FAQ's
Q. How long does it take to build a web site?
A. On average it takes 30 to 60 days to design, develop and launch a web
site.
Q. How much does it cost me to have a web site built?
A. We have two price points for non-ecommerce web sites:
Custom Design ($4,750 - $4,950 average cost )
15-20 pages +, full custom design, interactive form & location map. Flash
development extra.
Semi-Custom Design ($2,950 average cost)
10-15 pages +, semi-custom design, interactive form & location map. Flash
development extra.
Q. Do you build e-commerce (shopping cart) sites?
A. Yes we do. We have built everything from 3 items PayPal driven sites to
1000+ products. Prices for e-commerce sites are custom quoted for each
client's needs. We use Miva Merchant, Volusion and other shopping cart
systems.
Q. Do you use design templates?
A. No, for Custom design sites each site is unique, with a custom design created by our
experienced graphic designers. For Semi-Custom design web sites we create a
design based around our house style using your business logo and colors as a
base.
Q. Do you take on existing site for updates,
marketing etc.?
A. Yes we do. Please Contact Us for further
details.
Q. What are your payment terms?
A. We require a 50% deposit and the final 50% upon completion of the
project. Updates are done on a Pay-As-You-Go basis and billed at the end of
the month and payable within 30 days.
Q. What payment methods do you accept?
A. We accept checks, Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover.
Q. What is the process you use in building a web site?
A. There are five steps:
1. We conduct an initial, one-hour face-to-face or telephone consultation with our clients
to determine needs, followed by a written proposal.
2. Once you accept the proposal (and any changes made at that time), we
require the 50% deposit.
3. A design draft is delivered to you and approved (again, with any changes
made at that time).
4. The content is added to the design followed by launching the live web
site.
5. The full web site is built out and completed with any necessary changes
and the final 50% payment is required.
Q. What are your monthly fees?
A. We do not have monthly fees. As a client, you pay only for the time I
actually spend on your web site, which is based on current $ rate per hour
and calculated to the minute, not rounded up. For example, if we spend 10
minutes on the phone discussing your site, and I spend another 20 minutes
doing any updates or changes to your web site, the total time spent on your
site is 30 minutes. We will then invoice you at the end of the month for the
30 minutes and include a time sheet with the invoice showing how the time
was spent.
Q. Do you have a ‘money back guarantee’?
A. No, because at every stage of the process we check to insure that our
clients are satisfied with the work done thus far. If something isn’t right,
we discuss it and change it within reason. At Abacus Web Services,
our business is based on the exceptional quality of our work and 100% client
satisfaction.
Q. What is my role as the client in this process?
A. Beyond the initial telephone consultation, we will need you to supply us
with the necessary materials for your site on an agreed-upon time scale.
These materials usually consist of any original artwork you own,
photographs, biographies, and sometimes technical text.
We will need you to review and comment on the design draft, site development
and completed site. It is this process that ensures you get what your
business needs and helps us to deliver your project on time.
Q. Do you write the text for the web site?
A. Yes we can and we have a copywriter on staff who can prepare the text based on
information supplied by you about your business. However, in reality most
clients provide their own text which may be from existing web site or from
other collateral material. This would also occur when the
client’s text is highly technical in nature and, in that case, we ask you to
supply us with the text and we will then review and edit it before putting it
into the web site.
Q. Who has the final approval of the text?
A. You. The client have final approval on everything we do.
Q. Who owns the copyright to the web site?
A. With the final payment, you make the ownership of the web site changes
over to you, the client. This ownership includes the design and the text.
The exception to this would be in the area of content on certain web sites,
an example would be for a real estate web site where we own the copyright on
real estate and mortgage glossaries.
This means that we grant the client permanent use rights on the existing web
site but the copyright remains with Abacus Web Services. In this case, the
content may be shared among some of our other clients but this would be
clearly indicated in the proposal.
Q. What exactly is web hosting?
A. Web hosting is simply the computer in which your web site files sit so
that anyone can access your web site 24/7.
Q. Do you provide web hosting?
A. Yes, we will set up, operate and maintain a web hosting account on
your behalf. New sites are hosted on our dedicated server at
Rackspace, with a different solution
for E-Commerce and ASP based sites.
Q. What is the fee for web hosting and what does it cover?
A. For most web sites the fee is $25 per month, which is invoiced twelve
months in advance and covers the hosting of your site on the server and any
necessary support related to hosting. E-commerce hosting has a different
cost basis depending on site needs.
Q. Is Abacus Web Services willing to work with another hosting company
for my site that already exists?
A. No, because we feel that we can provide a faster, better quality
service with proven reliability by working with our hosting provider. In
most cases it we would simply change your site over to our dedicated server.
Q. What exactly is a domain name?
A. Domain name is simply the address at which your web site can be found for
example www.cnn.com is CNN's web address.
Q. Can you register my domain name?
A. Yes, we will register your new domain name on your behalf, making it
quicker to match the domain up with the hosting company. The domain name
ownership remains with you, the client, but we manage the account including
the required renewals.
Q. How much does domain registration cost?
A. The cost is $50 for two years. New domains are ALWAYS registered under
the ownership of you our client and not Abacus Web Services.
Q. Can you take over my existing domain name?
A. Yes, we would supply you with the address information for our web hosting
servers and advise you how to complete the change over.
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