Custom Web design

Truth be told, I don’t know how to build a site that isn’t custom. I’m too much of a perfectionist in that regard, because it is essential that your business has a website that is unique to you, your product, your functionality needs; visually, your website needs to be an extension of your brand and match your print identity. My process is very collaborative. Many designers will let you choose between two or three designs. I do that too, but with your input it morphs and grows and evolves into something that truly represents you and your business.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Getting your website listed with the search engines, such as Google and Bing, requires an in-depth knowledge of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) that not all website designers possess. Read more…

Website Statistic Analysis

Website Statistic Analysis is an important element of any SEO plan. Answering these questions can determine your plan of action to increase web traffic:

Where are your visitors coming from?

What kinds of keywords are they using?

Which keywords are conspicuously NOT driving traffic to your website?

Which pages are being viewed the most? How about the least?

Most small business owners have no idea what is going on with their website or how many people are looking at, if any at all. I can study those statistics and create an easy-to-understand visual representation of those web statistics. Then together, we can reach a solution that will help you reach your goals.

Web Maintenance

I train all of my clients on how to update several things themselves: their blog, any text that’s on the website, add images themselves, etc. The last thing they want with their new website is to feel trapped into paying an hourly fee every time they need a minor change made.

However, there are also other things that need to be maintained, plug-in applications and platforms that need to be updated. For less  than 2 hours of my hourly rate, I can maintain these as well as the minor changes above. Many clients appreciate knowing how to do it, but would rather not. For them, having a maintenance contract is some peace of mind.

Copywriting for Websites

Many people underestimate how challenging it can be coming up with content for their website. Content has to be well-written, keyword rich and persuasive. Great copywriting is an art form. I am happy to help when I can (long before I was a website designer, I was an English major).

I can edit and write – quite often for free – but if you have the budget, I can also enlist a professional copywriter.

Domain Name Registration & Hosting Set-up

Domain Name Registration

This is the administrative part of setting a website. Your Domain Name is your web address (example: the Domain Name of this site is https://www.websitedesignerinseattle.com/). That is the first step to having a website. Actually, it’s the second: you should research keywords first and choose a domain name that most closely resembles them. Then you need to register your name. I can help with that. By the way, it’s cheap: about $12/year. You should register your domain for no shorter than five years.

Web Hosting Set-Up

Now that you have your Domain Name, it needs to live somewhere. That’s where Web Hosting comes into play. This is done through a third party (say GoDaddy, or Network Solutions or something something similar). The cost for web hosting is also reasonable, between $4-10/month depending on the features you need for your website, how many additional email addresses, etc. The problem is that there are so many add-ons offered that for most people, the process is overwhelming and frustrating. Quite often I set this up for my clients.