,000+?  On the other hand, you see some website designers offering low-budget websites for a couple hundred dollars.

How does one read between the prices to see what is really included in any particular website?  Simple . . . find out what the average hourly rate is for website design in your area.  Additional measures should include a thorough understanding of what you actually need in website designer, and whether you are going to require monthly hosting and maintenance.

What Do I Need in website designer?

For the layman, hiring the right website designer can be a daunting task.  You typically have no clue as to what is required in getting website designer live on the Net.  Worse yet, you don't know what to expect when budgeting for website designer.  You know you need a site to go with your marketing plan, at least just to even the playing field with your competitors.

Questions come to mind when you first start your search for a good web design company.  What do I need to do before I can even consider entering the cyber world with a professional presence?  Where do I start?  More importantly, what's it going to cost? 

The best way to determine what website designer is going to cost is to first develop a plan.  Figure out what your message is going to be.  Do I want a flashy website full of eye-candy and movement?  Do I want a standard (static) website that will direct people to contact me?  Or, do I just want to collect leads via an online form? 

Unless a need for selling products or services is in order, the average small business typically can get by with a simple 5-30 page website.  This will be enough to splatter the business logo, and offer information about the business, what it does, and a quick overview of products or services.  It can also present a nice photo gallery of items for your visitor's viewing pleasure, and will most certainly have "Contact", "About" and "FAQs" pages.

After you determine the style of website you require (flashy or not, static or dynamic), it's best to next identify the pages you are going to need on the site.  As I said in the previous paragraph, at a minimum you should have three or four essential pages.  Other pages may include:

• Warranty
• Sub-product pages (describing individual items)
• Services
• Photo Gallery
• Free Quote
• Sitemap
• Policies
• Terms
• Etc.

And, this is just a small list.  Your page names will vary depending on the type of business you have and what you want to display to your potential viewers.

If you look at this site (WebDesignerLive.com), you will see there are several hundred pages.  An extensive listing of design template categories are shown in the left column, along with the primary links at the top left corner of each page (depicting my most important elements, err . . . products).  Then, you have a combination of the basic links (Home, FAQs, Web Design Articles, About, Policies, and Contact) shown at the top and bottom of the page(s).

Take a look at some of your competitor's websites to get an idea of what they are doing.  Write down the names of the links on their websites.  Then, see if some of these links are necessary for your website.  In many cases, you will want to present similar information your your website.

Get a website designer quote

Now that you have your plan, and an idea of what and how many website pages you are going to need, and what those pages should be named, it's time to get website designer quote.

Hourly or page rates for web design work can vary from one designer to the next.  Some designers, especially start-ups, a friend of the family, or college students will just dream up a price they think is fair to the client.  Two or three hundred dollars for a few pages seems fine with them.

Of course, with low-budget prices come low-budget websites.  Then, there's the question of keeping the site maintained.  Who is going to do your changes?  Better yet, what is that going to cost?

Also, it's important to consider where your site will be hosted and what happens when the hosting account expires.  It's scary to think what would happen to your site if you lost contact with your website designer.  Essentially, you're website will go down.  Worst yet, your college friend, who has now graduated, is long gone.  Or that start-up has gone out of business . . . with your domain name in tow.

As a professional website designer, I hear this all the time.  Potential clients call me frantically asking if there is some way to recover their domain name or website.  They have spent hundreds or thousands of dollars on promoting the name and site.  And, they had plenty of site visitors before things went sour.  They didn't get an Agreement in writing and were never provided a copy of their web site's files.  And, now their designer is nowhere to be found!

I can usually help when this happens.  But, often times a complete website plan is in order. 

Professional website designers will provide a written agreement for your future website.  It will outline the number of pages, domain name registration, website hosting, and other key elements.  This is important since both the website designer and the client want to know a solid plan is rendered.

To determine what it may cost to get your website live on the Net, you can submit your needs to several website designers and see what each of them will quote.  Some quote by hourly work, while others, like WebDesignerLive.com quote by the number of pages you will need.

