Yes, here you will find concrete rates!
As with any artistic endeavor (and I consider web design to be just that) needs and tastes will differ widely among customers. Just like walking into an advertising agency, insurance office, law office or employing some other expert in a particular field, it is expected that the professional be paid for the time they spend working on the project. In designing web sites, individuals come to me and tell me what they need their web site to do and how they want to present themselves. Below you will find a list of questions I will ask you. Please take a moment to read them so you are prepared to answer them when we talk.
Plain and simple, I base my prices on how long it takes me to create your site. I am good at estimating how much time it will take me to do a given project and base my estimates on my past experiences. People tell me that I work fast. I tend to agree, however if I ever underestimate the time it will actually take me, I eat the difference, and you owe me nothing more than the agreed upon estimate (plus a little extra time to finish up).
 | Well, my other Web Designer colleagues out there with less recognition and expertise are charging $60-$85 per hour with upwards of $3,000 minimums, but I decided that instead of jumping on the high-price bandwagon, I'd rather create some fair competition and be more flexible, so I set my price at an affordable $40 per hour with no minimums. So, whatever you want I'll do, large or small. I charge the same price for web page design as I do for graphic design. Estimates will be provided for all jobs before work begins so you will know up front what the site will cost you.
This rate includes:
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Overall site conception/layout/design.
Your Own Domain Name:
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I make it easy, so you don't have to lift a finger! We can secure your own domain within 24 hrs. of receiving payment.
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The Cool Goodies That Make Your Site Come Alive:
More Dog Breeder site extras are here
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MULTIMEDIA:
NOTE: You must obtain clearances for any audio or video clips before they may be used on your site unless they are in the public domain or are your personal creation with rights owned solely by you. My web design contract states that you are fully responsible for the use of any multimedia content used on your site.
Video: Add full motion video clips with sound to your site (MPEG format)! I have developed special compression techniques to get the best image quality while preserving detail and lip synch. This successful combination cannot yet be made using other formats (streaming Real Media, etc.) Example: A standard 9 second MPEG clip is 4.7 MB. This would result in a totally unacceptable download time for visitors. The same clip using my compression scheme is only 339K, a size which is easily downloadable for your viewers (about 50 seconds at 56K). Kennel sites can use these to show a dog's structure, movement & personality live over the internet! Entertainers can use them to show the public a sample of their work. Business customers such as Physicians can use this as an "introduction", giving a brief introduction to their practice so that prospective patients can get to know a new doctor before they even set foot in their office. Note the perfect lip synch and clarity of the picture when you download one of my specially compressed video clips here. My specially compressed MPEG file sizes are 1 MB per 30 seconds of video. Therefore, a 15 second clip would be approximately 500 K, and 1 minute clip would be 2 MB. Video Clip Prices: $30 up to a 30 second clip, $40 for a 31 second to 1 minute clip, two 30-second clips $50, three 30 second clips $75. A few small clips are better than 1 or 2 large clips (people are more patient with this, plus you can cover more subjects). Clips longer than 1 minute are not recommended due to long download times, though we can quote prices for these if you need them. Rendered clips (text titles added for copyright or other ID, add $10 per clip) Audio: Real Audio, MP3, Wav, Midi, etc.: Sound clips are a great way to showcase musical talents or add interest to your site. Real Audio: The preferred format for immediate gratification in playing large files (full songs, interviews etc.) is streaming RealAudio. I can use the backwards compatible 3.0 format (11025 HZ, Mono) or the current G2 format which is slightly better in quality, but visitors must have the G2 player (common now) to hear them. G2 can be optimized for 28.8 or 56 K modems. Real Audio clips of any format are $30 per song or clip up to 4 minutes long. MP3: I use the revolutionary MP3 format for high quality digitally downloadable music. After testing a half dozen MP3 encoders I have found an excellent codec for encoding MP3s which yields superior quality songs at the commonly used 128 Kbit/sec. (standard rate required if music is sold online though sites like mp3.com). The codec I favor is much better than even the Real Jukebox, Xing and Music Match codecs. My great sounding MP3s are $30 per song. You must supply us with a CD, .wav files on a CD or zip disk or analog tape (for best results, analog is not recommended) for MP3 creation. DAT transfer fees are extra. Musicians, do you need help in getting set up to sell your CD at MP3.com? We can do everything from album cover design & CD creation, to music encoding (all to MP3.com specifications) and uploading your music. I can even create a custom 2.0 Winamp skin for your band which can be downloaded by all of your fans! I offer a full MP3 package for selling your music on MP3.com below. .WAV: Wave files are used infrequently today, but can be of use if the clips are very small and high quality is needed. .Wav files are $15 each for short clips (under 15 sec). MIDI: Midi files are used when you want background music files to play on certain pages within your site. I do not recommend putting them on the main page of your site as it gets annoying to keep hearing the music each time you go back to the main page, which can be often on some sites. Midi files should be used sparingly, but they can be effective if used carefully. You must first obtain permission from the person who holds the rights to the "tune" you want. If you have created your own ORIGINAL midi files from music you have written, I just need a written statement from you. There is no per-song charge for placing midi files on the site if they are created by you and supplied to me as is. |
