FAQ

If you’ve got questions about working with me, your project, or websites in general, send me a note or check these frequently asked questions.

 

How do I know you’re not going to disappear half-way through the project?”

I wouldn’t be a very successful, reliable or popular web developer if I left a trail of incomplete projects and unhappy clients. My process requires me to know and care about your business needs and goals as you. I’m investing in your business with expertise, time and energy. When we work together, it’s as a team or partnership. Your success is my success.

Besides, I’ve got a family to support and a mortgage to pay. I don’t take vacations on a whim anymore!

 

I just need a simple website. What does that cost?

I don’t have set prices for “simple” websites. Is budget your concern? Let me know what you have to work with and I’ll let you know what can and can’t be done.  Start here.

 

My neighbour’s nephew’s roommate can build my website for FREE. Why should I pay for my website?

Great question! Let me ask you a couple more…

1. Does your neighbour’s nephew’s roommate care about your business needs and growth?

2. Are you confident that they will complete the job on schedule, or even at all?

3. Can you afford the down-time when the website breaks or gets hacked?

Why hire me? Because I can fix your neighbour’s nephew’s roommate’s “free” website nightmares before they happen.

 

Why should I hire you?

I built my first website in 1999.  It was awful, but I loved it.  I love the creative process and finding solutions for making a website successful. 

My business is based on helping your business or organization to grow.  As the owner and creative director of Quiet City Design, I’ve been designing and developing websites, as well as print and digital media, for clients of every size and type.  I’ve worked with individual, self-employed artists, not-for-profit organizations, and national and international businesses.  Many are long-term clients.  Here are a few of their testimonials.

 

How long does a website take to build?

Generally, developing a successful website can take anywhere between 6 weeks and 6 months.  There are four stages in each project’s lifecycle: Discovery, Design, Development and Deployment.  The factors that most affect the time needed to build the website are the Discovery and the Deployment stages, where much of the analysis, testing and revisions take place.  Read more about how we’ll work together and my website process.

 

Can we have a meeting in person?

Absolutely!  I think personal contact is valuable and important in this digital age.  I’m located in Toronto, ON.  But before we meet, you need to complete the Website Worksheet so we both have a better understanding of what you’re looking for.  If you’re not sure what you need, consider scheduling a Website Accelerator Session to help identify and plan out your website strategy.

 

What is a CMS?

CMS is short for “content management system”.  There are several popular CMS’s out there, but WordPress has become the industry-standard.  It powers more than 20% of the internet!  It’s my favourite framework to build websites with because it provides lots of powerful development tools and features with a user-friendly interface.

 

Can you just add a simple element to my current website?

Probably, yes.  If you’ve access to your current website’s hosting server, I’ll have a look at it and let you know what’s possible and how much it will cost.

 

Do you offer hosting for websites?

Nope. If you don’t have hosting for your website, I can recommend some great hosts, and help set you up.  Before you go looking for hosting, be very careful of using cheap, discount shared hosting companies like GoDaddy or GatorHost.  They don’t provide the security and environment to support a professional website.

 

What payment options do you offer for projects?

There are 2 payment options available for website projects.  The first is a standard 50/30/20 payment structure.  Half of the project estimate is due at the start of your project, with 30% due after approval of the design and wire-frames, and 20% at the end of the project.  If your budget is a bit tight, you could opt for the Deferred Payment Model.  You pay 50% of the estimated cost up front, then pay the rest on a monthly basis from 12 to 24 months.  It’s a great way to handle your own cashflow while getting the most value from the project.

 

Can you help me update images and text on my website?

I build a websites on a CMS framework so clients can publish and update their websites themselves.  If you’d prefer to have me handle content updates, you can take purchase Content Credits to redeem for my direct assistance on your website.

More questions? Ask me anything.

 

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