After doing your research, you'll soon discover that getting a professional website developed (designed, hosted, maintained) is typically going to warrant about $250 to $300 per page.  Hourly rates for the same will be between $75 and $300.

Prices, of course vary depending on the location of the web design business.  If the designer is located in a larger city, you are typically going to pay more than you would for a designer located in small-town America.  The services are essentially the same.  It's just that website designer designer in a larger city can demand more because the client base is greater.

WebDesignerLive.com is located near Asheville, North Carolina.  This is a small city representing the western part of the state.  Because of this, and the fact that the cost of living is far better than say, New York or California, we charge on the low end of the spectrum.  Of course, our customer satisfaction is high because we take care of our clients.  And, our websites rest on GoDaddy.com servers (just like the sites of our competitors in larger cities).

Other elements to hiring the right website designer involve:

• Choosing someone you can talk to

• Knowing you can rely on the designer to deliver when it comes time for updates to your site

• Choosing a designer you can trust

• Finding an experienced web design business

• Making sure your website is hosted on a professional server at a respectable company (like GoDaddy.com)

• Understanding what monthly fees are associated with your website

Can I Have Fries with That?

After you have an idea of what your website requires in pages, and you have that solid quote from a respectable web design business, you now want to determine what it is going to take to keep your site active on the Internet.  Where is it going to be hosted?  Who is going to maintain it?  What about changes, updates, etc.?  What's that, you say?  I thought I already paid for the site? 

Well, sure you did.  Your site was built to your specifications.  But now you need to put it somewhere.  And that's where this talk about "hosting" and "maintenance" come into play.

Make sure you clearly understand what the monthly rates for not only hosting, but the maintenance of your website, are going to be.  Usually, you can have it one of two ways.  You can choose to be happy and content with your newly designed website and simply pay for hosting.  This can range anywhere from a few dollars to about $100 per month.  Or, you can choose to include a maintenance plan so you will be able to send in changes to your website (which are usually handled by your designer).  Add another $50 to $200 for the maintenance plan.

A maintenance plan is like insurance.  You pay a little bit each month to know you are covered should something go wrong . . . or, in this case, should you need a few updates here and there.  You could opt to just pay the hourly rate for any updates that arise.  But, this is where unethical website designers will stick it to you.  $150 just to add a few images and a block of text?!!!!  That's right.  website designer designer who charges by the hour can quote you anything and you'll likely take it.  I mean, you got to get those changes up!

At WebDesignerLive.com, we charge a small monthly fee for hosting.  This includes unlimited change requests to your site.  Clearly, we scrutinize potential web clients prior to "bringing them onboard" so we aren't bound into updating a particular website 5 times per day, every day of the year!  And, we don't include this option for clients wanting an e-commerce website.  Our clients can cancel the hosting and maintenance fee at any time.

In closing if this confuses you, don't be alarmed.  Getting website designer is like purchasing the services of an Attorney.  You are usually going to be at the mercy of the one you choose.  So, it's important to select website designer designer that is experienced.  Moreover, you want website designer designer who you can trust.  An honest website designer will take care of you without dropping a bomb in your marketing budget.

At WebDesignerLive.com, we have built a reputation on trust.  We believe our clients come first and foremost.  And, we don't put our name at the bottom of any website until we have built it to perfection.

So, to answer your question, "What does web site design cost?" you can expect to pay a minimum of $500 to $1,000 for a standard 5-10 page website with some functionality.  Most of our clients choose our Silver Plan, which comes with 25 pages and virtually every option for a dynamic website.  It costs about $2,000. 

Website Hosting at WebDesignerLive

by Rick Morris.  May 5, 2008

website designers hosting service is a type of Internet hosting service that allows individuals and organizations to make websites accessible via the World Wide Web.

Website hosting businesses are companies that provide space on a server (computer) they own for use by their clients as well as providing Internet connectivity, typically in a data center.