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CUSTOM CGI SCRIPTING
Used to add special "interactive" features to the site (for example, message boards, voting booths, onsite forms, chat and counters). Implementation of existing CGI scripts is always considered first, as custom scripting is not needed if I can modify an existing script (modifying existing scripts is far less expensive that creating new scripts) Custom CGI scripting is $75/hr. Implementation of existing CGI scripts: $50 per hour for customization and installation. |
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JAVASCRIPT IMPLEMENTATION I do not advocate the use of Java or JavaScript to navigate a site or to run the most important aspects of the site, but sometimes it can safely be used for special effects such as rollovers (images which change as the user's mouse passes over), slide shows, and other text effects. If I feel JavaScript will enhance your particular site, I will suggest using it. Too much of this will make a site look "tacky" and unprofessional and cuts out quite a few visitors with incompatible browsers, so I keep its use to a minimum. JavaScripts can be set up and customized for the rate of $50/hr. Simple scripts can usually be installed in 1 hr. |
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MAINTENANCE/SITE UPDATES
Maintenance can be arranged as my maintenance schedule allows. Basic maintenance includes updating your site by making minor changes to text, and uploading new images images once the final site design has been completed and after the site has been launched. Maintenance fees are at the standard rate of $40/hr., minimum charge of $20. Basic maintenance is on an as-needed basis. For instance, $20 would cover the scanning of 2 new pictures and uploading them to an existing page of your site. This would be a common scenario for dog breeder sites. If regular maintenance is needed on a business site, a monthly fee (payable in yearly increments) will be agreed upon depending on the level of maintenance needed. This level of maintenance will cover my time as your resident Webmaster for the complete site which includes making regular updates, creating multimedia files or images from analog or digital sources, typing up needed text changes or articles, answering and forwarding mail, checking the site twice a day to make sure it is up and running, making sure your site stays visible on the search engines, making full backups regularly to tape & CD for disaster recovery and general server maintenance/troubleshooting (yes, things DO happen on the provider's end sometimes). If the site goes down, I will be right on top of it and will be in touch with the provider to make sure they are aware that the domain is down. I will make sure the problem will be solved as soon as possible. Fees usually range in the $200-$350/month range. |
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ON-SITE LIVE MODERATED CHAT HOSTING
I can host a live, moderated "celebrity" or guest "expert" chat events on your site using my own Celebrity Chat SoftwareTM. This may be used to stimulate interest when promoting new projects or products, or if an expert in your field would like to meet with a group of interested people over the internet. Our program for moderated chats allows only those questions approved by the guest to show up onscreen for answering. This helps to filter out unwanted, duplicated or inappropriate questions before the public sees them. It also allows for images to be posted in amongst the chat text as a tool for education/illustration (like during a real meeting) or for entertainment (such as never-seen-before photos of the celebrity if it is a celebrity chat). A flat fee of $350 will be charged for a 1 hour moderated chat which includes promotion of the chat ahead of time. |
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E-COMMERCE
Accept credit cards and sell items directly from your web site. Setting up E-commerce involves obtaining a merchant account, transaction server and gateway access to obtain real-time payment processing, plus shopping cart setup. In some situations, I can set you up to sell online without your needing a full fledged merchant account, it just depends on what type of goods/services you will be selling. E-commerce fees vary considerably depending upon the project, but today it is easier and more affordable than ever. A quote will be supplied before work is begun. |
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ON-SITE ZIP CODE BUSINESS LOCATOR
I can install an online zip code searcher so that your customers may locate one of your business branches near them. This has many other uses - do you:
All of these situations need an on-site zip code locator on their web site. |
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MP3.COM CD MARKETING PACKAGE
