Looking for a Web Designer in Albury Wodonga?
So you have Googled for a Web Designer and noticed there’s a countless number of web designers, web developers and even Seo experts all over the place, searching page after page, spending amounts of time finding a true blue local developer. You try to filter down the number of results to something more manageable with more refined searches. After spending a considerable amount of time searching and filtering you have become confused by what is offered, promised, or even guaranteed. However with your short list in hand you take the 1st step and contact the web designers. But where do you start? And what questions will you need to ask besides the “can you please build me a website” ?…
Here’s my pick of 10 questions I would ask any web designer if I were in need of one.
1. Is your business local to the area that my business is?
Being a small business yourself you already know the importance of doing business locally. Not only the pride and economics of it but also having someone who understands the local region is important.
Here in Albury Wodonga having someone local who understands the local economy, events, news and even the local weather can help your business web presence. There are familiarities that both of you know. We are based in Wodonga and proudly serving the Albury Wodonga region. We are also coffee drinkers so have one ready for us when we come to your premises.
2. Do you build the websites locally with local talent or outsource it to off shore companies?
Yes, there are web designers and other professionals who ‘appear’ to be local but the truth is they aren’t or they outsource their work elsewhere. Worse yet they are an offshore company with a nice website that appears to be an Australian business and guarantee unbelievable results. Ask them for a local contact number and mailing address, or ask if you can meet at their office. We give all our contact details when requested but not make it available on our website only because to keep overheads low we work from our home office.
3. Are the websites you make from a template or do you custom design them?
Having your website made from one of tens of thousands (if not more) templates can gain you huge cost savings over having your website custom designed. That’s because a web designer won’t have to spend days writing custom code for your website. Making a website from a template saves a lot of time and we all know time is money. Imagine if Henry Ford made every car unique to everyone who purchased one of his cars? He would need to make custom body styles, seats, steering wheels and the list would go on… Yet, when you purchase a new car you have some choices such as what colour you would like. It’s basically the same with using a template for a website. You have options and a lot of them. To save you a bundle and make things a little easier and less complicated to you, we choose a template after discussing what you want from your website. We’ll customise it and have it presented to you as a mock up. This way you will see exactly how your new website will look and function.
4. How long does it take to get a website completed, on average?
Having paid a deposit to your web designer and having to wait for your website to be made can be an anxious time. What if your web designer was going to take 3 months or even 6 months to complete your website? Would you still have chosen them? Could you ask for your deposit back? Although it will depend on your requirements and functions we get a website live on the internet in about 2 weeks. As you provide us the content and pictures you’ll have the ability to see your website progress as we do the work on it every day.
5. What information will I need to supply for my website?
If your website designer just wants your basic information and a phone number be a little sceptical. How would you know they will enter appropriate information regarding to your business? How would you know before the website goes live that the information is correct? Do you really want the hassle of having to go back to them and ask to have it edited – remember time is money. We have a list of To-Do’s and information that we need before we even get close to publishing your website on the internet. This list helps everyone know exactly what information, pictures, logos, contact information (and a lot more) will go into the website. This also helps save a lot of time and problems with missed information or irrelevant content. Saving us time means saving you money.
6. Can I make changes after my website has been published on the internet?
What if the web designer who you paid a considerable amount to locks you out of your own website? What if you needed to make changes? Will you get charged an outrageous amount for edits? You should be able to make changes yourself – with some training – however to save you the stress we can manage your website and any changes you need at very affordable rates. If you need to add content, news, or update events on your website, we can give you access and provide the required training.
7. Will I receive a copy of my completed website?
You know of the “Being hit by a bus” scenario? Of if your web designer suddenly took a vacation to Mexico and never returned. How would you manage your website? Sure your website will still be on the internet, but in time it will expire. The domain name and hosting will need to be paid for. Without a copy of your website your only choice is to find another web developer to build you a new website. We have had 2 local businesses go through this. We have the experience on how to best get your current website backed up and transfer the domain names back to the rightful owners (you). We provide you a Full Backup of Your Website when it gets published online. So if we end up in Mexico you can take the backup to another web designer and continue having an online presence with no or little interruptions. Please rest assured we are here for the long haul and would never leave our clients stranded.
8. Do you supply a logo for my business website?
Today most web designers will offer a logo service. Some will even include it for free – but we already know there’s no such thing as a free lunch – It’s fair to say it’s offered in their quote. If you already have a logo there’s no need to pay for such a service. We offer a basic Logo service we do in house and if you’re after something more complicated we can pass that request to some Graphic Designers we have worked with.
9. Are you available when I need you to be?
Your web designer might screen their phone calls – to be brutally honest, don’t we all?
When you get a phone call at 10:00pm at night the 1st thing you do is see who is calling. Right?
More to being available, what if your web developer is working for another business? Not being able to answer your phone call during business hours because they are committed to some other business and not their own. This should be a worrying factor. Why? If in 6 months’ time they pull the plug on their own web design business to work full time for another business, all the time and effort you have put into getting your website online can all come crashing down. We’re committed to our clients and answer the phone whenever humanly possible. We’re always happy to hear from our clients whether it be problems or just to talk about ideas.– Seriously, please Call us anytime.
10. Where do you host my website?
Hosting is a service that keeps your website on the internet and presents it to visitors. Your website is loaded on a web server inside a data centre and your domain name points to where your website is hosted. If your website is hosted overseas and the majority of your visitors are from Albury Wodonga then your website will take longer to load, it will be slower because the traffic needs to go out of Australia to where your website is hosted and then back to your visitors. Reliability can be an issue too. A website that is unavailable because of a server or data centre issue can cause your visitors and search engines not to favour your site. Then there is security. Every computer system connected to the internet is at risk, your home computer to the biggest web servers in the world. How secure is that server hosting your website overseas? Believe it! We’ve seen it a few times, issues just like these. We use Australian Hosting companies that offer above 99% uptime guarantees. We are extremely confident with our hosing partners. Support from them is amazing and all our enquiries have been dealt within minutes not days or weeks. It’s true they cost a little more a month but we wouldn’t have it any other way.
11. (Eleven? yes, we give you more) Do you offer any other services?
Most web designers and developers only focus on their primary skills. Now that’s not a bad thing in any way shape or form. Having someone who has a great skill set on building websites is what they do best is great. However just ask yourself one question… My business computer has stopped! Who can I call for help? You may have guessed it, we offer a little more than website design. Having huge amounts of computer experience and computer repairs, we can definitely look after your computer needs and mobile device set up. We can set up automated backups and set up your smart phone with email and live chat.
Honestly most real local website designers in Albury Wodonga are great people working hard for their clients. They are all striving to gain your trust and business. What sets us apart are the little things and how you feel after talking with them a couple of times. If we aren’t your chosen website designer we’d appreciate some feedback and for that we’ll offer you a Free Email set up on your mobile phone. It’s our way of saying thank you :)