In short, if you want to have a web site on the Net, you gotta have a host. With the right software, you could even turn your home PC into a host for people to upload websites. But, that can be very expensive (tens of thousands of dollars). Also, when you turn the server computer off - or worse yet, when your computer crashes - all the hosted sites will not be available for viewing.

Professional website hosting companies have warehouse-sized rooms lined with rows and rows of super computers which act as hosts. The warehouse is similar to a NASA clean room. Dust is filtered, temperature is kept at optimum, and security is tight. Top hosting computers even have a "twin" warehouse (or several) scattered throughout the city (or country). These act as backups and constantly update as the main warehouse operates.

As with most services offered, we use the GoDaddy.com servers to host your  website designers site. GoDaddy is the world's largest domain and hosting provider. we have been with them for 6+ years and have come to rely on their professionalism, multiple backups, and powerful computer systems. And, their close proximity to one of America's four Internet backbones makes downloading time (for site visitors) fast. They are also inexpensive with all their products and services - something which helps me keep our (and your) costs down.

It's time to put that domain to use.  In short, it's time to put up website designer!  I can help you with that, of course!  Choose website designer plan and a free website template, and I'll be in touch.

How to Choose Your Domain Name

by Rick Morris.  May 1, 2008

So you're ready to get website designer live on the Net, eh?  And you have the perfect business name, right?  Well, now it's time to secure a meaningful and relevant domain name for your new website.

Domain name registration can be as simple as naming your business, or as difficult as naming your child.  You want a domain name that's similar to, and ideally matches your business name.  It needs to be as short and sweet as possible.  Of course, most of the short domain names are already registered.  But, there is no need to toss in the towel.  You can still find a relevant domain name for your business.

Where do you begin?  You perhaps don't consider yourself an internet guru, but you know that without a domain name, you can't have website designer.  A quick search on Google or MSN for the keywords "domain name" or "domain registration" will return a plethora of sites literally begging you to register your new domain name with them.  Which one should you go with?  Let me help you.

I've been developing websites for years for businesses and organizations around the United States.  I've tested domain name and web hosting companies from California to North Carolina.  Some are excellent in what they do, while others are downright unprofessional.  And, I always kept coming back to one company . . . GoDaddy.com.

GoDaddy.com is arguably the best web hosting and domain name registrar available anywhere in the world.  I currently have about 350 domain names registered through them.  They are inexpensive, trustworthy, and professional.  Moreover, they have 24/7 live phone support.  In addition, GoDaddy.com offers plenty of free features when you host your website with them.  The first indication of this is a $1.99 domain name if you purchase one of their already low-cost, feature-rich hosting plans to go with that domain name.  You're going to need a hosting account anyway if you want to see your website live on the Net.  So, why not keep it in the same place as your domain name?

What's in a Name?

What name should you choose?  You've no doubt heard that the shorter the domain name, the better.  It will be easier for people to remember, and more importantly, easier to physically "type" from the keyboard.  It should reflect your business name, contain nothing but letters or numbers, and absolutely should be a .com or .org name.  The length of your domain name can vary.

You will probably find it difficult to register your domain name since it may already be taken.  In this case, if you can't keep it short, try to keep it simple.  For example, if you want to register the domain, "xyzrealtor.com" (where xyz represents the name of your business), you may find that it was registered by someone else long ago.  Instead of adding a dash, like www.xyz-realtor.com, add an "s" to the end, like www.xyzrealtors.com. 

You can even just spell out your business using a combination of your name and the type of business you have, like www.smithrealtors.com.  If that doesn't work, add "inc" to the end of your preferred domain name, like www.smithrealtorsinc.com (if you are incorporated, of course).  But, the most important element in securing a good domain name is that it must be short, and it must be simple to remember.

If your business is called, Ernie's Fabulous Emporium of Recycling and Waste Management Processing, Inc., you will clearly want to try to find a domain name such as "Ernies.com" or "ErniesRecycling.com".  Choosing a domain name that has your physical name combined with your primary purpose of business is always better than a 10-syllable domain name.

