Partly due to a slow down over the Christmas period and other factors we have been very quiet over the past two months. A couple of new sites now in development, plus a re-design project for one of our existing clients so it has become busy all of a sudden again. We will of course announce completion of any new sites through this blog, so keep an eye out.
Not much else to add, as usual, for all your web design requirements, get in touch!
Mike
We announced recently that we were wroking on a new site for a client and then things went quiet. Unfortunately for us, that client has had to postpone the site development until the new year. So hopefuly not lost business, but just deferred. In the meantime we received a new commision last week to develop a new site for an existing client expanding into a new business area.
Their key aim is to get good search results, so the pressure is on for that one. We are just at the draft stage at the moment, so no sneak previews just yet, but as soon as the basic content is correct it will all be go-go-go to get the site launched and indexed and moving up the search rankings as soon as possible.
So watch this space on that one! In the meantime, the deferred site development does mean that we currently have some spare capacity, so if you need a web site developing, get in touch!
Mike
Since starting up our small Wokingham Website Design business, we have run a number of blogs to talk about our ledgling business and generall create some traction. Awareness in the market and SEO are supported by blogs.
We used three main vehicles for this. a blogspot web design blog, a WordPress blog (no link – we’ll explain why in a mo!) and finally self hosted WordPress wokingham website blogs and another on another domain we own.
Today we announce the shut down of our unofficial blog on Wordress’s own platform. Somehow we violated their terms – as fas as we can understand, but publishing an update to our client list – with links to each site we have created. We were a little bit dissapointed, not by the suspension itself, but by the repose when qurying it.
There are many many spammy blogs out there, with blatent link farming going on, I can agree (and admit as much) that from time to time my usage of each blog can be somewhat suspect. It’s communicating what I do in an informative way and I felt that my blog on WordPress was valid.
I appealed and explained the background to my blog, but to no avail and what was dissappointing was that there was no real dialogue. They just regurgitated the line “you’ve viloated the terms” but with no explanation as to why, no remdial course of action I could take either. A simple statment that “you won’t ever get it back”
So yes – a free service, cannot really complain. I was giving WordPress no consideration so technically there could be no enforceable contract between us. I am sure there was small print that enabled there to be some loophole maybe.
But either way dissapointing. On the bright side .. one less blog to manage!!
Mike
We mentioned a couple of posts ago that we were working on a new site commisioned just recently. It’s still work in progress, the prototype is up and running. However things are taking a little longer than in previous cases to complete the design and build of the site.
It is good work in progress, the client is very satisfied with the design, we just need to work on the content to get the site ready to launch. So it may be a little while longer yet, but you can be sure that as soon as the site is ready to go then it will get a mention and link here. If nothing else to give the SEO a little nudge in the right direction to get the site indexed quickly and begin the process of pushing the SERPS.
So watch this space. (in the meantime, we have spare capacity – so anyone requring web site design – get in touch!
Mike
We run our website design business as a sideline and offer cost effective web site design, hosting and email solutions to small businesses. We take the position that we will not provide e-commerce solutions (even though technically we could) because we are not in a position to provide the type of support and attention that an online business would need.
So we stick to marketing sites. These can be designed and hosted and just given occasional maintenance attention. Lower revenue stream, yes, but means that we can provide a quality service.
So on to the point about this post. We ENJOY building websites, we would be more than happy to offer charities a FREE web design service, meaning that only small hosting cost of £100 per year would be payable. This means we can continue to do something we enjoy and support a good cause at the same time. There is of course a side benefit to that of perhaps opening ourselves up to a wider potential customer base through the contact with a charity. But that is truly a secondary consideration.
So if any one knows an organisation that would benefit from a FREE Charity WebSite Design then get in touch!
Mike
We are working on a new site for a new client at the moment. The business concerned requires a more stylish approach than many of our other clients. Their business requires a site that reflects the style and artisitic nature of the service that they provide. Much like the site that we did for Dyslexia Tutors in Reading the way the site looks is of prime importance. (not forgetting search performance of course!)
Sites for other clients, such as Reading Bricklayer or Reading Double Glazing, have less focus on the design for it’s own sake. The websites in these cases are designed to show off the products that the companies deliver. So it is a different approach and a welcome challenge.
Of course when the site is complete and ready for launch, we will report back and provide a link.
Mike
* This is a re-publish of the same article from almost exactly one year ago. The information contained here is just as valid and useful as it was then *
Trade Site Web Design are a small web design, build and hosting company in Wokingham. We aim to serve primarily local small businesses with cost effective web design and build services and basic managed hosting services. We can of course provide a remote service conducted via e-mail with clients anywhere. It is clear that many clients are looking for a value all-in-one package, hence we tooled up to be able to provide hosting and keep everything in-house for a simple solution.
This is a simple guide we have put together, to show the typical costs involved for any small business wanting to get a web site up and running. We hope you will use us for this service, but even so, we also hope you will find this useful no matter how you decide to go ahead. These are the things that you will need to cost for one way or another. Many web agencies will provide you a package price that includes all of this, but this guide will allow you to apply some transparency to the whole process and allow you to break down any pricing you may get.
Domain Name – every web site needs a name (e.g.. www.xxxxxxxx.co.uk) These are relatively cheap and on average will cost you around £5 per year. Most companies do introductory packages that make the first two years cheaper and sometimes free as part of a hosting deal. Some names do become more expensive so beware! If you are a company, we would advise that you get either a .com or .co.uk web address as these are more recognisable to many internet users as normal business web addresses. You can get others such as .tv, .uk.com, .org.uk or .me.uk – but these can either be expensive, or just not recognisable as business addresses.
