I’m always looking for ways to better accommodate my clients. Since they are mostly small business owners and solo attorneys, I’ve been working on an “a-la-carte” style structure for web design. Let’s face it, everyone is different—especially when it comes to what they want on a website—and one price simply doesn’t make sense!
I’ve also been looking for a way to create better, more cost effective pricing for small businesses and solos. Since Andrew, my husband and solo attorney, received a quote from FindLaw for $8000+ to redo his own site, I’ve been in sticker-shock about what scams are out there. I can assure you that paying to feed a small country and paying to build a website are not in the same ballpark—unless you are building the next Ebay, Google, or Amazon.com.
The best news is WordPress and Thesis! Now don’t balk because you might have heard an “ugly” blog term. When you hear WordPress and Thesis together, beautiful things happen…fast and inexpensively! Why? Because Thesis takes all those hours I would have spent programming and throws them out the window. I can do the same, nay better website than “Big Name Law” for a fraction of the cost because I’m not wasting my time and your money reprogramming the base structure.
There are three parts to my new website cost structure: 1) design; 2) implementation; and 3) extras.
1) Design – $750:
- Client fills out a detailed questionnaire giving direction to the overall project
- Two (2) wireframe layouts (usually a Home and a Subpage layout, but if your site doesn’t have a different style Home page, I will do two (2) separate and unique Page layouts for you to choose from)
- Wireframes will be in PDF format for you to easily view
- Two (2) revisions
*If you choose to only have a design done, you will receive all images created for your layout, including PSDs, PDFs, JPEGs, etc.
2) Implementation – $750:
- Setup and install WordPress and Thesis
- Setup two WordPress logins (with more logins/varying permissions available upon request)
- Master Admin – Full admin permissions
- “Baby” Admin – Still allows you to post and edit content, but has all the technical “stuff” hidden (I always set up clients with these two logins so they can “get their feet wet” without worrying about messing up anything)
- Nicole’s basic WordPress/Thesis Handbook – simplified steps to get you going
- Integrate up to five pages of content that you specify
- Cross-browser support (the latest and greatest versions of Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, and Chrome)
3) Extras – These are the most commonly asked for “extras.” If there is anything you are interested in, but don’t see on the list, please just ask and I’ll look into it. Also, because I use WordPress and Thesis, your extras can be changed constantly! You can pick some now, then decide a year from now that you want a couple more, or you can have me completely undo any and all of them at any time. The prices are per extra, so you can choose as many or as few as your and your budget want.
There are two price points, $75 and $175. A couple of the extras are on both price points, but I (hopefully) explain why each is different:
$75 Extras:
- Contact Form – this is for those forms that need a little more than the standard three lines of input. If you would like to gather a little more data or want a captcha verification to keep spammers from submitting forms, this is the form for you
- Site Search Bar – an easy way for your users to access your information, this bar will be placed on all your pages for an easy “type and find”
- MailChimp or Constant Contact Integration – if you already have a MailChimp or Constant Contact account, integrating a sign up form on your website is an easy, effective way to get new readers
- PayPal or Google Checkout Integration – if you already have a PayPal or Google Checkout account, setting up a payment or donation system on a specific page is easy
- Photo Gallery – if you have a lot of images that need displaying, creating a gallery is easy
- Image Rotator – you can have up to five images rotate in a single image rotator. You can also have multiple image rotators on your site. Creating images with text overlay is also a good way to use this extra for an added bonus!
- Page Translation buttons – if you need your page translated into various languages, Google Translate integrates quite nicely with WordPress. This extra allows you to select from a wide range of languages for translation, provides buttons (the country’s flag), and allows your users to read your content in their native tongue
- Social Media buttons (top of site) – if you and your site utilize some of the many social media outlets (Facebook, Google+, Twitter, etc.), adding a button or series of buttons to the top of your site is an easy way for your readers to connect with you
- Social Media buttons (within each post/page) – if you and your site utilize some of the many social media outlets (Facebook, Google+, Twitter, etc.) and would like your readers to be able to share individual posts or pages, we can also add social media buttons to your content and make sharing even easier
$175 Extras:
- Google Map – if your business has reviews on Google Maps or would just like to have a good map for your clients to get directions to your business location, installing a Google Map is definitely what you need
- MailChimp or Constant Contact Sign up and Integration – if you don’t already have MC or CC, but are looking to start email campaigning, signing up and integrating is easy. I can help you find the right plan for your business and get you started!
- RSS Sign up – if you publish blog content and would like an easy way for your readers to sign up for your RSS feed, adding the custom code to your website is definitely the way to go
- Discussion Forums – thankfully discussion forums are no longer hours and hours of grueling programming! Now it is a matter of me telling your website where you want the forum, me setting up very specific rules to run the forum (that you determine, of course), running a few hours of testing and then handing you the reins.
- Shopping Cart and/or Simple Auctions – do you need a place to sell some baked goods or auction off that extra pair of Prada shoes you own? You just tell me where to put it on your site and I’ll set up the parameters and load the program
- PayPal and/or Google Checkout Sign up and Integration – if you don’t already have PayPal or Google Checkout, but are looking for an easy way for your readers to donate, I can show you the ropes of both, help with your sign up and integrate donate buttons onto the page of your choice
- Online Secure Invoicing – for my small business clients who need to send secure invoices to their own clients, this extra integrates with your site as well as Authorize.net, Merchant Plus, PayPal and Navigate. You will be able to set up invoices in your admin login and send emails with secure links to your clients letting them know when to pay
- Restricted Content Sections – if you have content for specific groups or users that needs to be restricted, without restricting your entire site, this extra can do it. We can set up sign up forms, restricted content, and much more.