Another route would be to choose a .Org name.  Ideally you should be a non-profit organization before you use the .Org extension.  But that hasn't kept ordinary people from registering a domain name with the .org extension.

Never use the .Net, (extension) unless you have a very popular keyword or phrase.  Most are already taken, of course, so you will have a tough time in securing any of them anyway.  Many search engines consider .Net domain names as link farms.  Unless you will be updating your website with useful content on a regular basis, stay away from .Net.

Many people believe it's important to buy up all the possible domain name/extension combinations.  I think it is usually a waste of money.  If you have a trademarked business name and it is a quite popular business you are running, it may make since to register all possible extensions with your domain name.  But, if you are just starting out and don't expect to turn millions of dollars your first year in business, I would recommend you bypass offers for the other extensions. 

How to Register

To register your domain name means to "secure" it for your personal or professional use.  You can usually register it for up to 10 years, but I would recommend no more than a couple of years.  If you like what you have, and your website is providing a return that's of use to you, then you can always add more years to your account.

To get started, go to www.godaddy.com.  Enter the term (domain) you want in the search box on their home page.  No need to add the ".com" to the name as it is already selected.  If you want to check for a .org, .cn, or other extension, select it from the drop down menu beside the term you entered.  Click on the "Go!" button and check the results.  If your chosen domain name is available, you will be able to purchase it immediately.  If not, go back and start your search again.

Follow the steps on the ensuing screens and you will arrive at the checkout screen.  Enter your info and authorize the transaction.  Voila!  You just purchased your new domain name.  You also set up your GoDaddy.com account. 

GoDaddy.com will send you a couple of emails in a few minutes, to the email address you used during signup.  Check those emails to ensure your purchase was a success.  Keep those emails for future reference on how to log into your GoDaddy.com account (account name and password was provided in one of those emails).

Congratulations!  You have the perfect domain name.  Now what? 

It's time to put that domain to use.  In short, it's time to put up website designer!  I can help you with that, of course!  Choose website designer plan and a free website template, and I'll be in touch.

How to Register a Domain Name

by Rick Morris.  May 4, 2008

Perhaps the most difficult, yet most important part of getting a web presence involves registering domain names. A domain is your physical address on the Net. You can't have website designer without one.

Arming yourself with a good domain name is half the internet-presence battle. Just like your home's street address, you will want people to know where to go to visit you.

When you register a domain name it should be short, simple to remember, and easy on the eyes. Fewer people may visit you at "6465 This is Way Out There Street" than they would if you lived at 7 Main Street. And for those who do visit, you would want them to enjoy that fantastic curb appeal as they enter the driveway.

Of course, the bigger, or more significant your house, the more likely your visitors will be impressed. The same applies to website domain names - only that "bigger" means "easy to remember". Visitors who can read your web site address without peril, find you easily, and are impressed with your site are probably going to visit often and stay longer.

This section deals with where to go to search for the best domain name possible. Go here to learn about the three important domain name considerations - size, significance, and simplicity.

Register a Domain Name Yourself

Now that you understand the domain name registration practices, it's time to secure a domain name. we can do this for you or you may do it yourself. It's a very simple process. If you have ever made a purchase over the Net, you will have no problem here. One important reason you should register your domain name yourself is you maintain complete control of it.

About 1/4th of our clients ask us to take over their web sites because their current website designer can not be reached, won't perform updates, or just won't do anything! The first thing we ask them is "Who is the registrant for your domain name?" These 1/4th clients always say their current website designer registered the domain name. Not good.

We've learned that most of these website designers withhold the domain for various reasons (usually, it's a conflict of personalities). It can be very difficult to get the website designer to initiate a transfer of the domain name. Of course, we have honored any of the domain transfer requests we have received!

The first thing you need to know about searching for a domain name is where to begin that search. In the earlier days of the internet, Network Solutions seemed to be the obvious place. Domains went for about $40 per year to register and you could make your purchase online.

