Frequently Asked Questions
All the little things you’d like to know
Here are the answers to the questions I’m most commonly asked about designing, building, fixing, and managing websites.
Please get in touch if there’s anything you’d like to know.
Getting Started
Website Design
Web Development
Copywriting & Content
Website Care Plans
Getting Started
We’ll arrange a meeting at a time that suits you, and you can choose whether this is by phone or video. I’ll get to know your business and the goals for your project, and you’ll get to see if we’re a good fit to work together. After the call I’ll put together a proposal and cost estimate for your project and we can discuss any questions. Book a free consultation.
You’ll need one for your site, but if you don’t have one yet I can help you get one. If you’ve already got a domain name, we’ll point it towards your new site once it’s built.
Yes of course. I offer premium WordPress web hosting with daily backups and an SSL certificate included. Hosting is paid monthly and can be bundled with a website maintenance package if needed. If you already have hosting elsewhere, that’s usually fine. (Sometimes clients’ existing hosting isn’t suitable for the website they want. If that’s the case, I’ll let you know.)
Visit this article to learn about web hosting.
Of course: it’s your project and your budget. The quote will be itemised, so you’ll have the opportunity to decide if there are things you want to add or take away before accepting any quote.
For web design projects, I ask for a deposit before starting work, in order to commit both parties to the project. The deposit will be between 25% – 50%, depending on the volume of work. The balance is due on completion.
For smaller jobs, usually no deposit is required.
Website Design
Not at all – that’s where I come in. Together we’ll figure out exactly what needs to go on your site and where, using sitemaps, wireframes and mock-ups. The layout of your site will depend upon the content and the needs of your business and audience. I’ll help you to figure out exactly how we’ll provide the best user experience for your visitors.
Usually yes, but with the caveat that I always build sites with user experience, accessibility and search engine optimisation as top priorities. Those should always come first if you want your site to be successful, and so must be accounted for in any site build.
Clients supply the images, but don’t worry if you don’t have any. There are several options for images. If you already have high-quality branding images we can use those. Otherwise we can work with stock image libraries to source suitable imagery.
Website Development
It really depends on the scale and scope of the project, and other factors such as delivery of content and images etc. You’ll receive a timescale estimate along with any quote. As a guideline, a simple website will usually take 3-4 weeks, and an e-commerce website 6-8 weeks.
Note that you must have all of your content ready to go at the project start date. If you don’t, it’s likely to delay the website launch.
Absolutely. One of the benefits of using WordPress is that it provides an easy user interface for you to make changes to your site. I’ll provide you with video tutorials on how to edit your site and where to find things.
Yes – website maintenance packages are available that cover monitoring, security and backend site updates plus time for edits and other ad hoc work you might want.
View Website Care Plan Packages and Pricing.
Copywriting and Content
This is personal preference. Some people want to write their own text and others want to use the Copywriting service. If you’re providing your own, you’ll receive a structure and format guide in order to help you lay out your text in a way that’s helpful for both users and search engines.
Definitely! I have 15 years of copywriting experience in a corporate marketing environment, and know how to craft compelling text that will help to promote your business, market your products or services, and make more sales. I can either create content from scratch or can edit / modify / proofread your existing content.
Copywriting and editing services are charged on top of any web development work. Have a look at my Content Services for more information.
Website Care Plans
A website care plan removes all of the stress and hassle of owning a website. It covers hosting and maintenance, schedules and stores back-ups, monitors for any downtime, takes care of software updates, handles security scans, and can even involve monthly development time for any changes you want to make on your site.
Visit this article to learn more about why you need website maintenance.
View Website Care Plans and Pricing.
No – my care plans are paid monthly and you can cancel any time with 30 days’ notice.
Yes – I use cloud hosting servers which are fast and secure. If you already have hosting, I can still provide a care plan by logging into your own server.
Your monthly support time (for Premium or Elite plans) covers any small updates which can be carried out in the allotted time. This could be a content change of text or images, setting up a new plugin or minor web development tasks.
If you require a larger amount of updates, I’ll give you an estimate of time and carry out the work at my discounted hourly rate for care plan clients.
Unfortunately not, because scheduling becomes impossible if work rolls over month to month.
If your website was built by TealBlue Digital there will be no setup fees for moving onto a care plan. If you have an existing website not built by me, then there is a £80 setup fee which covers initial updates to the existing tools, cleaning up the database, installing software and backing up the site etc.