I create custom gorgeous WordPress mobile-responsive websites.

My specialty is building (or refreshing) affordable websites for small businesses. Every website designer/builder has their own system of how they go about designing/refreshing, and what prices to charge. To a large degree, pricing will typically double if you go to an agency, versus freelance. I used to offer lower prices to small businesses because I have always felt every business should have a web presence, and wanted all my clients to have one. But over time, I realized that no matter how little I charged, I was always giving my clients the same top-tier website elements, whether they paid for it or not because I felt my list of elements were the minimum requirements all websites should have. And so, starting a couple of years ago, I will always include the following elements, but my prices have increased a little:

All websites created by me WILL INCLUDE:

• Be built on the WordPress framework - My opinion is WordPress is simply the best - a robust platform with unlimited customization, reliability, great functionality and scalability. Plus no matter what you hear, you, the owner of the website can learn to make small changes - I can provide a library of how-to videos, right in the dashboard of your site.
• Premium (child) theme put on top of the widely-popular Beaver Builder (parent) theme. All of this is placed on top of WordPress.
• Since I have already paid for a developer’s batch of premium child themes, I pass those savings on to you. Plus, since I work predominately with only this batch of themes from the same company, I have become an expert in using them and not having to ‘get to know’ new themes time after time (did you know there are hundreds of thousands of themes available?) (Of course, other WordPress themes are an option if you have one you already know you want)
• Built-in Mobile-Responsive software; that means they will look great on mobile phones, tablets, and laptops (automatically responds and resizes according to the device).  See the image to the right - adapting to the device.
• Page Content (what's on the pages) must be provided by you - I can refer you to copywriters if you need it. I will edit and format the content provided. The Home page is generally built up in a special way; we'll discuss this part in detail.
• Images will be prepped and optimized - supplied by you. I can provide additional images as needed, at an additional cost.
• Your website can have sidebars and/or extended footer areas (these are generally known as widget areas) - or not. We'll work together to figure out what should go in them.
• Contact form going to your email address.
• Adding social media icons and setting up your links (creating the social media accounts is at an extra charge, if this step hasn’t been done yet).
• Customization with your colors, or I can suggest a color palette for you.
• SSL Certificate installation - For security (Must be hosting company compatible for free certificates. I am also a reseller for Comodo if you have needs beyond the hosting provider's free certificate. Some hosts charge an annual fee).
• Email creation (must be hosting company compatible or we can use Google Workspace).
• All standard plugins for extended functionality, as needed.
• Favicon - this is the tiny icon or logo that shows on the tab next to your website name within browser windows [will be 1-3 alpha characters (like you or company initials)  if an image is not provided by you].
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO) - Friendly Software will be installed, and it's easy for you to add SEO elements at any time. However, if supplied ahead of time, I can add page titles and meta descriptions as I build out your site.
• Business Coaching - I can't help myself. I find myself coaching small businesses all the time.
• For 30 days after launch (going live), I will include my 'Essentials' WordPress Care Plan - that's right, I'm here for you afterward with continued management of your site.

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These items would be extra - I can provide a quote for including any of these

• Google Analytics account set up so Google can start tracking statistics (whether you have time to deal with SEO right away or not).
• Google Business Profile set up - basic info plus products services, and posts
• Accessibility Widget - see the black icon of a person in a wheelchair at the top of my website? Click on it to see what it does.
• Photo Galleries
• Maps
• Weather Box
• Social Media Account setup
• Matching Social Media covers
• SEO Page Titles and Description guidance (I can enter your list into your site if you provide during creation)

Hosting (of your web files)

I am not in the hosting business, but I can recommend who to use, and help get you set up

You will need a registered domain name (URL) and a host provider (where your website files get stored on the web). Your domain registration and your hosting account should be set up in YOUR name (not mine). I am not in the hosting (reseller) business; I have always felt it was cleaner and safer for clients to have direct access to their host company. If you don’t have one or the other, I will help you get these set up.

Hosting with most companies generally costs $5 - 20/month (and up); these two hosting companies are less expensive while still giving you robust server features.

My first recommendation for hosting your website's files is MDD Hosting. This hosting company pretty much guarantees 100% uptime, and super fast servers. Plus each plan includes unlimited domains, email addresses, and bandwidth, and included cPanel, plus free SSL. Very, very good features for an economical price. MDD Hosting offers discounts for multiple years - I recommend getting hosting for 3 years to maximize your investment.

 

As an alternative, I recommend Green Geeks for hosting your website files. Unfortunately, GG does not offer a discount for multiple years any longer, but you'll get a great price for the first year, with very dependable uptime and fast load speeds.

 

 

There are a zillion Domain Registrar companies out there, but I recommend Namecheap for registering your domain. I do NOT recommend the ever popular GoDaddy, for a variety of reasons. In fact I do not recommend GoDaddy for ANYthing any longer. Domain registration typically costs about $10-20/year for .com and .net extensions (specialty extensions can sometimes cost more, depending on the domain registrar). Also I recommend paying the extra $10-12 for domain privacy per year. This protects you from scammers sending you emails and letters to renew. Namecheap includes domain privacy for free!

 

Please note: I have affiliate links with the companies listed above because I do a lot of research to find the balance between affordable, with truly great features. In the interest of full transparency, by clicking/purchasing through the links above, I will receive a small compensation for the referral.

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What does it cost to build the website?

My price range starts at roughly $800 and goes up from there. Larger sites start at about $1600-$1800. eCommerce sites start at about $2,400. I offer free custom quotes. Don't worry, you don't pay all at once. I take a one-third deposit to get started. The second payment is due at roughly the middle, and the last payment when your site goes live/launches. All payments are due within 10 days of the emailed invoice.

The website creation process works like this:

1. We talk about what you need and expect the site to do. What is the purpose of the website? I will sometimes share a Google Docs link containing a questionnaire. In fact, we can have an initial talk without questionnaire answers but I will need you to have filled it out eventually. It contains the comprehensive information I will need to prepare an extensive quote for you. Often, I can give you at least a ballpark figure while talking on our first phone call.
2. The next step is I prepare the quote, and email it to you, along with my Work Agreement. If all is a go, I collect the deposit (one-third) and you start working on collecting content (images, text for the website pages, etc). I accept cash, checks, and credit cards. [The second payment is due when I have you review the site for fine-tuning. The last payment is needed to go live/launch. Payment is required within 10 days after issue of emailed invoices.]
3. The next step is I design the site. I will have you review at certain points to be sure I’m on track.
4. The next step is to have you fully review the site and I’ll fine-tune pages, posts, images, etc.
5. The next step is the website goes LIVE on the web. Final testing is done. Final payment is collected.
6. The last step is your site will be set up for one month on my ‘Essentials’ Website Care Plan. At the end of that month, I will provide a full report of everything the Care Plan did for you. You will have had this free month to evaluate whether you’d like to continue the service.

For ongoing work and maintenance, I bill at my hourly rate, which is $55/hour.

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Ready for the next step?

Let's schedule a call or zoom to see what you need.

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