Things have changed dramatically since those 1990s days. Today, there are a truck load of registrants that are vying for your business. Some are small businesses who just got their license from ICANN (International Community for Assigned Names and Numbers) to act as registrants. Others, like GoDaddy.com have been around for quite some time and have developed a high standard for domain name registration and hosting.

And, it's GoDaddy.com where we recommend you start your search. They make it easy to search and register domains. Their prices are probably the best in the industry and the extra (free) services are plenty. When you are done searching and you do register with them, you get $2 domain registration if you let them be your hosting provider.

In short, for about $40 a year, you can get a domain name, hosting, free webmail with stat tracker, and tons of web space and bandwidth. we've not found a better company and have been trusting GoDaddy for five years (260+ web sites).

When you are performing your search for a domain using GoDaddy's search tool, you have options for looking for all the extensions (.net, .name, .us, .org, .tv, etc. Also, if you have them as your hosting provider, it's a breeze to set up the domain and hosting. We're sure you don't want to hassle with pointing name servers, for example. GoDaddy.com does it for you.

Remember, we include GoDaddy hosting and a domain name for free in all our plans.

It's time to put that domain to use.  In short, it's time to put up website designer!  I can help you with that, of course!  Choose website designer plan and a free website template, and I'll be in touch.

Search Engine Optimization Tips

Get your website found on:

It is very important that we target the right keywords before we start with your search engine optimization work, not just those keywords you think will work!

We use a very powerful software program to help us with that.  We use it to perform search engine optimization and submission services for your site.  Anyone can set your "META" keywords and files.  But, it takes a true profession to "optimize" your web site for top placement in search engines.  As this is a time-sensitive process, we require between $399 and $1,599 to perform search engine optimization of your site.  However, this service is available for free with Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum Plans.

This is a multi-award winning website promotion software tool that helps us to get the best results with your site:

1.  Get top 10 rankings on Google, Yahoo, MSN Search and others.

2.  Get more website visitors and increase your revenue.
Outperform your competition.

3.  Everything you need for successful website promotion

It offers everything you need to successfully promote your website.

4.  We use a proven suite of professional web promotion tools that helps with all aspects of website promotion and search engine optimization.

It is not enough to submit your web site to search engines and to wait for the results. Nothing will happen. Search engines use a variety of factors to rank web sites. You have to work on all factors if you want to achieve good results.

1. Find the right keywords for your web site.

The right keywords are not always obvious. We find the right keywords that will work best for your web site. It is very important that we target the right keywords before we start with your search engine optimization work, not just those you think will work!  What keywords are we looking for?  Obviously, we want the keywords people are using when searching for information relating to your website.  If your site is about real estate in Dallas, Texas, we want to know the exact keywords that are being used to find Dallas real estate websites.  We have a very powerful keyword research tool to uncover those keywords.  As an example, here are the actual results as of March 24, 2008 of which our keyword research tool has found for "Dallas Real Estate" (Google, MSN, Yahoo combined):

1.  dallas real estate, 102 daily searches

2.  real estate dallas, 51 daily searches

3.  dallas real estate agents, 34 daily searches

4.  dallas texas real estate, 34 daily searches

5.  real estate loans dallas, 21 daily searches

6.  real estate dallas texas, 19 daily searches

7.  real estate law dallas texas, 18 daily searches

8.  real estate attorneys dallas, 18 daily searches

2. Optimize your web pages and images for these keywords.

3. Submit your web pages to all important search engines and directories.

4. Get links from other web sites and make sure that these links contain your keywords.

5. Add Content.

We can do everything with the code to set you up for success with the major search engines. And, it's important that the more content, pages, and text that is added to your site frequently, the better your results will be. The top search engine, Google thrives on sites that are updated often, and with fresh (not found elsewhere on the Net) content. In short, Google loves blogs. This is why we highly recommend you request a free blog for your web site. You can add thousands of pages for free to your blog, at any time. Just log in, give your article, news, press release, etc. a title, write (or cut and paste) and hit the "Publish" button. That's it! You can even add photographs, images, etc. Your new page will automatically archive within your blog. And, we can even set your blog's content so it will appear instantly on your web site!

