frequently asked questions

answers

How much does a website cost?

This question is similar to “how much does a car cost?” It depends on the car. Do you want a Kia Rio or a Mercedes SLR McLaren? Is it a coupe or an SUV? In other words, what does the site need to do? What its main purpose? Does it need bells and whistles? Is it large, or is it small and basic? Read more about website pricing.

A website is a powerful business tool that reaches out to your customer base, helping your business achieve goals. It changes and grows with your business. Every website is different, so for a more accurate price, I need to know some details about your project. Let’s talk about it.

How long does it take to design and build a website?

This one depends on you, the client. You are the most important component to the timeline of the site. After the site is designed and developed, it needs to be filled with content, which comes from you. On average a site can take 4-6 weeks, depending on content delivery time. To make the design process quicker, I recommend delivering content before the project begins, so we can design a site with your content in mind.

How much does a logo cost?

There are many myths about logos, one being that since a logo is small, it’s cheap, say $5-$75. A logo is a graphical representation of your business, and it must do a lot of things. It has to be memorable, it has to be scalable, and it has to communicate. A logo is part of a company’s brand, and like a business, it must be unique. Your logo will be used everywhere, so it must be effective. In order for it to accomplish all of that, a number of tasks are required:

• Information gathering, either by phone, in person, or even over the net. We need to talk about your goals.
• Researching the company/organization and its industry, history, and competition.
• Looking at what has already been done in the field and analyzing what works.
• Conceptualizing with sketches of ideas based on the research.
• Checking up with our initial goals: does the logo measure up to its purpose?
• Design execution: digitizing the logo concept.

A logo costs more than a trip to the movies, because it’s going to last a lot longer. A $75 logo will not acomplish everything you need it too, so it will cost more than that. I price logos based on how many concepts you want to see, starting at $800.

I cannot afford a website right now, will you still help me create one?

I am happy to help you design a website. You can hire me as a consultant and I can tell you what I would do to the site, sketch up a few mock-ups, and tell you what materials you will need to go about building your site. Unfortuantely I do not have the time to instruct the ins and outs of HTML and CSS, the backbone of the web.

Do you offer SEO (search engine optimization)?

Interesting question. While I can offer some SEO tools, SEO is a whole other beast separate from web design. There are a lot of immitators out there who claim to be SEO experts, and I am not one of them.

However, I am referring my clients interested in beefing up their SEO to Search Optimizers, an American SEO company based out of Orange County, California. Search Optimizers have been around since before the term “SEO” was coined. They are professional and offer excellent service and results. Contact me to learn more.

Money is tight, but I need a professional website/identity/print collateral. Will you work with me?

I am happy to work within a realistic budget to get you the best website, logo, or print collateral possible.

I’m having email /computer related issues. Will you help me?

I am happy to help with design related issues, such as website maintenance. Any other issues, like email problems, photo issues, etc. do not fall under the scope of design work.

Will you do a trade?

Trades are very uneven, where one party is usually owing the other. Though I am not completely opposed to a trade, I do not encourage them either.

Do non-profit websites get a discount?

While your cause is important and I might want to contribute in some way, I cannot offer discounts at this time. I am happy to talk to you about your website budget and how I can work with you.

Do you offer any discounts?

True Northe is owned and operated by one person, so the discount is built in. I do not have employees, inventory, a building lease, or an expensive marketing campaign. The cost savings goes to you.

How is your fee less than the competition?

Honestly, it may or may not be less. There are other individuals out there who probably offer graphic design services for less money. But a hamburger costs less than prime rib, though both are beef. When you hire True Northe, you will get high quality custom design at a reasonable price.

What does “valid XHMTL/CSS” mean?

My websites are built using clean and efficient design standards, ensuring that they work across browsers and are search engine friendly. By clicking the valid XHMTL/CSS link, it will take you to the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) which runs a scan on the site to check to see if the site is built with valid code.

What is CSS?

A Cascading Style Sheet describes the presentation of a website, in appearance and formatting. It also makes design much easier, cleaner, and better for websites. In the old days sites were constructed in tables, which were cumbersome and created a lot of markup. CSS has simplified everything, making the web a much more stylish and faster place to be.

Why “True Northe”? Why is there an “e” at the end of north?

Proper graphic design sets the tone for a company, which gets them the customers and clientele needed. True Northe points the company’s graphic design in the right direction. You’ll always need to know true north to know where you are and where you are going. As for the “e” that’s my way of making my True Northe unique.

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