If this is your first experience with having a web site designed and developed you're probably full of questions. We make this process a little easier by answering some of the most frequently asked questions below.

FAQ's & Answers

• What's The Procedure For Working With Diamond Group Designs?
• Do I Need a Web Developer or a Web Designer?
• How To Screen For Quality
• How Much Does a Web Site Cost?
• Do I Need to Hire a "Local" Web Designer?
• How Long Does it Take to Have a Web Site Designed?
• What is a URL?
• What is a Domain Name?
• What is Web Hosting?
• What is Site Maintenance?
• I Want You To Design My Web Site - Now What Do I Do?

What's The Procedure For Working With Diamond Group Designs?

For a step by step explanation of how we do things at Diamond Group Designs, we suggest you view our Development Process section.

Do I Need a Web Developer or a Web Designer?

A Web developer, strictly speaking, builds and maintains websites. However, a lot of people who create a site from start to finish - designing graphics and webpages, figuring out the site map, then producing the site - call themselves Web developers, so it's a confusing term. People who conceptualize and plan out the site are actually Web designers. Developers are the people who use some form of HTML to build the actual pages.

How To Screen For Quality

• Candidates should be able to provide URLs of previous work. This is the equivalent of a portfolio.
• HTML code should be clean and well organized. You can check this by looking at the HTML source code of sample URLs.
• Get references from previous clients or employers. Was this person easy to work with? Did he or she produce a fast-loading, well-functioning site?

TIPS

• Looking at websites done for other clients is not always a good indicator of a web developer's skills, since it's hard to tell exactly what they contributed to the site and how much it's changed since they worked on it. If possible, you want to see exactly what they contributed. Ask what role they played in the project. Did they build the entire site or just optimize webpages?
• Be wary of self-taught folks who haven't worked in an agency or corporate setting. They might not have the training or discipline to complete jobs on deadline.
• A degree in one of the following is helpful: computer science or engineering, or architecture.
• Continued education in web programming, interface design, information design, or multimedia production is also helpful.

How Much Does a Web Site Cost?

There are quite a few factors that are going to affect the ultimate cost of your web site. These factors include how many pages you are going to have, if you will sell products on your website, the graphic work involved, whether you need a static site or a dynamic site, and how interactive your future web site will be. You will also need web hosting and domain name registration.

Once a a static web Site is created, any information presented on the Site cannot be edited without the assistance of a webmaster or author. This type of web Site is usually less costly than a dynamic web Site and is ideal for businesses which sell or advertise an invariable set of products and/or services (not through the Internet).

An example of a static Site is an informational Site. These types of Sites merely display company information and advertise products and/or services over the Internet. This type of web Site is not capable of supporting e-commerce services. However, this type of Site may also be designed with dynamic features.

BASIC STATIC site ..... from $295!*

• Custom home page with simple or client supplied title graphics
• Three custom (3) content pages
• Client-supplied text
• Up to two (2) simple graphics per page
• One (1) basic contact form

• Domain name registration with 1 year lease
• Search engine and directory submission
• Discounted hosting plan
• Email accounts based on your domain name
• Up and running usually in a few DAYS

• Complex forms ($60 per page)
• Additional text pages ($30 per page)
• Monthly Site maintenance ($20 per month)
• Application/script development ($50 per hour)
• Graphic design ($50 per hour)

• Custom home page with simple or client supplied title graphics
• Eight (8) custom content pages
• Client-supplied text
• Up to two (2) simple graphics per page

• One (1) complex form AND one (1) basic contact form
• One (1) hour of site maintenance during first month
• Domain name registration with 1 year lease
• Search engine and directory submission
• Discounted hosting plan
• Email accounts based on your domain name
• Up and running usually within one to two WEEKS

• Complex forms ($60 per page)
• Additional text pages ($30 per page)
• Monthly Site maintenance ($20 per month)
• Application/script development ($50 per hour)
• Graphic design ($50 per hour)

These Sites are database driven, in terms of retrieving and updating content. For example, a user is able to login and edit most of the information throughout the Site. This type of web Site is generally more expensive than a static web Site and is ideal for businesses which sell or advertise a variable set of products and/or services.

An example of a dynamic web Site is an e-commerce Site. E-commerce Sites allow business owners to sell their products and/or services over the Internet. This type of Site is able to process customers' credit cards and deposit the funds into the web Site owner's Internet merchant account.

BASIC DYNAMIC site ..... from $995!*

• Custom home page with designer title graphics
• Six custom (6) content pages
• Client-supplied text
• Up to four (4) simple graphics per page
• Two (2) basic contact forms

• Small database created
• PHP, Javascript/DHTML, HTML, Perl coding
• Domain name registration with 2 year lease
• Search engine and directory submission
• Discounted hosting plan
• Email accounts based on your domain name
• Up and running usually in a few WEEKS

• Complex forms ($60 per page)
• Additional text pages ($30 per page)
• Monthly Site maintenance ($20 per month)
• Application/script development ($50 per hour)
• Additional graphic design ($50 per hour)

• Custom home page with designer title graphics
• Up to twenty (20) custom content pages
• Client-supplied text
• Up to twenty (20) graphics per page

• CGI-BIN
• Audio/Video
• Shopping Cart
• SSL Secure Server
• PayPal/Credit Card Services
• Discounted hosting plan
• PHP, Javascript/DHTML, HTML, Perl coding
• One (1) complex form AND one (1) basic contact form
• One (1) hour of site maintenance during first month
• Domain name registration with 2 year lease
• Search engine and directory submission
• First month Site maintenance FREE
• Email accounts based on your domain name
• Up and running usually within one to two MONTHS

• Complex forms ($60 per page)
• Additional text pages ($30 per page)
• Additional monthly Site maintenance ($20 per month)
• Application/script development ($50 per hour)
• Graphic design ($50 per hour)

We create web sites for clients who are local as well as out of state. By using the Internet, email and the telephone, it is possible to communicate effectively with clients in any location.

The time frame is determined by the size of your web site, the complexity of your site design, and our current client design schedule. We list the approximate time it will take to design a specific web site in the pricing area.

It stands for "universal resource locator". This is the address typed in to view your web page on the Internet. For example, you would type in http://diamondgoupdesigns.com to access our home page.

A domain name is a specific web site address that you choose and register with an authorized registrar.

Web hosting is a monthly fee that you pay to have your site accessible on the Internet. We can provide web hosting for our clients.

Maintenance is a fee paid monthly to keep your site updated with new content that you provide. Most good web sites have new content updated regularly. Fresh content is what will keep your visitors coming back.

The first step in developing your web site is filling out the estimate form. Once we have come to an agreement on project details, timeline and price, we will prepare a web site development contract for you to review, sign and send back with your deposit.

The signed contract and 50% deposit is required before we schedule a time slot for your project. The remainder of your balance will be due upon project completion. Once we have received your 50% deposit and signed contract, we will provide you with a copy of the fully executed contract, a receipt for your deposit and your project start date.