6. Google Sitemap

We generate and submit a Google sitemap for your website.  A Google sitemap is a file we put with your web site that informs Google's spiders and bots to recognize recent updates and changes to your web site.  Simply put, it makes it easy for Google to crawl your web site and is a must for anyone serious about their web presence! 

A sitemap is a way of organizing website designer, identifying the URLs and the data under each section. Previously, the sitemaps were primarily geared for the users of the website. However, Google's XML format was designed for the search engines, allowing them to find the data faster and more efficiently . . . More

Note:  Although we work hard to get you the listing results you desire, we can in no way guarantee our success in search engine optimization for your website.  In fact, no website designer can.  Always be alarmed by SEO "experts" who promise to get your site listed within the top three results of Google, MSN, Yahoo, etc. in a few short days or weeks.  It is possible . . . that is if the "expert" is cheating.  By cheating, these companies typically use an automatic back-link generating tool to send you a couple thousand links from their useless web sites.  This form of "link-farming" is quickly recognized by Google (and the other search engines) and your site will be "sandboxed" or "blacklisted" by Google in a couple of weeks or a month.  If that happens, you can forget about getting your site even listed in the search engines . . . much less "ranked" on the first (or any) page!

Discover "Robots.txt" and Why Every Website Should Have One

Do you have pages on your website you do not want to be displayed in search results?  You know, those pages that are never intended to be seen by people unless they have completed some function on your site.

For example, you have a contact form on your website.  When someone completes it and clicks the "Submit" button, the form is submitted and the viewer is taken to a "thank you" page.  That "thank you" page really doesn't help you in the search engine arena.

In fact, your website would be better served if a more important page (like your home page) appeared when people search keywords relevant to your website.  Usually this is the case, but often times a useless page from your site can appear higher than your home or products/services page.  Sure, it brings visitors to your site.  But, you would see more visitors if a more beneficial page were displayed in the search results.

And, it's not just the thank you pages that are indexed by Google and other search engines.  Other pages and files on your site can be picked up as well.  Files like "_private", "stats", and "images" are consistently monitored and indexed by search engine robots, web crawlers and spiders. 

So what, you say?  Well, understand that top search engines do not typically list every page of website designer when producing results for a particular keyword or phrase.  Usually, they return pages that have more incoming links than the other pages of the website (i.e. your home page), but this may not always be the case.  Studies have shown that most search engines index about 16% of each website.

If your website allows search engines to systematically choose the pages and files to be indexed, the aforementioned useless pages may be competing with your home (.index.htm or default.htm) and other more important pages.

Got Your Robots.txt File?

Fortunately, there is a way to ensure there is no competition for your home and other relevant pages when it comes to search engines displaying your website's search results.  The answer: robots text file.

A robot what?  Yeah, a robots text file.  Websites are basically made up of files and pages.  One file is your home page, as mentioned earlier (index.htm or default.htm).  Another may be ".aboutus.htm" or ".contactus.htm"  Look at your browser's address bar when you visit one of your website's pages on the world wide web.  Look to the far right side of the address until you see the .xyz.htm (where xyz is your page name).

These files are stored on the server where your site is hosted.  For example, on my website there are files and subdirectories such as www.webdesignerlive.com/images/ and www.webdesignerlive.com/_private/ and www.webdesignerlive.com/stats/.  And,  when someone signs up for one of my website plans, they will complete an online Agreement.  Upon clicking on the "Submit Agreement" button, they are automatically sent to a "thank you" page explaining the agreement was accurately completed and sent.  One example is www.webdesignerlive.com/thanks-agreement-silverwebsitedesigner.htm.

Clearly, I don't need that page or those other files indexed by search engines.   So, I added a special page to the root directory of my website called ".robots.txt".  This is a file that rests behind the scenes of my website, and isn't viewable from any links on the site.  In that file I identify the pages or files I do not want indexed.  Therefore, those files are skipped by search engine robots and spiders when they are looking through my website.

