San Antonio Web Design

There are certain things you need to know about websites before you pay a web designer to build a website for you. The most important tip is to make sure you don't overpay for website design.
You can find at least 15 San Antonio web design specialists on the web, but it is not easy to choose the 1 you want to build your website. As we move into a harsher economic climate, many of those seeking to create a new website focus on two primary factors: price and quality.

The first question you should ask yourself is what type of website are you looking for? For example, are you trying to build a business contact page, a blog, an ecommerce shop, a forum, a podcast, a video clip site, a web 2.0 site, etc. The list goes on and on. Most first time web site creators are looking to establish a web presence for their business or services with contact information.

A website with your basic contact personal or business information is called a static page because the content basically stays the same. A blog on the other hand is a running journal of information that is updated as often as you choose to. Think of it as an online diary of whatever you choose to write about.

Blogs have become a very popular platform among Internet users because of their informal style and sense of connection from the writers. Thus, many individuals have added blogs to their webpage or even as their primary webpage to build a repoire with their visitors. The hope is that by reading the blogger's expertise and knowledge on the subject, readers will develop a trust with the writer and purchase products or contact them about services. This is becoming very popular with attorneys in the legal marketing spectrum, but can be applied to any field or business.

Podcasts or audio clips are not very common among websites, but definitely do provide a new dynamic that catches many visitors by surprise. Depending on what your website is about, this may be an experiment worth trying.

Web 2.0 websites are built in the social realm. Social essentially means the website's power comes from it's community base. Facebook, Myspace, Youtube, Digg, and Twitter are good examples of Web 2.0 sites and hybrids.

With some of the types of websites and capabilities in mind, your attention next turns to price. How much should a simple San Antonio website design cost?

For a basic page with information on your business and yourself, you should pay no more than $300 for the homepage. Once you begin adding on platforms such as blogs or podcasts, the price can be expected to climb as the work order mounts, but generally fairly simple websites should not be that expensive.

Another important price consideration is web hosting. This is a genuine recurring cost that any website will come with. Without a web host, websites can not be on the Internet. Depending on your budget, you may or may not want to get one on your own. Webhosts or web servers generally run from $100 to $150 a year. However, these are the only charges that you should have to worry about running.

You should be very leery of any web designer that insists upon charging a monthly maintenance fee for your website. Again, the host is the only charge that a web designer will be incurring.

It is recommended that you buy your own domain name for your website. This way ownership is in your name. Domain names do run about $10 per year, but you can keep up with this charge separately.

Before hiring a San Antonio web design specialist, I recommend contacting them first just to get a feel for their personality and their level of expertise. If you don't feel completely comfortable with their services, continue researching until you find someone compatible with your budget and desired website.
San Antonio Web Design
San Antonio Web Design

By john r
Published: 3/26/2009
 
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