What can you do for me now?
Well, at
this time, after 54 years in the computer business (the last 14 operating
solo as APT Web Design) I am now semi-retired, handling only a few remaining
clients. I just hope that what I have posted here can give you some idea of
the value of using the Internet for business, personal and/or social purposes.
To find an good, affordable website developer you should first consider
references from friends and aquatints. Another thought would be to use the
Internet to search for professional web developers in your local area. An
additional thought is to look into companies who provide hosting and domain name
services, a couple of suggestions here would include: Blue
Host <> DOT5Hosting
<> GoDaddy
<> Finding
a Great Web Developer
All the best, Les Schmalbach
I want to put my business online, but don't know where to start. Can you help?
Absolutely! You don't need any online experience at all. APT Web Design offers free
consultation and will be glad to discuss your needs and provide recommendations
and estimates to put your business or organization online as soon as possible.
Does my business need a website?
Does my business need 24-hour exposure 7 days a week, 365 days a year? The answer is obvious.
What other medium allows you to expose all the benefits or services of your small business
or organization to your target audience at their convenience and
provide a source of direct correspondence from them to you? The benefits of a website are innumerable.
What can a website do for me?
The answer to this question is neither short nor easy. With a little research and thought you can find hundreds of reasons,
but there are a few general statements that may help you realize your needs. First a website can reach millions of people
that might not otherwise be available. Second, customers can view products, services, or whatever you want to share from the
comfort of their own home. No matter what type of business you are in, their are ways to grow and make money on the web for you.
Why does it matter how it looks as long as it works?
When you receive a visitor to your site, they will instantly perceive the quality of your services or products.
The first impression a customer or potential customer gets depends on the appearance of your website.
A visitor will be interested and explore your site if it is appealing and easy to navigate.
You are marketing yourself and your business or organization to the world over the Internet and it is important to show your best.
How many pages do I need?
This all depends on how much content you have. Every business/organization website should have an 'About Us' page
(or something similarly titled) to tell your visitors about your your history,
mission, etc. After that, it depends on what you are trying to promote over the
Internet. A good rule of thumb is to not overwhelm your audience with too much information on each page.
Disperse the information and break it up into digestible pages and paragraphs. Long pages of text tend to overwhelm the reader.
Break content up to truly get your audience's attention.
What is a host and does my small business website need one?
A host is a company that connects your small business website to the World Wide Web 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,
365 days a year. Additionally, the hosting company provides the storage for the web pages that the Internet viewers see.
Apt Web Design can provide this service for you or you can contract your own
hosting service.
Hosting prices can range anywhere from $4 to $80 per month depending on the
amount of storage and type of services required for your website to function.
What is domain name registration and do you do that?
Domain name registration is registering a unique name or
URL (Uniform Resource Locator) for your website.
And, yes we can provide domain name registration for you if you wish.
Actually, you can have any number of domain names if desired for your business
and we will be happy to set that up for you. We charge $12.50 to register a
domain name and registrations must be renewed annually.
How can I view my web site design as it is in progress?
We always put a prototype of your web site design in a directory on the web server that will host your website so
you can preview the development and final product before it goes live.
How many changes can I make to the web site once I view the initial design?
You can make as many changes, within reason, to the design as you wish. We encourage clients to give plenty of feedback so
that we can get the design established as soon as possible. However, if you request too many changes to your site design, or if you change a design after the entire site has been formatted , you
may incur additional charges.
Should I consider Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?
Yes, if you are expecting prospective customers to find out about by using one
or more of the more prominent search engines (Bing, Google, Yahoo, etc.). APT
Web Design offers an SEO service whereby keywords are incorporated in the web
pages and your website is registered with the three afore mentioned search
engines. However, simply submitting doesn't
mean that your site will rank at the top of a search engine when a user searches for content related to your site.
There are many factors that go in to search engine rankings. One thing that
works well is to have a unique tag-line for your business or organization that
is common place and that most people would think to use while searching online.
How much does it cost to design a web site?
How much a site costs to design depends on a number of factors:
number of pages on the site, types and number of graphic images on the site, programming, online marketing, etc.
A web page without any high-level programming or search engine optimization generally can run anywhere from $75 to $275 per page.
The more sophicated and complex a page, the cost will be even higher. Also, for multi-page websites, once the page structure is designed and initially
implemented, the cost per additional page wll be somewhat less.
So, I want to establish a strong presence on the Web. But where do I start?
The four easy steps we provide below will guide you in the direction of a professionally designed, developed and marketed Web site.
Step One: Domain Name (URL) Registration -- This is the address people will use to access your Web site (www.yourcompany.com).
Once you have determined that the URL you wish to use is available, the cost to register a name is anywhere from $8.00 to $35.00 per year. A domain name needs to be renewed every year.
Step Two: Design of the Web Site -- This is where the look, feel, and content of the Web site are determined and created.
Step Three: Hosting Your Web Site on a Web Server -- This is basically where you rent space on a computer that is always
connected to the Internet. Price will vary, depending on the amount of disk space you will have and the connection to the Internet.
Step Four: Marketing Your Web Site -- You should be thinking about the marketing of your Web site as it is being designed.
The content of the site needs to reflect the search terms if you want your site to appear on search engines.