Musicians, start selling your own music CD's direct to the public through MP3.com and make a full 50% commission on each CD you sell, no fine print or strings attached. Try and get a "record deal" that pays you that :-) When you sell on MP3.com, you have access to the daily statistics of you CD sales and downloads. See which songs people are listening to, how many people are buying them, where the buyers are located and how much money you are earning each day. I will make MP3 files from all the songs on 1 CD using my super high-quality MP3 encoder (compare the quality of my MP3's at 128 kbit/s to ANYONE ELSE'S), create artwork for your CD cover compliant with mp3.com specifications, create mp3.com web page and prepare photo as per their requirements, register you with mp3.com, upload the MP3 files/artwork to mp3.com, and add a link on your site so customers can buy your CD's at mp3.com. As a bonus, I will also make a custom Winamp skin for your fans to download from your web site. The mp3.com package costs $500. I ask that you agree to participate with me in the MP3 New Music Army program which pays a 5% commission to me (on each D.A.M. CD sold) for signing you or your band up on mp3.com. This 5% payment is given up by mp3.com and in no way affects sales commissions to you or your band. Your band still receives their full 50% commission on CD's sold through mp3.com. You do nothing except give your permission to me to participate. This is the way I am able to keep the cost low for signing your band up. See a sample of one of my mp3.com pages here. I also created a small standalone web site for the artist here. |
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MAILING LIST MAINTENANCE
This is useful so that a list of interested parties may be contacted at any time to announce new projects, products, chats, or other news pertaining to the site. It is also useful if input or help from customers, fans or other interested parties is needed for any reason. This service includes bulk mailings, list management (keeping an updated, backed-up file of e-mail address, removing dead addresses, supplying list statistics to you if so desired). Fees vary depending on how often mailings will go out, and start out at $5/month, payable in annual increments. For your convenience, billing may be synchronized to the standard site maintenance and hosting fee. |
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ADVANCED PROMOTIONS
This covers extra promotion by advertising/submitting the site to other related sites for the purpose of getting linked and increasing traffic to your Site. These services will be performed for my standard hourly rate of $40. |
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ANIMATED GIFS
Animated GIFS should be used sparingly. If they can be used to create "tasteful drama", then I will definitely use them. I do not use any "canned" animated gifs (such as the proverbial folding envelopes, flashing "new" signs and things along these lines), I create quality images from scratch which match your site and are as small as possible in file size (an art in itself). Custom animated GIFS costs $50 for simple ones up to $100 for more complex images which require frame by frame hand drawn animating. |
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LIVE ON-SITE WEBCAM
Let people see you live over the internet! Webcams are especially popular with dog breeders. Can't wait to show your friends those new puppies? Wish you could show a dog to a prospective buyer NOW instead of waiting to develop and send pictures through the mail? Just give out your webcam address, turn on your camera and your friends are instantly tuned in! See a sample of a webcam page I made here (no live image unless the cam is turned on right now!) The cost to create and set up a webcam page that is part of a site I am designing for you is $50. If you would like a standalone webcam page (no site), the cost is $75. This includes the software and my time for configuration and setup. You must supply the webcam itself. If a standalone page, you must have a small amount of web space allotted by your provider to put the page on. Most dial-up services include at least 1 MB of space with your account already. If in doubt, check your provider's web site or give them a call. |
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CLICKABLE PEDIGREES FOR BREEDER SITES:
These pedigrees are very interactive, as any of the dogs can be hotlinked so that one may click on it to see it's own page with photo etc. For those who want the very best, most complete presentation of their breeding program, this might be an option to consider. You may see a sample of one here. You must supply me with either: 1) A 4 generation physical pedigree already printed out AND a text file over e-mail or on floppy with all of the dogs' names in it listed alphabetically OR 2) Supply the pedigree in electronic text "tree" form (as an attached .txt file, see format below) as some programs (The Breeder's Standard for one) can output. The price to create the clickable pedigree is $15 per 4 generation pedigree. This does not include creating the whole page for that dog (the photos and text), this is covered under my normal $40/hr rate. Remember that with each clickable link you add to a pedigree, you are creating another whole page for that dog, or at least a photo of that dog. |
Sample output of a 3 generation text file pedigree which you may send me to save money when ordering clickable pedigrees:
+--- Ch. DUSTY TOPS AGAIN SPECIAL
+--- Ch. Int. TOPS AGAIN JET AGE
| +--- THE BARONESS OF BURROUGHS
+--- Ch. TOPS AGAIN GAY PEPPER
| | +--- SON OF GOODTIME CHARLIE
| +--- REDMANN'S POLLYANNA
| +--- KOMARA'S IRRESTIBLE MOLLY
+--- Ch. ONWERD'S TOP'S AGAIN ANDY
| +--- Tops Again's Victor
| +--- Ch. Tops Again Brandy
| | +--- Iowana's little Star
+--- EMPRESS FARRAH
| +--- Baldwin's Rebel
+--- Drewno's Candy Rebel
+--- Baldwin's Candy
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If you can only supply me a physical printout but no names electronically, the price is $30 per pedigree because of the intensity of the labor involved typing in all the names.
Please contact me by phone or mail here
If you are ready to get started, please read and sign *both* my standard Web Design contract and Addendum B, contract of Optional Services and fax to me. If you have any questions about the contract, do not hesitate to contact me.
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