Hosting – in laymans terms, your web site needs to be available on the internet and this is done by using a company that has loads and loads of computers that are all connected to the web. They put your web site onto their computers and attach your Domain Name to it. This is a very basic description of what hosting is. Personal packages with limited capacity can be as cheap as £25 per year. A basic business package starts from around £50 per year and unlimited packages with no real restrictions (that would affect a small business) start around £100 a year. This is what we charge at Trade-Site by the way, with admin thrown in so we do this on your behalf!
Design and Build – this is your actual web site. How it looks, what it says, what it links to. This is the most flexible cost. If you are brave, have some experience and of course your own PC! Then ANYBODY can build a basic web site. Then small agencies such as ourselves can design and build entry level web sites from a single page basic site at around £100 upwards. Creative design agencies also provide web design and build services and if you have specific, high design, requirements then the costs can work into the thousands!
Maintenance – this depends on what needs to change on your site on an ongoing basis. If nothing changes then no maintenance cost. Although sites that do not change are quite often going to suffer in Google rankings, it is not necessary to update your site. So that cost can range from zero – to hundeds of pounds per month for large sites requiring daily changes. Again, here a Trade-Site we are focussing on small businesses that probably do not require too much change. Our basic £100 per annum hosting includes FOR FREE a few ad hoc changes you may want to make throughout the year, such as a phone number change for example. Our basic Hosting and regular Update package gives you up to once a month minor content updates for only £150 per annum. This is for regular event updates or menu updates for example.
Online Marketing – some elements of this can be free. Google listings, free business directory listings and good content in the first place can get your site visible in search engines and will potentially drive business on it’s own. Then other marketing activities like paid directory listings (think Thomson Local or Yell.com) can cost anywhere between £300 and £1000 per – annum. There are probably packages out there that cost more. Also Google adwords can be “bought” to give your site priority listing, this varies based on the words you want to buy. At Trade Site if you buy a combined site and Hosting package, we will ensure that you get into Google and give you a Google Places listing FOR FREE! You will need to do any other online advertising yourself or with another agency however, this is not a service we plan to offer in any further detail.
Offline Marketing – well I won’t say anything here about cost – it’s not directly related to the web site costs. But just to mention – once you have a web site – don’t forget to include it in ALL of your marketing materials. On your business cards. On your Van. Work shirts etc… It’s a window to your company and may differentiate you from your competition. Again, some creative design agencies will work with you on your online and offline activities. That is not something we offer at Trade Site, as we concentrate only in the online space.
Anyway – we hope that’s useful to you, whether you come to us for your web site or not!!
Cheers,
Mike
Just a short update to our previous post about SEO methods that we use to assist the visibility of our clients web-sites. Since we don’t charge extra for the SEO that we do, then each method has to be free of charge and low effort. An number of avenues, such as this blog, are relatively easy to keep ticking over and contribute towards keeping our site fresh, but also regulary linking to content that we wish to promote.
So unfortunately, the Hubpages that we mentioned previosuly, whilst being free of charge, are not low effort.
Therefore we will not be continuing with that angle.
Mike
Over the years of being involved in the design of websites, one thing thatwe were relatively unfamiliar with was SEO. Having worked on Intranet App development and Web Page development for a MultiNational Blue Chip corporation for many years, one aspect that was left to others was this topic. So it is a skill that we have delevoped over time.
First aspect was on page optimisation, using header tags appropriately, keyword rich anchor text, filenames using keywords, folders and where possible choosing a domain that supports your business is all a good start.
Then getting sites indexed in the first place. Just submitting to the search engines works eventually, but having other online resources (such as this blog for example) can accelerate that indexing process.
Then other activities can contribute backlinks which in turn contribute to search engines “liking” the site and improving the ranking.
Do all of that, and more people will see the site when doing relevant searches and hopefully in turn increases business.
Here is an example : Berkshire Bricklayers HubPage
This will work towards promoting the site involved, amongst other activities.
Mike
We have been nicely busy over the past couple of months. Just recently having launched two new client site : one for Reading Bricklayers and the other for a Dyslexia Teacher in Berkshire. Shortly afterwards, two existing clients approached me for some enhancements to their existing websites.
For Berkshire Tennis Court Constructors they had taken a number of new pictures of their work, including a picture diary of a full tennis court design, prepare and build project plus a new area for them, the construction of a Menage. (that’s a horse riding arena in laymans terms!) They also wanted to enhance their site by creating individual pages for some of their additional service areas. Whereas previously they had one page that was for all associated services to do with tennis courts and just one example picture of each service area, they now wanted a feature page for each area with a number of pictures depicting their work.
They have really embraced teh benefit of taking pictures of their work and showcasing thatm, and their site now features pictures that are 100% their own work, rather than stock pictures as originally featured.
For the Reading Double Glazing company they have a similar situation, they have been taking a lot of pictures of their work and now it is possible to weave their own pictures into the site, with the aim of being able to say that pictures are 100% their own work. Still a few gaps to fill, but nearly there. Also they wanted to increase their search effectiveness by improved SEO. We have just tried a Windows, Doors, Fascias and Conservatories coverage directory. The aim here is to create individual pages for certain towns and villages, packed with keywords. So that search engines can pick up on the specific content created for the particular place. Sych as:
Berkshire
Bracknell
Bradfield
Earley
Lower Earley
Newbury
Pangbourne
Purley
Winnersh
Wokingham
Woodley
Hampshire
Basingstoke
Oxfordshire
Goring
Streatley
Wallingford
You get the drift.
We will monitor the relative success of this, before developing furter locales and will probably report back. If successful then the client will want a whole lot more creating to capture the “long tail” and that is also good for us!
Cheers,
Mike
