Simple Sites Web Design can look after everything you will need for your simple website!

Domain Names

If an online presence is new for you, then one of the first steps is to get your own domain name. A domain name allows people to get to your website by typing in "www.yourdomain.com" or "www.yourdomain.ca".

Your domain can also be configured with your email, which adds professionalism to your correspondence so that you can have "info@yourdomain.ca". A domain name should be simple, easy for people to remember and ideally reflect your business name. Click here to see if your chosen domain name is still available.

Simple Website Design

By charging by the webpage instead of by the hour, you maintain complete control of how much your website will cost. I charge $250 for the first page and then all additional pages are only $50 each. Since a page could theoretically scroll from here to Vancouver, I define a page as the information that prints out to a regular piece of paper (or a couple of scrolls).

Even if you decide to start off with only one or two pages, each page is fully search engine optimized. Each website is also easily expanded - as your business grows, your website easily can also. Please note that if you want your website to feature a shopping cart, there will be an additional charge for those particular pages, due to the increased labour and tie-in with PayPal.

Each website is tailored to your needs and I will work with you throughout the development phase until you're happy with the end result. With all websites, I pay great attention to detail. If you don't have any graphics, stock photography can be provided for a very small cost. Customized images are not part of a Simple Site but can be done for an additional charge. Since no one knows your business better than you do, I expect you to provide me with the text for your pages, but I can assist with both writing and editing your content.

Site Tracker

Each website I build has a built-in site tracker. This can be an extremely valuable marketing tool. You can learn who is visiting your website, from where, who referred them and if they came via a search engine, which one it was and even which search terms were used to get to your website! If you click on the Site Meter logo at the bottom of any of the pages of your website, it will take you to your stats. You can request that this be "hidden" and accessed by log-in only. By default it is visible. Careful, because it is very addictive!

Web Maintenance

Clients should update their websites regularly. This is your opportunity to dazzle your visitors with constantly changing information so they return often! Updating your website frequently is also helpful for search engine ranking. An update (up to 20 minutes) consisting of text changes and perhaps the addition of a graphic usually costs only only $15.

If you need to update your website more often because you have regular pricing changes, an events calendar or a newsletter, I offer a Web Maintenance Package which is a 30% discount of the regular update cost. For a flat rate of $120/year you can have 12 updates of up to 20 minutes each (only $10 per update). You can also combine these updates to allow for 2 or 3 larger updates during the year at the discounted price. Please note that unused updates expire at the end of the 12 month term.

Search Engine Optimization

Your website should be written as carefully for the search engines as it is for your prospective clients! Having been an editor in the past for the Open Directory has given me an insiders view of what is considered important. Search engines try to give the "searcher" what he is looking for, so getting ranked properly with them is all about trying to meet that requirement. I write every aspect of your website with this mantra in mind.

If I design your website, then your website will also have a Site Map stored in my account with Google, Bing and Yahoo Search. These search engines visit and re-index these site maps often. Although they each has its own ingenious algorithm of how it ranks a website, one of the most important tips to get well ranked with a search engine is to get as many other websites to link to yours as possible. Particilarly other websites that the search engines already consider "important". That tells them that you also are credible and may be what a searcher is looking for.

Web Hosting & Promotion

Once your website has been designed and is ready to go live, you will need a server to host it on. Simple Sites Web Design provides commercial web hosting services for $120/year. As a hosting client, your website will be resubmitted to the major search engines on a regular basis, ensuring that your website's most current content is in their indexes.

In A Nutshell

You can have a 3 page website designed and search engine optimized, a domain name and web hosting for a year for $480. Subsequent years would be only $132.00 for the domain and hosting renewal. Updates are $10 - $15 per event (for up to 20 minutes).

Please call Liz at 250-961-0019 or email liz@simplesites.ca if you would like more information.