Starting From Scratch

Beginning an entire web site or a marketing campaign is an exciting adventure - but it can also be overwhelming and unnecessarily time-consuming for you. We'd like to make the process as simple and enjoyable as possible, so please take a moment to learn from our experience.

Two problems we see over and over again:

1. Not having a plan from the start. Revisions take time and effort - and money. We're happy to help you brainstorm and rework the design, but please realize that major changes in the middle of a site creation make for major time delays and expenses. Think carefully about what sections your Web site will need, and what you want your Web site to do for you. Spend some time looking at other Web sites to get an idea of what your area of specialty can offer on the Internet. The more time you take to carefully think over your venture and plan, the less you'll experience unnecessary time, money, and angst.

2. Not having information available. We're experts in Web design and site hosting - not in auto repair, plumbing, mortgages, charter fishing or whatever your business specializes in. We rely on you to provide information on your company. From location and business hours to expert tips and extensive background, this knowledge is yours to pass on.

Realize that people don't surf the Web to look at sleek graphics; they are out there searching for a certain service or piece of knowledge. The professional graphics and easy navigation are what we do to make your information more credible and appealing. We can make your site look clean and professional, but we can't create the knowledge you've built up over years of experience. Please spend time carefully considering and preparing the information you'd like to put online.

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1. Check out Web sites that specialize in your field. Write down what you like and don't like - and any ideas. Provide us with the urls of your competitors

2. Think about what sections your site can be divided into. Some standard ideas include Contact Info, Directions and FAQs. Try not to go too far over seven - unless your site will resemble washingtonpost.com in size.

3. Provide us with a list of key words and phrases that search engines would use to categorize your site. Start with a brief 25-30 word or 2 sentence description of your business/site. Continue on formulating a list of as many key words that you can think relate to your business.

4. Bring color ideas, any slogan, and a logo. If you don't have a logo, we can make one - bring ideas. Your Web designer will likely give you some advice on using colors and logos. For example: White text on a black background is generally a bad idea for visibility, printing and design reasons.

5. Bring as much information as you can gather - the sooner, the better. For example, if you are a cell-phone retailer and you know you want a FAQ section, begin preparing the questions. Often the actual information will create a new idea or problem. Maybe you will end up with 100 questions, and we'll end up creating special sections within the FAQ area. Again, the more planning ahead we do, the smoother the site creation will be.

6. Listen. We're here to help make your site the best in can be, and we'll help steer you in the right direction. From animated gifs to javascript programs to flash pages, we can provide the expert take on these devices.

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As the coordinator of your company's Web site, you will be paired with a WebWave designer. You may request a specific designer from our team, but be aware that he or she may not be available immediately. The Web designer matched to your company will contact you quickly and provide a phone number, e-mail address and work hours. Thanks to the Internet, we have several easy options for communication. We are happy to meet with you, either in your office or ours, in Chesapeake Beach. We can stay in touch by phone or e-mail - whatever is easiest for you. We also have a fax number and can provide server information, if you would like to upload files.

Because WebWave is a growing Chesapeake Country business, our Web designers are not full-time employees. Their day jobs range from freelance Web designer to university student majoring in computer science to Calvert County media specialist. Your web designer's contact phone number will likely be his or her home phone number. We ask, then, that you respect the work hours our designers designate and call only during those times. E-mail, of course, is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and our designers will see your request as soon as their Web work day begins again. If you would like our designer to call you during a certain time period, just let them know.

Your Web designer will stay in touch with you throughout the site creation. Your interaction and feedback will shape the site. And again, we rely on your company's information to fill the pages' content.

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How long will it take? Most of the time, that answer is up to you. We depend on your feedback and your business' information and expertise. With no content for the site, it can't go live - even if the design framework is done.

This design shell of the site - without the content - can take anywhere from a week for a few pages to a couple of months for a large site. Four to six weeks is about average, from the initial meeting to the published site. And, of course, a site is never completely done. We encourage you to add new information often to keep the site up to date and keep visitors returning.

Rush Orders: Those who need a project done very quickly can request a Rush Order. For Rush Orders, our Web designers set aside other business and take up personal time to get your site done quickly. Let us know what your deadline is, and we can tell you if a Rush Order would accommodate that time frame. Rush Orders are not available for our special package deals. Our regular hourly charge of $50 will increase to $75 for a Rush Order.

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Note: If the technical information makes no sense, don't fret. We'll take care of it. The gist of this section is to make the format as easy as possible - if it's possible. Otherwise, bring whatever information in whatever form you have, and we will make them work as best we can.

Text

Ideally, anything in text format will be sent via e-mail. Information on paper requires retyping - an expensive deal at $50 an hour - and can lead to typos. Your web designer will let you know what text format is preferable.

Logos/graphics

We prefer a digital copy, something similar to what you would offer a printer. The bigger, the better. DPI should not be lower than 72. You can e-mail this, bring by a disk or upload it to our server. If you would prefer to bring us a paper copy, be sure it's relatively large (a business card logo will not work), at least 3" x 5". A logo from a newspaper ad or a logo with extraneous text written over it will not work well. TIFF or JPEG formats are best.

If you are submitting digital logos and graphics for a professional brochure or other hard copy printing, the resolution should be 300 dpi.

Know if you need them back quickly - we can usually accommodate a swift turnaround. Be careful nothing you pass on to us is copyrighted, such as news articles. We will not post copyrighted material without permission.

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