Websites
Why should you have a website?
A website can be a powerful marketing tool and one of the best ways of potential customers finding out a bit about you and how to contact you. Almost everyone has the internet readily available these days and ‘Googling’ has become one of the most efficient ways of finding out the information you need instantly.
Affordable
If you are in big business then significant amounts of money will be invested in building a website. However for small business, this is neither necessary nor affordable. In my experience, I have discovered that small businesses are willing to pay a small amount for a basic website without the bells and whistles and that’s where I can help. I can build you a website on a budget that looks good and is easy to read and navigate.
Email
Having a website will also make your business appear more professional. Instead of being yourbusiness@bigpoond.com; it will be yourname@yourbusiness.com. This looks a hell of a lot better on a business card or email.
If you are not very familiar with the ins and outs of how websites work, then terminology like domain names and domain hosting may seem a bit foreign. So you understand that there is more to a website than just building one, let me explain a few things ...
Affordable
If you are in big business then significant amounts of money will be invested in building a website. However for small business, this is neither necessary nor affordable. In my experience, I have discovered that small businesses are willing to pay a small amount for a basic website without the bells and whistles and that’s where I can help. I can build you a website on a budget that looks good and is easy to read and navigate.
Having a website will also make your business appear more professional. Instead of being yourbusiness@bigpoond.com; it will be yourname@yourbusiness.com. This looks a hell of a lot better on a business card or email.
If you are not very familiar with the ins and outs of how websites work, then terminology like domain names and domain hosting may seem a bit foreign. So you understand that there is more to a website than just building one, let me explain a few things ...
Website Creation Procedure and Costs
Domain Name
On average, domains are roughly $20 each for two years.
A domain name is your internet address e.g. www.simpleit.net.au. This needs to be purchased for a small fee which needs to be renewed every 1-2 years. I will arrange this purchase on your behalf if you don’t have one already.
Prices vary for each domain suffix e.g. .com is more expensive than .info so this will need to be calculated at the time of purchase. On average they are roughly $10 each.
Your domain name is part of your business branding, so you will ideally pick your business name and then pick a suffix that suits the nature of your business e.g. .com tends to be global where .com.au implies the business is Australian. For example:
Happy Apple Farms is based in Australia and sells apples within Victoria; hence www.happyapplefarms.com.au is the ideal name.
Discount Birthday Cards in based in Australia however ships all around the world; hence www.discountbirthdaycards.com is the ideal name.
If someone else has picked the domain name you want, then you may need to pick a different suffix or put dashes in the name e.g. www.happyapplefarms.net.au or www.happy-apple-farms.com.au
To help protect your branding you can buy multiple domain names and use just one for business purposes. If .com and .com.au is available, then it makes sense to buy both. However, it does mean more fees every two years.
Your domain name also results in multiple email addresses being available with this name. e.g. enquiries@happyapplefarms.com or alice@happyapplefarms.com
A domain name is your internet address e.g. www.simpleit.net.au. This needs to be purchased for a small fee which needs to be renewed every 1-2 years. I will arrange this purchase on your behalf if you don’t have one already.
Prices vary for each domain suffix e.g. .com is more expensive than .info so this will need to be calculated at the time of purchase. On average they are roughly $10 each.
Your domain name is part of your business branding, so you will ideally pick your business name and then pick a suffix that suits the nature of your business e.g. .com tends to be global where .com.au implies the business is Australian. For example:
Happy Apple Farms is based in Australia and sells apples within Victoria; hence www.happyapplefarms.com.au is the ideal name.
Discount Birthday Cards in based in Australia however ships all around the world; hence www.discountbirthdaycards.com is the ideal name.
If someone else has picked the domain name you want, then you may need to pick a different suffix or put dashes in the name e.g. www.happyapplefarms.net.au or www.happy-apple-farms.com.au
To help protect your branding you can buy multiple domain names and use just one for business purposes. If .com and .com.au is available, then it makes sense to buy both. However, it does mean more fees every two years.
Your domain name also results in multiple email addresses being available with this name. e.g. enquiries@happyapplefarms.com or alice@happyapplefarms.com
Domain Hosting
Domain hosting will cost $200 for 2 years
Hosting a domain means you buy some space on the internet to put your website on, this is a bit like paying for a car parking space. Domain hosting needs to be paid for independently to the cost of building a website, whether you have a basic or fancy website, and similar to buying domain names, these are renewed every 2 years.
