>What to Build?

What kind of Website do you want or need built?

The purpose of your website helps determine what to build.

Primarily provide information: Decide upon logical groupings. Information organization may lend itself to either a database or indexing type of website. Additionally, the project's intended scale may hint at whether a static set-up or dynamic database would be more appropriate.

E-commerce: Websites that need secure transactions need a well-established, trusted e-commerce vendor with an easy to build-your-own database or online catalog for secure purchases. They may provide the web space, secure portal and software access. E-commerce may be as simple as setting up a PayPal account (for example) and making a button or two - or having the ability to send invoices by email.

More complicated shopping carts may involve combining the services of a shopping cart vendor and a processing vendor - ask lots of questions before you commit to any e-commerce solution. E

Read very carefully what services you are buying and what you will be paying per transaction and any additional fees.

Some options carry a monthly fee, whether you have transactions or not, others involve initial setup fees, others only cost when you actually process a transaction. Be aware of what you are buying and ask if shopping carts are customizable to look like your website...

Marketing: A window into your business that is open 24/7 to help visitors locate products and services that you offer. You may want to provide tips or solutions to customer problems but not offer e-commerce. This can be a reasonable first step for small businesses. As you build traffic to your website and more customers know about your online offerings, you can further develop the website and expand your purpose.

Before you seek quotes on a website:
You may have other goals or purposes for your website. Know your website's purpose, gain knowledge about your audience and their internet use, commit to expending effort on preparation and development of content for your website.

If you plan to have someone else design and maintain your website, your preparation will make their task easier and most likely save you money and time. Know your timetable - if you need a website immediately, you may pay a premium or not get a design that has much customization.

The speed with which your website is created relates very strongly to how much preparation you have made on gathering your content and asking good questions before signing a contract.

If you already have print marketing marterials, you have a start on the content for your website. Decide if you want the print media and website to have a similar look or not. Plan to keep the content of your website current and interesting.

Know if you want interactivity:

Interactivity may be contact forms, product quote requests, or similar form formats or polling, mailing lists, and so on. As you add interactivity, your website gets more complicated and the price to create it also tends to increase. If budget is a genuine concern for your website project, have an idea of what you really need to have - like a phased growth format. Then, what kinds of features you would like in the future. You may ask for a quote that indicates the option (extra features) pricing.

Request a quote from Neal Resources:

Fill in the form for a quote request. This won't cover all aspects, but it will certainly help you have a good idea of what a web designer will need to know about your plans.