What are Robots, Web Crawlers and Spiders?

Robots, Web Crawlers and Spiders are essentially one in the same.  They are programs that automatically peruse, or "crawl" the world wide web indexing the files and returning the information to the search engine's database.

There are thousands of robots operating at any given moment.  Probably the most important robot is generated by Google.  Google's robot is called "Googlebot".  Other crawler-based search engines include Teoma and AlltheWeb and each have specific robots searching web pages throughout the world.

Wikipedia describes robots as:

This process is called web crawling or spidering. Many sites, in particular search engines, use spidering as a means of providing up-to-date data. Web crawlers are mainly used to create a copy of all the visited pages for later processing by a search engine that will index the downloaded pages to provide fast searches. Crawlers can also be used for automating maintenance tasks on website designer, such as checking links or validating HTML code. Also, crawlers can be used to gather specific types of information from Web pages, such as harvesting e-mail addresses (usually for spam).

The beauty of robots is that they identify all the links on a site and index them for later crawling.  Google uses at least a portion of this concept to rank websites and pages.  Part of their algorithm takes into consideration the number and relevancy of sites being linked.  If a particular website has 25 links from similar websites pointing to it, then Google may rank that site higher than one with only 5 links coming in.

To summarize, every website should have a .robots.txt file.  In it are instructions for web crawlers, bots, spiders, etc.  These instructions tell the robots what to index and what not to index.  Ultimately, you web site's key pages are listed in the search results while insignificant pages are left alone.  Results for your site within the search engines are optimized when it comes to robots.txt!

Setting up a .Robots.txt File on Your Website

If you are having WebDesignerLive.com develop your website, you have nothing to worry about.  We add a carefully-constructed .robots.txt file to every website web design.  Some of our website plans include a free Google sitemap, which take advantage of your .robots.txt file.

If you are designing your own website, here are the instructions for creating a .robots.txt file, and how to configure it.

The first thing you need to do is create a new blank page on your website, and save it as ".robots.txt".  Make sure you save it as a text (.txt) file and not a hypertext (.htm or .html) file.

Next, open the .robots.txt file you just created and add the following two lines while working in the design mode:

User-agent: *
Disallow:

The user agent, "*" represents all robots.  In other words, the first line, "User-agent: *" tells all search engine bots they are invited to index your website.

The "disallow" line, which in the example above, has no instructions following it, tells all search engine bots they can index every URL (page, file, etc.) of your website.  If you want to keep them from indexing your "contact" page, the code would look something like this:

User-agent: *
Disallow: contact.htm

If you wanted to disallow other pages, or files, it would look like this (an example from this website):

User-agent: *
Disallow: /stats/
Disallow: /_private/
Disallow: agreement-basicwebsitedesigner.htm
Disallow: agreement-bronzewebsitedesigner.htm
Disallow: agreement-silverwebsitedesigner.htm
Disallow: agreement-goldwebsitedesigner.htm
Disallow: agreement-platinumwebsitedesigner.htm
Disallow: agreement-starterwebsitedesigner.htm
Disallow: thanks.htm
Disallow: thanks-agreement-basicwebsitedesigner.htm
Disallow: thanks-agreement-bronzewebsitedesigner.htm
Disallow: thanks-agreement-silverwebsitedesigner.htm
Disallow: thanks-agreement-goldwebsitedesigner.htm
Disallow: thanks-agreement-platinumwebsitedesigner.htm
Disallow: thanks-agreement-starterwebsitedesigner.htm
Disallow: thanks-quote.htm

If you did not want a particular robot to index your site:

User-agent: Googlebot
Disallow: /

Where the "/" indicates your entire website.

If you did not want a particular robot to index certain parts of your site:

User-agent: Googlebot
Disallow: /images/
Disallow: /private/
Disallow: /stats/

For more information about the .robots.txt file and the different rules, please visit the SEO Consultants website.