Please note that a valid ABN, ACN or BRN is required to register a domain.
Hosting a domain means you buy some space on the internet to put your website on, this is a bit like paying for a car parking space. Domain hosting needs to be paid for independently to the cost of building a website, whether you have a basic or fancy website, and similar to buying domain names, these are renewed every 2 years.
Please note that a valid ABN, ACN or BRN is required to register a domain.
Website Creation and Management
Building a 4-5 page website is $300
50% of the fee is required up front.
This includes 5 hours labour (research, purchases, setup, admin, initial build, SEO* and editing time). This does not include a shopping cart
This structure includes 3 edits. The more information you can provide me initially, the less edits will be required.
Major edits beyond 3 (excludes typos, etc) will be charged at $30 per 30 minutes
The usual web pages I suggest for a site are Homepage, About Us / History, Contacts Us, Products and/or Events, Specials, etc. I find around four or five pages are usually enough for most people.
*SEO means Search Engine Optimisation. This involves embedding certain information into the website that is both visible and invisible so that search engines like Google are more likely to pick your site.
50% of the fee is required up front.
This includes 5 hours labour (research, purchases, setup, admin, initial build, SEO* and editing time). This does not include a shopping cart
This structure includes 3 edits. The more information you can provide me initially, the less edits will be required.
Major edits beyond 3 (excludes typos, etc) will be charged at $30 per 30 minutes
The usual web pages I suggest for a site are Homepage, About Us / History, Contacts Us, Products and/or Events, Specials, etc. I find around four or five pages are usually enough for most people.
*SEO means Search Engine Optimisation. This involves embedding certain information into the website that is both visible and invisible so that search engines like Google are more likely to pick your site.
Website Maintenance
- $30 per 30 mins as needed or
- Discount package deal (saves 20%)
- $60 for 1 hour per month, for 3 months
- $180 is paid in advance and months 1 & 2 can roll over to months 2 & 3
- The 3 hours expire at the end of the third month
- Extra hours are charged at $60 per hour, or $25 per 30 mins
- By committing to the 3 month maintenance package, you also receive as a bonus monthly report regarding website performance.
- 3 month packages can be purchased consecutively for ongoing maintenance and reporting, or re-purchased at any time
- Addition of a blog page with admin access for the author is an annual fee of $60
The total fee structure is $500 for domain hosting and website creation ($200 for hosting and $300 for website). The domain name purchase is approx $10 - $30 for two years.
Ongoing Maintenance – variable
Customer Requirements
To successfully build your website I will need a range of information from you. The more information you can provide initially, the quicker it will be for me to build the website, get it up on the internet and fewer edits will be required. I will provide you with a document to complete for this information once you agree to proceed.
So, if you are interested in finding out more about getting your own website, please give me a call on 0407 608 370
So, if you are interested in finding out more about getting your own website, please give me a call on 0407 608 370
Just Web Hosting
As well as offering to build websites, I do offer hosting packages. These are incredibly competitive compared to Australian and international companies; and unlike other companies, who I really wish I could name and shame, there really are no hidden costs.
You pay $200 for two years and that's it.
You get a hell of a lot for this amount, probably more than you'll ever need; but hey, at least you didn't have to pay extra for DNS Hosting, Email Hosting, etc; and spend two days trying to get through to their technical support department to get some name rules added!!
No hidden costs! Hurray!
If you're not overly concerned about having a website and just want an email address that's not hotmail or gmail, or you already have one and just wish to change hosting providers, then this is a great option. Obviously, if you do have your own email address: me@me.com.au people will try and go to that website address; so when they find nothing there, that does look a bit bad in my opinion.
So honestly, if you're buying a domain, it is essential you have a website to go with it; even if it's just a simple one.
You pay $200 for two years and that's it.
You get a hell of a lot for this amount, probably more than you'll ever need; but hey, at least you didn't have to pay extra for DNS Hosting, Email Hosting, etc; and spend two days trying to get through to their technical support department to get some name rules added!!
No hidden costs! Hurray!
If you're not overly concerned about having a website and just want an email address that's not hotmail or gmail, or you already have one and just wish to change hosting providers, then this is a great option. Obviously, if you do have your own email address: me@me.com.au people will try and go to that website address; so when they find nothing there, that does look a bit bad in my opinion.
So honestly, if you're buying a domain, it is essential you have a website to go with it; even if it's just a simple one.
