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Introduction

Basic Design Elements

Site Elements

Clients

 

 

 

 

 

Tom Bishop

 

Introduction

As a musician, a photographer, and an independent businessman, I realized some years ago that the internet would be an invaluable but inexpensive way to advertise my products and services. The only problem was that my business was complex enough that hiring someone to design a site for me would be prohibitively expensive. So I took the plunge and bought some web design software.

Little did I know what a chaotic mess the internet is. Every computer, every browser, and every operating system is different, so designing for the internet means not only presenting the material in an eye-catching way, but also designing it to work on all those different systems.

You're looking at the website that I created for myself, which contains most of the elements most websites offer. Even though I've created a complex site for myself, I certainly wouldn't describe myself as an authority on web design. But I've found that I know more about it than most other artists and small business owners, so several people have sought me out to design sites for them. If you think I could help you with a personal or professional website, read on.

First, I should explain that I'm a web designer, not a host. In other words, I can create your site for you but you will have to rent space on a server in order for people to be able to visit your site on the internet. The host that I use for my own site and the one that many of my clients have chosen as well is called Gate.com, which so far has been reasonably priced, very reliable, and most helpful when things go wrong. (There are many, many other companies that offer the same services as well, so you might want to shop around by searching for "website hosts.") Gate.com, like most companies, offers a name search function, which will tell you if the name you want to use is still available, a registration service, which costs about $20 a year and reserves the use of the name for you exclusively, and, of course, site hosting, which includes more memory capability than most sites require. There is a monthly fee (which is usually around $10 a month, depending on what services you require) which you can bill to a credit card. Gate.com also provides a statistics function as well, so you can track how many hits your site gets, as well as many other useful bits of info.

Like most web hosts, Gate.com offers templates that you can use to create a site for yourself. They're easy, attractive, and inexpensive. Prefabricated templates have a couple of drawbacks though: a) they're never exactly what you want and b) someone else may have a site with the exact same design. I create each client's site from the ground up, trying my best to match the design to the client's product and style. It may cost a bit more initially, but I believe that each of my clients is unique and deserves a unique site that suits his or her particular needs and tastes.

One big advantage that websites have over print advertising is that they are easily modified, so designing a website is just the first step. A site worth putting out in front of the whole world is also worth keeping up to date. While my business takes me all over the country at times, I can almost always post any modifications to one of my client's sites within a day or two. Most of the elements of a website are fairly easily communicated via e-mail, which can reach me no matter where I am. My cell phone, a Colorado Springs number, also reaches me anywhere, of course.

Since every site and every client is different, I can't quote fixed rates here. I generally charge a fee for the design of a site and then an hourly rate for maintenance.( Unlike most designers, I don't charge a monthly maintenance fee.) Most of my clients have told me that my rates are very reasonable.

If you're in the market for a new website or for a redesign of an existing site, contact me by clicking on the tombishop.biz logo at the top of the page.

 

 

 

This article is translated to Serbo-Croatian language by Vera Djuraskovic from Webhostinggeeks.com